Theodore's World

The decorated Army sergeant who protected an Afghan boy from a child molester could find out any day whether his actions will end his career in the military.

Sgt. First Class Charles Martland, a Green Beret with an 11-year Special Forces career, was stationed in Afghanistan in 2011 when the boy's mother came to him and said she'd been beaten and her son raped by a local police commander. Martland and another soldier summoned the police official and, when the man laughed at them, threw him off the base. Martland and Daniel Quinn were both disciplined for their actions.

Last year, amid military cuts, the Army Human Resources Command recommended Martland be discharged in part based on his disciplinary record, but an official decision by U.S. Army brass is expected by March 1.

“Charles did the right thing in Afghanistan by standing up to a child rapist and corrupt commander, and now it’s the Army’s turn to do the right thing and reverse the decision to expel him from the service.” - Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)

“Charles did the right thing in Afghanistan by standing up to a child rapist and corrupt commander, and now it’s the Army’s turn to do the right thing and reverse the decision to expel him from the service,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., whose office has been assisting Martland. “Permitting Charles to continue serving is in the best interest of the Army and the nation.”

Supporters mounted an online petition backing Martland and separately, 93 members of Congress have called for an investigation into the military's silence in the face of rampant sexual abuse of children in Afghanistan.

While Quinn left the military voluntarily, Martland, who graduated in 2006 from Special Forces Qualification Course, has always seen himself as a lifer. After a deployment to Iraq in 2008, he deployed to Afghanistan in January 2010 as part of a 12-man unit. He and his team found themselves fighting large numbers of Taliban militants in the volatile Kunduz Province.

Martland was awarded a Bronze Star with Valor for his actions. According to one evaluation, he also was praised by Gen. David Petraeus, then commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan.

Wild Thing's comment...........

I fully support this soldier defending a child of any nationality!!!

"After acting to protect a child from sexual assault from an Afghan commander, SFC Martland was punished and could be kicked out of the military at any time," said Jay Sekulow, of the American Center for Law and Justice.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (1)

February 08, 2016

Red Flag 16-1 Aerial Refueling

A KC-135 Stratotanker crew from the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, conducts a refueling mission as part of the Tanker Task Force for Exercise Red Flag 16-1. The footage includes refueling of U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers, F-15C Eagles from the 131st Fighter Squadron, Barnes Air National Guard Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 157th Fighter Squadron from McEntire Joint National Guard Base,

Wild Thing's comment...............

Love our military, so proud of their dedication and all they do.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (2)

December 30, 2015

Bergdahl arraigned in military court in North Carolina

Wild Thing's comment............

He should be executed for treason.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

December 23, 2015

Armed neighbor stops crooks from stealing 83-year-old man's Christmas gifts

The armed neighbor said if the thieves ever came back to the neighborhood they wouldn’t leave with their lives, never mind anyone’s valuables.

At least two intruders entered 83-year-old Harry Wells’ Houston home on Monday night ready to fill up a car with his Christmas gifts, including a flat screen TV, rifle and mounted deer head, investigators said.

The suspects nearly wound up filled with lead.

One of Wells’ neighbors surprised the crooks and fired five shots – enough to scare them off without anything to show for their Grinch-like behavior, KHOU reported.

“We are always watching out and they should stay away from here,” neighbor Elizabeth Smith said.

The armed neighbor, who was not identified in any media reports, told KHOU if the thieves ever came back to the neighborhood they wouldn’t leave with their lives, never mind anyone’s valuables.

The burglars nearly left on Monday in Wells’ car. That’s where they were stuffing their bounty when they were confronted by the neighborhood Good Samaritan. In their haste to flee, the thieves hit another neighbors’ car.

Wells said he slept through the entire encounter.

“I didn’t know anything was going on,” he told KHOU. “My hearing is so bad, until a deputy sheriff was in my bedroom.”

Wild Thing's comment...............

Good for the neighbor.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (1)

December 22, 2015

BREAKING: Six Americans killed in suicide attack in Afghanistan

It was reported that six AMERICAN troops were killed in a suicide bombing at Bagram air base in Afghanistan.

6 American troops killed in Afghan suicide attack, officials say

STARS AND STRIPES – Six coalition troops were killed Monday when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle plowed into a foot patrol near a major U.S. air base in Afghanistan, local and coalition officials said.

The attack happened around 1 p.m. when the attacker targeted a joint patrol of coalition troops and Afghan National Police officers in Parwan province near Bagram Air Field, according to Abdul Shukor Qudoosi, governor of the district where the base is located. He said three foreign troops and three Afghan policemen were also wounded in the attack.

Resolute Support, as the international military coalition in Afghanistan is known, confirmed that six of its troops had been killed in a “vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack” near the base, but did not immediately release further details including the nationality of those attacked.

“On behalf of Gen. (John) Campbell and all of Resolute Support, our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family and friends of those affected by this tragic incident, especially during the holiday season,” Resolute Support spokesman Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner said in a statement.

The Taliban, who often exaggerate the effect of their attacks, quickly released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, confirming the details of what happened. It claimed that 19 troops were killed.

Bagram Air Field, located just north of the Afghan capital, Kabul, is the main hub for the roughly 10,000 American troops who remain in Afghanistan.

Wild Thing's comment................

Thoughts and prayers to the soldiers and their families. I wish with all my heart our troops has real CIC that cared about them.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:45 AM

December 19, 2015

Hero SAS Sniper Foils Suicide Bomb Attack By Killing Five Jihadis With Just THREE Bullets

The sharp-shooter took out three terrorists, at least two of whom were wearing explosive vests, as they made their way to carry out a suicide mission.

The unnamed veteran, who joined the SAS a decade ago, saved potentially hundreds of lives by unleashing three well-aimed shots from a distance of 800m.

The operation took place two weeks ago at a bomb factory around 10km outside the ISIS-occupied city of Mosul.

The decision to open fire was given when three men were seen leaving the factory wearing heavy coats, despite the hot weather.This was an attempt to hide their suicide vests as they made their way to attack civilians in a nearby town, an attack which could have killed a huge number of innocent men, women and children.

The sniper shot the first jihadi in the chest, detonating his explosive device and killing him instantly, along with two ISIS guards sat in a nearby car.

The second terrorist was killed with a headshot, as he and the third man tried desperately to get back into the locked factory.

The third jihadi also died when his explosive vest was set off by a third and final well-aimed shot from the colour sergeant.

Wild Thing's comment.............

God bless these heroes.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (1)

December 16, 2015

Rubio Teaches Trump What The Nuclear Triad Is

When Donald Trump could not answer Hugh Hewitt’s question on the nuclear triad during the fifth GOP debate Tuesday night, Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) was kind enough to take the time to explain what the nuclear triad was to him and any other Americans who may not have known.

Trump was asked to offer his opinion on which leg of the nuclear triad, decried by many as outdated, he believed was most crucial to update. The Republican frontrunner did not appear to understand the topic.

In his original answer, Trump said it was important to have a strong leader with sound judgment during perilous times. He then trailed off to talking about opposing the Iraq War and how important limiting nuclear proliferation is. The response did not touch on Hewitt’s question, so he asked again.

“I think for me nuclear – the power, the devastation is very important to me,” Trump said in his second attempt.

Hewitt then offered the question to Rubio. The young senator elected to explain what the nuclear triad is to “people at home,” although it appeared to be a veiled swipe at Trump for not knowing what it was.

Rubio delivered a summary of the nuclear weapons delivery system of the U.S.’s nuclear arsenal. He listed off the three legs: strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

While he claimed all three were critical to create a deterrent for the enemies of America, Rubio said submarines have become more critical. He advocated for the upgrading of the Ohio submarine fleet, called for upgrading the B52, and wanted a modernization program for ballistic missiles.

Wild Thing's comment.................

I loved this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (1)

November 21, 2015

Marco Rubio : Either They Win Or We Win

Marco Rubio : Either They Win Or We Win ... discussing Obama and his non leadership against ISIS

Wild Thing's comment...............

I like what Marco says.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM

November 08, 2015

US Military Is Now Less Ready to Defend Our National Interests Than It Has Been for Decades

The world’s an even scarier place than it was last year. From the Middle East to the South China Sea, the bad guys have grown stronger and bolder. Meanwhile, our allies and friends—suffering from economies much weaker than ours—are spending less and less on defense.

This means less help available to us, if things go from bad to worse. And U.S. troops will be even more hard-pressed to prevail, since our own military spending has been slashed 15 percent over the last four years. As trend lines go, these are deeply worrisome.

The world changes, whether we want it to or not. Last year, the Islamic State was just “a JV team” in the eyes of President Barack Obama. Today, the brutal Islamist group controls a third of the territory in two countries and commands a mobile light infantry army.

The Obama administration’s persistently weak responses to provocation have only encouraged more aggressive behavior by our adversaries. And it’s led our friends to become increasingly dubious about whether America will truly come to their aid should a crisis come.

They’ve seen the U.S. withdraw prematurely from trouble spots. They’ve seen Washington cut troop and military spending year after year. And they know that our Western allies, still caught in the economic doldrums, are less able to provide the kind of force and facilities America has long relied on for support.

Friends who have counted on America to have their backs are now looking over their shoulders and seeing no one there. As a result, Japan is considering developing an independent nuclear capability. The Sunni Gulf States are weighing what sort of weapons capabilities they should obtain to counter Iran’s new strength. The Baltic States are bracing for an invasion; their military leaders say it feels like 1938 again in their capital cities.

Amid all this growing instability, readiness levels across all U.S. military services are falling. There is too little money to train properly; ranges sit idle for lack of bullets, fighter jets are parked for lack of fuel, and America has no aircraft carrier battle group in the Middle East, because we cannot get one fitted for duty. Modernization has been put on hold or drastically curtailed; basic repair of worn out equipment is the best our troops can hope for.

Beyond the budgetary difficulties, the military has suffered a series of morale-sapping slaps from the administration. Having the Justice Department investigate a bombing target incident in Afghanistan suggests that the administration mistrusts the Pentagon’s professional ethos and integrity.

What is the bottom line? At a time of growing threats, when the help available from others is shrinking, the American military is now less ready to defend our national interests than it has been for decades. What is happening is extremely dangerous. We must halt—and reverse—the deterioration of U.S. armed forces.

Wild Thing's comment..............

Part of Obama's plan to exterminate our military.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:25 AM

October 28, 2015

Secretary Of Defense: “U.S. To Begin Engaging In ‘Direct Action On The Ground’ In Iraq And Syria”

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday that the U.S. will begin “direct action on the ground” against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria, aiming to intensify pressure on the militants as progress against them remains elusive.

“We won’t hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against ISIL, or conducting such missions directly whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground,” Carter said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services committee, using an alternative name for the militant group.

White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz on Tuesday said the administration has "no intention of long term ground combat".

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said on Tuesday in the Senate Armed Services committee hearing that the U.S. effort in Syria is a "half-assed strategy at best," and said that the U.S. is not doing a "damn thing" to bring down Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

Carter on Tuesday pushed back against that notion.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that the "balance of forces" has tilted in Assad's favor.

Wild Thing's comment...............

So the Obama administration, via Defense Secretary Ash Carter, has announced that it is now going to use US troops directly in attacks against ISIS. However we all know that Obama has never been interested in going after ISIS, especially considering the support they get from Turkey. The real target has always been Assad and I suspect that goal hasn’t changed and our troops will be used to that end

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM

October 25, 2015

K9 ‘Major Mike’ Killed By Bicyclist To Receive War Hero Burial

BACKGROUND TO WHAT HAPPENED.

He often said they would die together. That if one went, the other would go soon after, that he would not make it without Mike.

They had been to war and back twice. They were a team in Iraq and a team in the long war at home, facing a daunting return to civilian life. Both the man and the dog came back damaged, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, and they were healing together.

But Sgt. Matthew Bessler’s worst nightmare came true when Mike, his wartime partner-turned service dog, was shot and killed Oct. 10 in Powell, Wyo., by a bicyclist who said the dog was attacking him.

“That dog was the other half of me,” Bessler, 43, said in a long, often tearful, telephone interview on Sunday.

The Army Ranger’s relationship with the dog was first chronicled in the Washington Post in July.

As word of the dog’s death spread in Powell, Bessler’s friends leaped into action, starting with a fundraising campaign to help him pay for a burial with military honors.

Jess Campbell, who owns The Gym in Powell, started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for all the costs associated with a war hero’s burial. Campbell, who met Bessler and Mike when Bessler started taking a 5 a.m. weight-training class, set what she thought was a lofty goal: $10,000, expecting a few thousand dollars to come in, she said. As of Tuesday, the campaign had raised over $14,000.

While the donations were pouring in, Campbell also heard from veteran and combat dog advocacy groups that have committed to covering all the costs associated with the burial and funeral and to providing Bessler with a new service dog. A private donor has even volunteered to pay to erect a memorial to “Major Mike” in a local park.

Matthew Bessler should have been hunting in Shell, Wyo., this week with a dog he loved enough to call a family member. But after a fatal encounter over the weekend, the combat-turned-service dog is dead, and in the absence of Mike, a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois, Bessler is left seeking answers.

On Saturday, a man on a bicycle stopped in the road adjacent to Bessler’s property and fatally shot Mike. Bessler was away, hunting in the Bighorn Mountains.

Mike and Bessler did two tours in Iraq that left both with post-traumatic stress disorder. Nobody witnessed the Saturday shooting. According to the Powell Tribune, the Park County Sheriff’s Office believes the man’s actions were justified because he felt threatened by Mike, despite the entry wounds being in the dog’s backside. Bessler disputes their findings and hopes, through “civil means,” to find out what exactly happened to Mike.

“I would like to take a civil avenue to go after him — the gentleman that shot him — because Mike was a retired military officer.” Bessler said. “I mean, it’s not just a wrongful use of force.”

Mike turned 9 in May and should have gone with Bessler on a Hunting with Heroes trip for veterans in Shell this week. Without Mike, Bessler may have a harder time dealing with his combat-related medical issues.

“I raised him and trained him as a puppy, and the ability he has to sense some of the issues that I have with seizures, with my PTSD, my TBI (traumatic brain injury) and severe anxiety disorders, how he can calm me down just by him being in my presence,” Bessler said. “He can help take the focus and help change the focus of what’s going on with me and help me calm down or relax me.”[…]

The Powell Tribune, citing the police report filed by the bicyclist who shot Mike, noted how the man described feeling threatened by a pack of dogs he encountered in the road. The report, according to the Tribune, says the man first used his bicycle as a defense and then resorted to a revolver mounted to his bicycle.

He shot Mike with what the man said was birdshot. The man had no injuries and shot Mike from 5 to 10 feet away in the dog’s backside, according to the Powell Tribune’s reporting on the police documents, which also noted the man “later admitted that while several dogs came near him, only Mike threatened him.”

Wild Thing's comment..............

This was so terrible what happened to this hero dog, I am so glad something will be done to honor him.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM

October 15, 2015

The Air Force Reloads The Largest Jet Gun In The World

The GAU-8 Avenger is the largest gun in a combat jet. The airplane itself is built around it. It can fire up to 3,900 rounds per minute. This is how the USAF loads it.

The gun itself is massive, dwarfing a VW Beetle.

Check out this footage of what goes into reloading this weapon:

Wild Thing's comment..........

Amazing !!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM

October 13, 2015

Little girl can't wait to welcome and hug her soldier dad

Daniel Oglesby had been deployed in Kuwait for eight months, and the family feared their two-year-old daughter wouldn’t quite remember her father upon his return home.

But Karis didn’t forget, and in the middle of the military homecoming ceremony she darted straight for her father for a quick hug.

“She was excited. She spotted me from a couple rows back and she couldn’t contain herself. I wasn’t gonna tell her no,” Oglesby told KKTV.

Wild Thing's comment.........

God bless this family and keep them all safe.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:48 AM

September 23, 2015

Army Rejects Appeal Of Green Beret Discharged For Confronting Because He Shoved Afghan Soldier Who Allegedly Raped Boy, Assaulted Mom

The U.S. Army has just rejected the appeal of Green Beret Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland, who received a discharge scheduled to take effect Nov. 1 for shoving an Afghan rapist to the ground.

“Consequently, your request for an appeal and continued service is disapproved,” U.S. Human Resources Command said in a Sept. 14 memo sent to Martland.

The reason for the denial? The office said that Martland’s appeal attempt “does not meet the criteria” because it brings no new information to the table. Later, the letter added that the decision is final, Fox News reports.

In 2011, Martland came up close and personal to a local Afghan police commander, who was accused of raping a boy and then assaulting his mother. The Afghan commander laughed when confronted by Martland, and so Martland shoved him to the ground.

Along with his team leader, Martland was removed from the base in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan. In a memo obtained by Fox News, it seems clear that Martland received severe criticism from the leadership for interfering.

Allegations have recently surfaced that a Department of Defense policy requested for troops to look the other way in the face of rampant sexual abuse of boys by Afghan men in power.

“At night we can hear them screaming, but we’re not allowed to do anything about it,” Gregory Buckley Sr., the father of a Marine, said that his son told him.

“My son said that his officers told him to look the other way because it’s their culture,” Buckley Sr. added.

According to Rep. Duncan Hunter’s spokesman, Joe Kasper, the denial “sends a loud and clear message to all soldiers and military personnel that if you do intervene … because it’s morally the right thing to do, it could be at the risk of your career.” Hunter wants GOP Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to delay any hearings for Obama’s nomination of a new Army secretary, until something is done about Martland’s situation.

Wild Thing's comment................

The worst this man should have gotten was "why didn't you rip his head off instead?"

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)

September 04, 2015

Why there’s Ground Zero steel in West Point class rings

When graduates of West Point’s Class of 2016 go into their years of service as officers of the Army, they will be wearing something no other cadets have worn before — class rings that include steel from the World Trade Center.

It hasn’t received mention in the press. But it was movingly noted Friday in the introduction of the commandant of cadets, Brig. Gen. John Thomson III, at the military academy’s annual ring memorial ceremony.

What a cure for the cynicism of a cynical age. It’s at the ring ceremony that seniors — known as “firsties” — get their rings, which become a physical link between future officers and the West Point graduates who went before.
The ceremony takes place at one of the most beautiful places in America — Trophy Point. The trophies, which are cannons captured in 1812 and other wars, look out over a slope giving north into the Hudson River.

Class of 2016 cadets were marched — to a cadence set by trumpets, pipes and drums — onto this slope. They passed Stanford White’s famous battle monument, topped with a statue of “Fame.”

The Army knows how to do ceremonies like few other American institutions. The cadets are dressed in a uniform called India Whites, worn only by West Point cadets.

There are about 1,000 cadets in the Class of 2016, and it takes a while for them to be marched in. It’s an important enough event that parents and relatives, girlfriends and boyfriends have come from across the country.

Each class designs its own rings. The ingots of the Class of 2016’s rings were poured earlier in the year at the Pease & Curren refinery in Rhode Island. That ceremony, known as the “ring melt,” is a tradition begun for the rings of West Point’s bicentennial class in 2002.

Since then, it’s not just any gold that goes into these rings. They’re made from gold from class rings that were worn by earlier graduates and that have been donated, melted and mixed with new gold to make rings for the following year’s first-class cadets.

A small amount of gold is preserved after each melt so that every graduating class will have traces of gold from all the rings that have been donated since the program began.

This has enabled every class since 2002 to “grip hands” with graduates from the past.

This year, 34 class rings were donated from classes between 1924 and 1985. Some families donating rings sent family members to the ring melt, where they placed the rings in a crucible. A film of the event shows a number of them, including Tom O’Neil, who donated the ring worn by his grandfather.

The grandfather, Col. Thomas O’Neil, had been in the Class of 1934. His grandson had carried his ring through two combat tours in Iraq and two years in Afghanistan. At the ring melt, he spoke of what the moment would have meant to his grandfather.

Five daughters of Col. Leo Hugh Lennon, who had been in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, placed his class ring in the crucible. Others did the same, some saluting.

This new tradition has brought to 356 the number of rings whose gold is in the latest ingot.

It was the Class of 2016 itself that decided to include in the alloy of the rings for this year steel from the World Trade Center, Cathy Kilner of the Association of Graduates tells me.

“They were raised seeing the footage of what happened and the consequences of that day,” she said. I like the way she put it — “the consequences of that day.”

It’s not that there is anything political about the ring ceremony (or anything else) at West Point. There’s not, so far as I can tell, having visited the place now and again since the 1950s. It really is about forging a sense of duty, honor, country — and the Corps.

Toward the end of the ring memorial ceremony, the cadets are ordered to “reeee-cover,” meaning put their hats back on, and are dismissed. They make their way up the slope and across the plain, past the statues of Sylvanus Thayer, George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower and George Washington.

When they get to their sally ports — as the dorm entryways are known — tradition requires they stride through a mob of plebes, pleading to touch their rings and testing their ability to keep walking with their heads — and, in this case, their memories of the World Trade Center — held high.

Wild Thing's comment............

What a special and wonderful thing they are doing.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

August 31, 2015

Green Berets have growing doubts of duties with skittish political leadership

Army Special Forces operating in Afghanistan have been disciplined, admonished and even fired for actions that the U.S. soldiers firmly believe are part of their duty to “free the oppressed,” as the Green Beret motto says.

hey were the first troops to hit the ground in Afghanistan while al Qaeda’s dirty work still smoldered back in the United States.

On foot, helicopter and horseback, ArmySpecial Forces showed that if the U.S. was to win a long counterinsurgency war against Islamic extremists, the special skills of Green Berets would be fundamental.

Nearly 14 years later, these soldiers, some of the military’s smartest and best trained, are still creating lots of headlines, but not necessarily for heroics.

In recent months, the Army has disciplined, admonished and ended the careers of a number of Green Berets for actions that the soldiers themselves believe were part of combating an evil enemy. Pristine standards for fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda are not achievable, some in the community say.

“There is certainly a belief that upper echelons of leadership have morphed into political positions, and leaders are a lot less willing to risk their own career to support their soldiers,” Danny Quinn, a former Green Beret team leader and West Point graduate, told The Washington Times.

Examples abound:

•Army Secretary John McHugh stripped a Green Beret of his Silver Star for summarily killing a Taliban bomb maker.

• A military investigation blamed two Green Berets for the worst U.S. friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan, when critical errors were made by the Air Force crew that dropped the bombs onto their soldiers.

• The Army fired a Green Beret from his hostage rescue post at the Pentagon and put him under criminal investigation for whistlingblowing to Congress.

• The Army is kicking out a Green Beret for pushing an Afghan police officer accused a raping a boy.

Maj. Matt Golsteyn, one of the Green Berets in the Army’s crosshairs, said the group’s motto, De Oppresso Liber (“To Free the Oppressed”), presents a “moral imperative for action against those who would use violence and injustice as means for repression.”

“It would seem the lives and careers of Green Berets who would dare to see the organization’s motto realized on foreign soil are sacrificed for politics and careerism,” the Afghanistan War veteran told The Times. “As we witness continual displays of failure after failure in military leadership, our collective failure to liberate the oppressed in Iraq and Afghanistan should confuse no longer.”

No one says the military is specifically targeting Green Berets, but there has been a rash of punishments for these soldiers for actions in warfare that they believed were justified.

Joe Kasper, chief of staff for Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, said the discipline is “causing a high sense of discomfort and concern with that small community.”

“What we hear consistently is what many of these soldiers can’t say publicly, and that is Army leadership has created an environment that has soldiers second-guessing themselves and hesitating constantly, and one misstep — whether intended or not — is a career killer,” Mr. Kasper said. “All of it has had an impact on morale and retention, and it should sound alarm bells for the Army.”

A snapshot of recent cases:

• Mr. McHugh, the Army secretary, stripped Maj. Golsteyn of his Silver Star, one of the military’s highest awards for combat valor, after he acknowledged in a CIA job interview that he killed a Taliban bomb maker suspected of killing U.S. troops. The Army never charged Maj. Golsteyn after a lengthy investigation. Mr. Hunter wants Congress to strip service secretaries of such powers.

• The Army opened a criminal investigation of Lt. Col. Jason Amerine, one of the first Green Berets to land in Afghanistan in 2001, after he complained to Mr. Hunter about what he considered a broken hostage rescue program. The FBI informed on Mr. Amerine to Army headquarters, suggesting that he might have relayed classified information. The Pentagon ruled that there were no secret data in his hotline complaint of whistleblower reprisal to the inspector general.

• The military blamed two Green Berets, an A-Team commander and its top enlisted man, for friendly-fire deaths in Afghanistan. The root cause, however, was that the B-1B crew that dropped the bombs lacked basic knowledge of the targeting pod and thought it would be able to see “friendly” troops’ strobe lights when it could not. Not seeing any strobes, the crew dropped the ordnance onto the soldiers.

• Earl Plumlee was on his way to being awarded the Medal of Honor for acts of extreme bravery in Afghanistan. He won endorsements up the chain of command. Then someone made the accusation that he tried to sell a rifle online. The Army conducted a criminal investigation but filed no charges. Still, the Medal of Honor never arrived. The Army awarded him the Silver Star, two notches below the nation’s highest honor.

You can CONTINUE READING ARTICLE... CLICK HERE.

Wild Thing's comment............

I feel so badly for our troops serving today. They have been treated horribly by Obama with his pink slips to them while deployed, his stating he does NOT want Victory and the vile R.O.E. he has given to them. More troops have been killed during Obama's reign of terror then all the years with the war when Bush was president.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

August 25, 2015

Hero Airman That Stopped Terror Attack On French Train Nominated For Air Force’s Highest Award For Bravery Outside Of Combat

The Air Force will nominate Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone for the Airman’s Medal, the highest award for bravery outside of combat, the service’s secretary said Monday.

Stone, together with Oregon Army National Guard Spc. Alek Skarlatos, a civilian friend and a British civilian, halted a gunman on a passenger train from Amsterdam to Paris last week, tackling him to the ground before anyone was injured in the attack.

“Had it not been for this heroic quartet, I’m quite sure that today we would be sitting here discussing a bloodbath,” Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon.

Wild Thing's comment............

I heard he also qualifies for the Purple Heart for being wounded in a terrorist attack.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

August 10, 2015

Navy to Arm Sailors at Reserve Centers After Chattanooga Shootings

Cmdr. William Marks said armed guards will be posted at the centers as “a matter of prudent and he Navy is preparing to arm sailors at its reserve centers across the country in the aftermath of the attack last month at a Navy Reserve Center in Chattanooga that resulted in the deaths of 4 Marines and 1 sailor, officials said late Friday.

The Navy has authorized arming personnel at reserve centers that are not on military installations, such as the Chattanooga center, a Navy spokesman told Fox News.

Cmdr. William Marks said armed guards will be posted at the centers as “a matter of prudent and necessary action toward protecting our personnel.”

“The threat posed to military forces in the United States by homegrown violent extremists has increased,” Marks said.

He said additional measures are being considered.

The spokesman said sailors will be trained to protect the reserve centers in accordance with Navy regulations.

The authorization is effective immediately but Marks could not say when the actual watches will begin.

The Navy began examining ways to enhance security at its facilities after a gunman opened fire on the Chattanooga facility in a July 16 attack, killing the five service members.

Police said Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, a 24-year-old college graduate, who was born in Kuwait, carried out the attack, as well as a second one at a military recruiting center 30 minutes earlier. Police shot and killed Abdulazeez.

The FBI said that it was treating the attacks as an act of domestic terrorism.

Wild Thing's comment........

"Homegrown" a way of not saying Islamic terrorist.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)

July 11, 2015

Man Drops 130-Pounds Just so He Could Join the Army ( video at link)

There’s nothing that brings a tear to my eye faster than a man who so loves his country, who has so strong a desire to serve her and protect his fellow citizens, that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to land his “dream job.”

Which is probably why I got a little misty-eyed about Steven Harper’s story, and what he was willing to do — and accomplish — in order to join the Army and protect our freedoms.

A lot of people told me, ‘You’re too big, Steven,’” he told KCPQ-TV.

But few people would go to the same lengths Harper did for their dream job. In the last year, Harper has shed 130 pounds from his originally 350-pound frame so he could serve his country by joining the U.S. Army.

“I’ve always seen the commercials on TV, and I got, I got excited,” Harper told the news station. “Ask anyone growing up, I came from a military family and seeing my family and loved ones in uniform has always excited me.”

Army Sgt. Jesse Santos described Harper as ”a pretty hefty guy” when he first came to the office at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. Despite over 20 percent of his body weight being fat, Santos had a message for him.

“Don’t give up,” he said.

After that initial day in the office, Harper said he immediately went home, put on his workout clothes and hit the pavement.

A year after he started, he’s lost over 130 pounds, and has officially enlisted in the U.S. Army.

This man is a true patriot, and I sincerely hope he continues to get healthy and in shape while serving his nation and fighting to preserve our freedom and safety.

Guys like this are heroes, because they’re willing to sacrifice and endure pain in order to stand up for what they believe in, setting an example the rest of us should follow.

Be sure to thank those you know who are serving in the military for all they do.

Wild Thing's comment..................

Great story, thank God for all those serving our country and those wanting to and for all our Veterans. .

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (1)

July 08, 2015

Army plans to cut 40,000 soldiers

The Army plans to cut 40,000 soldiers from its ranks over the next two years, a reduction that will affect virtually all of its domestic and foreign posts, the service asserts in a document obtained by USA TODAY.

The potential troop cut comes as the Obama administration is pondering its next moves against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria. President Obama said Monday he and military leaders had not discussed sending additional troops to Iraq to fight the Islamic State. There are about 3,500 troops in Iraq.

"This will not be quick — this is a long-term campaign," Obama said at the Pentagon after meeting top military brass in the wake of setbacks that have prompted critics to call for a more robust U.S. response against the Islamic State.

An additional 17,000 Army civilian employees would be laid off under the plan officials intend to announce this week. Under the plan, the Army would have 450,000 soldiers by Sept. 30, 2017, the end of the 2017 budget year. The reduction in troops and civilians is due to budget constraints, the document says.

The Pentagon's budget, released in February, envisioned the reduction to 450,000 would occur by Sept. 30, 2018.

The Army should bottom out at 450,000 soldiers, said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution.

Cutting "more would make me quite nervous," he said.

The Army declined to comment on the proposed reductions in its forces.

If the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, set to begin in October, take place the Army would have to slash another 30,000 soldiers, according to the document. At that level, the Army would not be able to meet its current deployments and respond to demands for troops in other regions.

Among the proposed changes, brigades at Fort Benning, Ga., and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska will be downsized from units of about 4,000 soldiers to battalion task forces of 1,050 soldiers.

Downsizing Army forces in Alaska "makes no strategic sense," said Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican member of the Armed Services committee from Alaska. The White House emphasis on shifting military assets to the Asia-Pacific region and concerns about Russian aggression in the Arctic require strong forces in Alaska.

"One person who's going to be very pleased with this is Vladimir Putin," Sullivan said.

Wild Thing's comment...............

I really hate this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (2)

July 07, 2015

A Hero Air Force pilot told to stop being an Air Force reservist or he’ll lose his job

Col. Jack O’Connell is now an Air Force reservist who has flown over 30 missions in Desert Storm and was even wounded in Baghdad. But his current employer is tired of him having to continue his training and told him to stop playing soldier or he’d end up losing his job.

Wild Thing's comment..............

This is absolutely outrageous!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

July 05, 2015

Pizza 4 Patriots! Troops Overseas Getting Pizza For The Fourth Of July

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Nearly 10,000 American troops overseas are getting a slice of American pie for Independence Day.

Chicago-based Pizza 4 Patriots is sending 5,500 pizzas to troops in Afghanistan and Kuwait to give them a taste of home on the 4th of July.

The pizzas were donated by Buffalo-based Rich Products and delivered by DHL Express.

Pizzas 4 Patriots was created in 2008 when retired Master Sergeant Mark Evans and his son Kent had the idea to deliver freshly frozen pizzas to U.S. troops serving abroad to show appreciation for their service.

Since then, the program has sent more than 155,000 pizzas to U.S. military personnel overseas.

Wild Thing's comment......

I am so glad they do this. Anytime our troops can be shown how the are appreciated it is always a good thing.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

June 24, 2015

F-16 surge

Airmen from the Air Force Reserve's 419th Fighter Wing and active duty 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, put their wartime skills to the test during a rigorous five-day combat readiness exercise June 9-13.

Wild Thing's comment............

I love our troops, their hearts and appreciate so much the sacrifices they make for us, for our country.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

June 23, 2015

Marines May Have To Deploy Off Foreign Ships Because U.S. Navy Doesn’t Have Enough

The Marine Corps is looking at putting Marines and helicopters on the ships of foreign allies because the U.S. Navy can’t provide enough amphibious support for the Corps’ missions, a Marine general tells USA Today.

The initiative is a stopgap way to deploy Marines aboard ships overseas until more American vessels are available, said Brig. Gen. Norman Cooling, deputy commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa.

The Marines will be able to respond quickly to evacuate embassies or protect U.S. property and citizens, a need highlighted by the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.

“There’s no substitute for U.S. amphibious” vessels, Cooling said. “We’re looking at other options” in the meantime, he added.

Wild Thing's comment.............

Boy, this nation is tanking fast.

Have you ever heard of such insanity from the U.S. military? Oh....obama.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

June 21, 2015

The USS Gerald Ford is the first in a line of nuclear-powered ships

$13 billion warship is first of its kind

The USS Gerald Ford is the first in a line of nuclear-powered ships being built at Newport News Virginia. It's set to join the Navy fleet in February 2016.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Wow! One thing for sure Obama as the CIC does not deserve this. I pray we get a good president for CIC like Rick Perry that would put our troops and Veterans in the forefront again and know we are at war with terrorists and could it be some country in the future. Iran, China, Russia who knows.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

Special Warfare Combat Craft - fast and firepower!

Providing critical mission support to Navy SEALs. Operating state-of-the-art, high-performance boats. Protecting global waters from enemy combatants. This elite team is among the most respected groups in America’s Navy, with capability far beyond that of standard forces.

Wild Thing's comment........

God bless every one of our troops!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (2)

June 18, 2015

Check out USO Kandahar volunteers dancing to Pharrell's Happy!

Wild Thing's comment............

God bless our troops and thank you USO for all you do.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

Crazy! Jeb Bush sees 'role' for transgender soldiers

Jeb Bush sees 'role' for transgender soldiers

The Hill

Jeb Bush did not rule out transgender troops serving in the military during comments on the campaign trail in Iowa.

“I’m sure there’s a role for everybody to play in the armed forces,” said Bush, a 2016 White House contender, according to BuzzFeed News.

“I think it would depend on the role, the specific role, whether it’s appropriate or not.”

He added morale should be the top priority of the military and that if “you can accommodate that in that kind of environment, I don’t think there’s a problem for it.”

The Navy is mulling whether to make that same change, but the Marine Corps is not, according to Stars and Stripes.

Wild Thing's comment...............

Too bad our actual troops serving could not have a vote on if they would want this or not.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (2)

June 15, 2015

Here are the 3 high-tech vehicles vying to replace the Humvee

Business Insider

The US Army is finally set to phase out one of the most consistent images of modern American military power: the Humvee.

Earlier this year, the US Army announced the three finalists for the massive contract to replace the iconic Humvee, which has been in service for almost three decades.

Oshkosh Corporation, defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and Humvee-maker AM General each delivered 22 prototypes of their Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLVT) to military evaluators, who are running elaborate tests on the vehicles to determine the best fit.

Since the 1990s, AM General's Humvee has been the US military's workhorse, first seeing action in the Gulf War.

Despite its ubiquity, the Humvee has caused some serious headaches for American forces. As Wired notes, the Humvee was designed in the 1980s as an off-road carrier to transport troops and equipment quickly across Eastern Europe in a theoretical ground war against the then Soviet Union.

But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Humvee's mission changed. It was deployed to the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, where US commanders quickly discovered that it was dangerously under equipped to protect troops against close-combat urban fire and improvised explosive devices.

With this problem in mind, the vehicles in this summer's competition are all far more resistant to explosive blasts. The new vehicles are smaller, so they can be more easily airlifted and transported. They're also light and better equipped to deal with the urban and off-road patrol duties that the Humvee took on in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The winning payout for the contract will be huge. As the Dallas Morning News reports, the US Army plans to spend billions on at least 20,000 vehicles, and the Marine Corps will likely buy around 5,000. If the vehicle is more successful, it could be an even greater windfall — since the '80s, the AM General has produced 250,000 Humvees for the US military.

Here are the three vehicles that could replace the Humvee:

Please CLICK ON THIS LINK to go to their page, it shows each of them and a small write up as well. ~Chrissie.

Wild Thing's comment.............

If they will in any way make it safer for our troops I am all for this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

April 17, 2015

Fort Hood Victims Will Finally Get Their Long Denied Benefits

US Army

WASHINGTON (April 16, 2015) — Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced today that he has directed the United States Army to provide all possible benefits to victims of a 2009 attack at Fort Hood who were recently awarded the Purple Heart medal.

Last week, 36 soldiers and surviving family members of the attack were awarded the Purple Heart medal during a ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas. The ceremony came after Congress expanded eligibility criteria for the Purple Heart, allowing the medal to be awarded to Soldiers wounded or killed in incidents that were previously ineligible.

“In addition to the Purple Heart medal, there are certain other benefits for which Soldiers receiving the Purple Heart are traditionally eligible,” McHugh wrote in an April 14 memorandum. “I intend to ensure that the Soldiers receiving the Purple Heart under the expanded criteria also receive all other related benefits for which they are eligible.”

Among the benefits ordered by McHugh is payment of hostile fire pay for those Purple Heart recipients "killed, injured, or wounded" in the attack, as well as combat-related special compensation for retired soldiers whose disability is attributable to an injury for which they were awarded the Purple Heart.

"After making the determination that the victims of the Fort Hood attack are now eligible for the Purple Heart, it seems only right and fair that these Soldiers also receive the benefits it traditionally entails," McHugh said. "That's why I directed an expedited process to make certain that happens."

McHugh explained that there may be additional benefits, and that he has directed a review to determine "whether these Soldiers may be entitled to any other benefits or compensation as a result of the award of the Purple Heart." A report is due back to the Secretary within 30 days.

In addition to the victims of the Fort Hood shooting, McHugh's actions would be applicable to a 2009 attack on a Little Rock, Arkansas, recruiting station where Private William Long was killed, and Private Quinton Ezeagwula wounded. Both will be awarded the Purple Heart following the expanded eligibility criteria mandated by Congress. The Army is continuing to look into whether there are other soldiers previously determined to be ineligible for the Purple Heart who may now qualify under the expanded criteria.

Wild Thing's comment..............

It's about time!!! It took SIX YEARS??? Six years??!! GOOD GAWD

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)

April 12, 2015

Legendary A 10 'Warthog' successful weapon against ISIS

The 2015 Defense Authorization Bill (NDAA) also appears to have ended debate over the future of the U.S. Air Force's fleet of 326 A-10 Thunderbolt "Warthog" close-air support fighters. The NDAA will forbid the Air Force from retiring its A-10s for at least one year.

A-10 Warthog Hits ISIS

Wild Thing's comment..............

Love this and I am so glad they are keeping the A 10 Warthog.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

Soldiers call in airstrike on Taliban Sniper

Wild Thing's comment............

Good! Keeping our troops in my prayers.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

April 10, 2015

US Aerospace Command Moving Comms Gear Back To Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

The Cold War-Era bunker in Colorado Springs that was designed to protect the U.S. military’s command in the event of a nuclear bomb is getting a new purpose.

The US military command that scans North America’s skies for enemy missiles and aircraft plans to move its communications gear to a Cold War-era mountain bunker, officers said.

The shift to the Cheyenne Mountain base in Colorado is designed to safeguard the command’s sensitive sensors and servers from a potential electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, military officers said.

The Pentagon last week announced a $700 million contract with Raytheon Corporation to oversee the work for North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) and US Northern Command.

Admiral William Gortney, head of NORAD and Northern Command, said that “because of the very nature of the way that Cheyenne Mountain’s built, it’s EMP-hardened.”

“And so, there’s a lot of movement to put capability into Cheyenne Mountain and to be able to communicate in there,” Gortney told reporters.

“My primary concern was… are we going to have the space inside the mountain for everybody who wants to move in there, and I’m not at liberty to discuss who’s moving in there,” he said.

The Cheyenne mountain bunker is a half-acre cavern carved into a mountain in the 1960s that was designed to withstand a Soviet nuclear attack. From inside the massive complex, airmen were poised to send warnings that could trigger the launch of nuclear missiles.[…]

Under the 10-year contract, Raytheon is supposed to deliver “sustainment” services to help the military perform “accurate, timely and unambiguous warning and attack assessment of air, missile and space threats” at the Cheyenne and Petersen bases.

Raytheon’s contract also involves unspecified work at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.

Wild Thing's comment.........

The military obviously knows more about the nuclear threat to this country than “Dear Leader” is telling us.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

April 05, 2015

Air Force Tests Remote Controlled F-16s

40,000 ft.

All remote controlled by a team on the ground at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida

USAF have recently turned to the use of F-16 Fighting Falcons. These warplanes are similarly modified and are unmanned, meaning that they are remotely controlled by someone on the ground.

US Air Force Will Now Train With Remote Controlled F-16s.

The first batch of planes manufactured by Boeing have already been delivered to the USAF and it is expected that over time, Boeing will deliver a grand total of 126 Q-F16s that will ultimately replace the F-4 Phantom IIs that are currently in rotation.

The Q-F16s will also be a stand-in for the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker which are a pair of fighter jets currently favored by Russia.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Welcome to 2015 things sure are changing.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)

April 02, 2015

The Superfortress.... the aircraft that ended World War II

The Plane that Ended World War II

Near the end of WWII, America was planning a full-scale invasion on mainland Japan. The Allies expected casualties on both sides to number in the millions as a result. In a last-ditch effort to hasten the end of the war, President Harry Truman authorized the use of a terrifying new weapon. The atom bomb has only ever been used twice in combat, and The Last Bomb was dropped by the infamous B-29 Superfortress “Bockscar.”

Wild Thing's comment..........

Excellent video about this plane.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (2)

March 27, 2015

Col. Hunt and Lt Col Ralph Peters discuss about Sgt Bowe Bergdahl Charged With Desertion

Sgt Bowe Bergdahl Charged With Desertion

Wild Thing's comment.........

That one guy on there at the beginning that said Bergdahl should only do time he already served got my blood boiling. That would let others know it is OK and that the punishment is not severe.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM

March 25, 2015

Afghan President Ghani at press conference thanked US troops and US tax payers

Afghan President Ghani spoke in Washignton DC today. It was his first trip to the US.

Ghani thanked not just the US military but the US taxpayer for sacrifices made in his country.

Afghan President Ghani held a joint press conference today with President Barack Obama in Washington DC. In his opening comments Ghani thanked the US military and recognized the 2,215 Americans who lost their lives in Afghanistan. He also recognized the American tax payer.

“I’d like to simultaneously pay tribute to the 2,215 service men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice. More than 22,000 American soldiers who have been wounded in action. Civilians, numerous contractors and others. You stood shoulder to shoulder with us. I’d also like to thank the American taxpayer for his and her hard-turned dollars that have enabled us.”

Wild Thing's comment..............

I appreciated his opening with a comment about visiting with the widow of our highest-ranking officer killed in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Ghani seems like he will be so much better then that horrible past president Karzai , Karzai was a dirty politician. His family had their hand in every pot that had any cash in it. This guy looks like he wants to build that nation back up. Sad as it is he has to kiss Obama's ring to get it. At least he thanked all who served. That is more than Karzai or Obama ever did.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

March 15, 2015

Obama’s budget offers Army ‘bare minimum’ while at ‘historically low levels’

Air Force Officials: Our Fleet Is Smaller And Weaker Than Ever Before

The Senate Appropriations Committee was told on Wednesday that the U.S. Army is facing “increased risks” while operating at “historically low levels” of readiness.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said that President Obama’s 2016 budget represents “the bare minimum” needed for the branch to fulfill its responsibilities, all while its active component was cut by 80,000 soldiers in the last three years. The Army has also inactivated 13 brigades.

The testimony before lawmakers comes just one month after Defense Manpower Data Center statistics showed that the U.S. Army has fewer than 500,000 active-duty soldiers for the first time in 10 years. As of Feb. 5, there were 498,642 soldiers on active duty.

Army Secretary John McHugh also testified before the committee, saying, “We need predictability, not politics,” Army Times reported.

Gen. Odierno told senators that the fiscal uncertainty is putting “a lot of pressure” on soldiers.

“We haven’t seen that breaking point yet, but I worry when that will occur in the future,” he said, the newspaper reported.

Wild Thing's comment...........

This is all so horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obama in all his deeds commits treason against our country, our troops and our safety.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)

March 12, 2015

BOOM: Watch Taliban Snipers Shoot at American Soldiers and Then Get Blown Up In Return!

These US soldiers drop a bomb on these Taliban members when they start shooting directly at them.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)

March 01, 2015

Air Force Officials: Enough with the cut backs..."'Our Fleet Is Smaller And Weaker Than Ever Before"

The U.S. Air Force has a quarter of the number of fighter squadrons it did 25 years ago and two-thirds of the active duty airmen, a drop that threatens U.S. air superiority, defense officials told lawmakers on Friday.

‘Enough is enough,’ Air Force Secretary Deborah James told lawmakers in the House of Representatives as she defended a Pentagon budget request that exceeds federal spending caps. ‘Given the state of the world … the number one thing we have to stop is this downsizing.’

But members of the defense appropriations subcommittee said President Barack Obama’s 2016 Pentagon base budget of $534 billion exceeded spending caps by nearly $35 billion and would have to be cut.

'When we deployed to Operation Desert Storm in 1990, our Air Force had 188 fighter squadrons in the inventory. This budget will take us to 49,' said General Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff. 'There were 511,000 active duty airmen during Desert Storm. We have 200,000 fewer today.'

James said Air Force planes had an average age of 27 years, and Welsh said updating the fleet was imperative.

'The option of not modernizing isn't really an option at all,' Welsh said. 'Air forces that fall behind the technology curve, and joint forces without the full breadth of air, space and cyber power ... will lose.'

James said if the Air Force had to cut another $10 billion, it would reduce purchases of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter by 14, cancel work on a fuel-efficient engine and reduce the number of reconnaissance aircraft in service.

Wild Thing's comment...........

And remember too how Obama has been handing our tons of pink slips to those that are deployed. That is so shocking to me.

Obama wants our country to be weak it is all part of his agenda.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

February 25, 2015

Retired Admiral James Lyons gives powerful summation of the threat

Retired Admiral James Lyons spoke at a Summit on identifying the threat of Islam. The entire segment is a MUST SEE

Retired Admiral James “Ace” Lyons gave a remarkably brief but powerful summation of the threat we face from radical Islam and how we’ve failed to face up to it since before Jimmy Carter.

Admiral Lyons explains how Carter failed to cut off Khomeini’s taking over of our embassy. Next he says that the Secretary of Defense “sabotaged” a strike against those who bombed our Marine barracks after Reagan approved it and the French offered to join our effort. In 1987, again Lyons says the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff “sabotaged” the choice to attack Khomeini.

Finally, he addresses whether “radical Islam” is different from “Islam,” saying
“until you recognize Islam is a political movement masquerading as a religion, you’re never gonna come to grips with it.”

He concludes with this startling statement, “the Obama administration has a strategy. It’s very simple… It’s anti-American, it’s anti-Western, it’s pro-Islamic, it’s pro-Iranian and pro-Muslim Brotherhood.”

Wild Thing's comment...............

The Admiral is 110% correct. God keep him safe from this evil Administration we have.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (2)

February 22, 2015

A-10 Warthogs return to Germany as situation in Ukraine deteriorates

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany — As fighting continues in Ukraine despite new attempts at a cease-fire, U.S. Air Force leaders in Europe on Wednesday welcomed back a Cold War relic.

Close-air support A-10 “Warthogs” — designed in the 1970s to knock out Soviet tanks — are back in Germany.

Over the last week, about 300 personnel and 12 A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft arrived from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., for a six-month deployment intended to bolster security in a region shaken by the political crisis in eastern Europe.

“Get ready for some travel,” Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson, 3rd Air Force commander, told airmen from the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, who gathered in a hangar along with local civic leaders for a brief ceremony to showcase the first so-called theater security package to deploy to Europe.

“This theater security package is a long-range strategic capability to allow the Air Force greater flexibility against evolving threats,” Roberson said.

Temporarily bringing the A-10 squadron to Spangdahlem “will allow us to focus on the challenges throughout Europe and potentially in Africa,” he said.

The jets will deploy from Spangdahlem and work with NATO partners, “especially along the border of Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria,” Roberson said. “They will train together and learn how to interoperate together, so that if something happens, we’re ready to fight together.”

The A-10s will participate in routine exercises already scheduled as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, the military’s response to the Ukraine crisis.

The training will focus on the close-air support specialty, Roberson said. Originally designed to fly low and slow to provide protection for ground troops in Europe if the Russians ever invaded Germany, A-10s were once a fixture on the Continent.

At one time, there were six squadrons of A-10s in Europe with more than 140 aircraft.

Since communism’s collapse, the jets have stayed busy, providing close-air support for ground troops during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More recently, the Warthogs have been used to strike Islamic State targets in the Middle East.

The last A-10s to be assigned to Europe left Spangdahlem just less than two years ago.

Despite the recent flare-up of tensions between Ukraine and Russia, in hindsight it would not have made sense for the Air Force to keep the planes here, Roberson told reporters.

“Actually, the way we’re doing it now is a much more agile and responsive and cheaper way to present forces as required,” he said.

Getting the call to deploy to Germany wasn’t expected, but it’s not really a surprise, either, said Lt. Col. Steve Behmer, the commander of the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.

“In the Air Force, we expect to be anywhere, any time,” he said.

“I think as long as we have armies in the world, there will be a need for close-air support; the mission will exist,” Behmer said.

Ten of the 12 A-10s from Davis-Monthan were previously assigned to Spangdahlem, U.S. Air Forces in Europe officials said.

Behmer said a few of his personnel, including some pilots, were stationed at Spangdahlem.

“We tried to bring expertise that was here before, so that we could have those guys that have flown here and were familiar with the area, particularly for flying operations,” he said.

Roberson said the A-10 was chosen for the first theater security package to deploy to Europe because it was available at the time for the mission.

The next package will consist of F-15C fighter jets and will “be here in April,” Roberson said. Details about where they’ll be based and from which location they’ll deploy haven’t been determined, USAFE officials said.

“This operation will remain a construct here in Europe as long as it is needed,” Roberson said of rotational forces.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Always praying for our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

February 13, 2015

ISIS Moving On Air Base Where 320 US Marines Are Training Iraqi Troops

Islamic State fighters reportedly seized most of a western Iraqi town on Thursday, in fighting taking place mere miles from an air base where hundreds of U.S. Marines are training Iraqis.[…]

The Al Asad air base is where 320 U.S. Marines are stationed training Iraqi forces. It is a mere 13-minute drive from al-Baghdadi to the base.

“It bears watching,” retired Col. Thomas Lynch, a National Defense University fellow, told Fox News, regarding the reports out of Iraq.

But he stressed that for the fighters to pose a threat to the base, they’d have to get through the perimeter. While “it’s not impossible,” Lynch said, to do it they would have to amass a large number of fighters – which would make them “vulnerable” to airstrikes.

The area in Anbar Province has long been a hot zone of fighting as ISIS looks to hold and expand its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria. In January, the Pentagon first confirmed that U.S. troops at the Al Asad base had been coming under regular mortar fire.

To date, those attacks have been described as ineffective. A senior U.S. official told Fox News the base receives “low-scale” indirect fire from time to time.

“We continue to support efforts by Iraqi Security Forces, working in conjunction with tribal fighters, directed against ISIL in the province,” the DOD spokeswoman said Thursday.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Extra prayers for our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

February 08, 2015

Long Overdue Ft Hood Victims To ReceivePurple Heart

Long Overdue Ft Hood Victims To Receive Purple Heart

Wild Thing's comment......

And shame on Obama and his calling it a work place accident and not a terrorist attack.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM

February 02, 2015

Ohio Army National Guard unit deploying to Kuwait

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – About 150 soldiers from an Army National Guard unit in Ohio are deploying to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

A release from the Ohio Adjutant General’s Department says the unit will be tasked with providing aviation support and conducting operations in partnership with countries in the region.

The soldiers deploying are from the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 137th Aviation Regiment based in Columbus.

The public was invited to attend a call-to-duty-ceremony Saturday in Columbus prior to the unit’s deployment.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Prayers they will all be safe. I wish so much they had a different CIC.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

January 31, 2015

Yesterday's Air Force: 1909 Wright Military Flyer

An Air Force history and heritage video about the Air Force's very first plane, the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Interview with museum historian Dr. Jeff Underwood.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Excellent , very interesting.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

January 26, 2015

1,000 Paratroopers From The 82nd Airborne Panther Brigade Headed To Iraq This Week

The 82nd Airborne, and more specifically its 3rd Brigade Combat Team, are no strangers to Iraq.

Since 2003, parts of the brigade have deployed in support of U.S. efforts there on at least three occasions.

Now, more than three years after the U.S. military presence in Iraq was thought over, about a quarter of the Panther Brigade will return with a new mission to help train Iraqi forces to fight IS.

About 1,000 paratroopers from the brigade will deploy this week as part of the Operation Inherent Resolve mission.

The deployment was officially announced in December and is expected to last nine months.

As his paratroopers prepared for the mission, the brigade commander, Col. Curtis A. Buzzard, has watched tensions boil in the Middle East – and Iraq in particular – as forces have fought against the Islamic State group, also known by the acronym DAESH based on the group’s Arabic name, ad-Dawlah al-Islamiyah fi al-Iraq wash-Sham.

“We’ve seen the impact of DAESH over the last year and a half, not just on Iraq, but on the region,” Buzzard said. “It’s clearly an existential threat.

“It’s an absolutely brutal element that has impacts all across the region and instability in the region and you can see that clearly in Syria, Iraq, potentially Libya and Yemen,” he said. “The world can’t stand by and watch.”

Starting this week, Buzzard’s troops are done watching.

They’ll join about 250 paratroopers from the brigade already deployed to provide security to U.S. personnel.

But these latest troops will instead advise and assist Iraqi forces with the planning and execution of the counter offensive against ISIS.

Pivotal for Iraq

Buzzard said his troops are ready.

They share the 82nd Airborne's mindset that its soldiers could be sent anywhere at anytime and the deployment comes just a few months after the brigade finished its rotation on the nation's Global Response Force, a quick-reaction force of sorts that stands ready to deploy at any time for humanitarian or combat operations.

"As the situation in Iraq has evolved, I think we all recognized at some point we might be in a position to help advise them," he said. "As part of the GRF, we're prepared to go anywhere globally. Iraq has been out there as a potential."

The 1,000 paratroopers would be working at a site near Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, Buzzard said.

According to the Department of Defense, there are four training sites for Iraqi forces, all at familiar sites for soldiers who deployed in years past to support Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation New Dawn.

The sites include Al Asad, Bismaya, Camp Taji and Irbil, according to the Pentagon. The last, Irbil, opened Friday, and eventually the sites will be able to train 12 brigades at one time.

The Iraqi forces have been receptive to the training, Buzzard said.

He said American forces already in the country have told him the Iraqis want to be successful on their own.

They want to re-establish their credibility, he said.

"They absolutely recognize this is important to their country's future and they're dedicated to the mission," Buzzard said. "There's a level of energy that's there, too, among senior Iraqi leadership."

Buzzard said his troops won't reinvent the wheel in Iraq. They won't dictate how the Iraqis will operate, but will instead try to work within systems and practices already in place.

"We'll have to figure out how to adapt to their history of an army and apply our best practices to that in a way that's not, you know, we're not going in and trying to mirror image the American Army," he said.

Now, as the Panther Brigade again heads for Iraq, other U.S. forces have been busily working to affect IS's ability to operate in other ways.

The U.S. has been involved in numerous air strikes aimed at destroying Islamic State targets, according to military officials.

Last week, U.S. and coalition forces conducted dozens of strikes in Syria and Iraq, destroying buildings, a weapons manufacturing facility, vehicles and bunkers in Iraq and multiple tactical units, a trailer and an oil drilling rig in Syria.

But officials have said airstrikes alone won't be enough to turn back IS.

"It's a sophisticated enemy," Buzzard said. "There's limits to what air power can do.

"I think it's been very effective so far targeting leadership and headquarters, but it will require a ground force to control the terrain," he said. "The Iraqis have that ground force."

In preparing for the deployment, the paratroopers took part in a five-day training exercise last week that included Iraqi-Americans - including some former Iraqi soldiers - who now work for the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

The training, which occurred on Fort Bragg, served as a refresher for soldiers who will soon be asked with teaching their Iraqi counterparts about command systems and basic soldier skills.

It also added a level of authenticity that is hard to recreate, Buzzard said.

"They do a great job modeling the scenarios to replicate what we'll see overseas," he said. "It adds to the realism, particularly having to use a linguist. That's a challenging thing in and of itself in terms of how long you speak before they translate, their ability to communicate your intent."

Taking back territory

For many of the paratroopers who will deploy, it will not only be a familiar mission, it will be a personal one.

Soldiers said they remember seeing progress in Iraq on previous deployments.

Their latest mission will be, in part, to help the Iraqi forces retake the gains that have been stunted or reversed by IS.

Staff Sgt. Patrick Neal served in Iraq for 15 months as part of the surge of U.S. forces in 2006.

At that time, Neal was part of the surge. His unit was supporting Marines in Karmah, just outside of Baghdad, which was considered one of the most violent cities in the country, even for Iraqi citizens.

Snipers and IEDs were constant threats, Neal said.

But he also began to see markets open and people wander the streets.

"It took awhile, it was hard fought, but we were able to start to secure that town," he said. "It became a much safer town to be in. More people were able to get out and do stuff and not worry about being killed just going to get food for their family to eat."

Now Neal said he is looking forward to training the Iraqi army and helping degrade IS and again improve the quality of life for the people of Iraq.

"I want to enable the Iraqis to take care of their nation," he said. "That's what I believe that we should focus our energies on; helping them to help themselves. If we go over there and do it for them, we'll end up staying there much longer than we hope for."

Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Severino has similar memories from his 12 months in Iraq in 2008.

"The area that we were responsible for, yes, I saw progress," he said. "Iraq seemed like a more competent force."

When Severino first deployed, he said their were walls protecting markets. As American troops secured the cities, those walls came down.

"It was huge to me when they said, 'We don't need it,'" Severino said. "To me, it was a positive sign."

Neal and Severino are both experienced soldiers.

Neal has four deployments under his belt, including two in Afghanistan and one in Kuwait.

Severino is one of the few soldiers to have undertaken a combat jump in Afghanistan. He was part of a group of about 70 82nd Airborne paratroopers to jump into Afghanistan in 2003, the division's first combat jump since Panama in 1989.

Now, the pair are ready to get back into the action.

"Everybody's motivated to go," Neal said. "3rd Brigade has been itching for a deployment for awhile now. We finally get the chance. Of all the chances we get, we get the deployment the entire country's looking at right now."

Wild Thing's comment.......

I would not send anyone anywhere unless they get rid of Obama's asinine rules of engagement!!!!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

January 25, 2015

Tara Kyle, Widow Of Chris Kyle, Surprised With Special Gift From Sniper Group

She said....“It’s a blessing and sometimes it’s awkward, because I don’t want to take, I want to give,”

Tara Kyle, Widow Of Chris Kyle, Surprised With Special Gift From Sniper Group

Taya Kyle, the widow of legendary Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, made an appearance at the 2015 SHOT Show in Las Vegas on Friday to support AmericanSnipers.org. But she was unaware that the group had planned a surprise that would leave her at a loss for words.

AmericanSnipers.org, a non-profit that provides gear to military snipers, raffled off several firearms used by the men and women in uniform, including a replica of the McMillan .338 Lapua Chris Kyle used in combat.

The gun raffle — including the rifle signed by Taya Kyle — raised over $62,000.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This country must survive...as a testament to what humans can do despite the odds

We should never squander the memory of our country's heroes such as Chris Kyle for political expediency or political correctness. We will...we can...we must remain the United States of America, as our founders intended.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM

January 06, 2015

U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says

Too many missions and too few pilots are threatening the ‘readiness and combat capability’ of America’s unmanned Air Force, according to an internal memo. The U.S. Air Force’s fleet of drones is being strained to the “breaking point,” according to senior military officials and an internal service memo acquired by The Daily Beast. And it’s happening right when the unmanned aircraft are most needed to fight ISIS.

The Air Force has enough MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones. It just doesn’t have the manpower to operate those machines. The Air Force’s situation is so dire that Air Combat Command (ACC), which trains and equips the service’s combat forces, is balking at filling the Pentagon’s ever increasing demands for more drone flights.

“ACC believes we are about to see a perfect storm of increased COCOM [Combatant Commander] demand, accession reductions, and outflow increases that will damage the readiness and combat capability of the MQ-1/9 enterprise for years to come,” reads an internal Air Force memo from ACC commander Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, addressed to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. “I am extremely concerned.”

“ACC will continue to non-concur to increased tasking beyond our FY15 [fiscal year 2015] force offering and respectfully requests your support in ensuring the combat viability of the MQ-1/9 platform,” Carlisle added.

In other words, the Air Force is saying that its drone force has been stretched to its limits. “It’s at the breaking point, and has been for a long time,” a senior service official told The Daily Beast. “What’s different now is that the band-aid fixes are no longer working.”

In the internal memo, Carlisle noted that the Air Force’s current manning problem is so acute that the service will have to beg the Pentagon to reconsider its demand for 65 drone combat air patrols, or CAPs, as early as April 2015. (Each CAP, also known as an “orbit,” consists on four aircraft.)

But senior military leaders in the Pentagon have been pushing back hard against any reduction in the number of drone orbits, particularly as demand has surged in recent months over Iraq and Syria because of the war against ISIS. In fact, the Pentagon is so fervent in its demand for more Predator and Reaper patrols that the top military brass made an end run to bypass regular channels to increase the number of drone orbits, the ACC alleges.

“The reduced offering of 62 CAPs (plus a 60-day Global Response Force) has been submitted to the Joint Staff; however, the Joint Staff has indicated their desire to circumvent normal processes while proposing their own offering of 65 MQ-1/9 CAPs,” Carlisle wrote. “This simply is not an option for ACC to source indeterminately.”

Carlisle writes that the Air Force would want a crew ratio of 10 to one for each drone orbit during normal everyday operations. During an emergency that ratio could be allowed to drop to 8.5 people per orbit. However, the Air Force is so strapped for people that the ratio has dropped below even that reduced level.

“ACC squadrons are currently executing steady-state, day-to-day operations (65 CAPs) at less than an 8:1 crew-to-CAP ratio. This directly violates our red line for RPA [remotely pilot aircraft] manning and combat operations,” Carlisle wrote. “The ever-present demand has resulted in increased launch and recovery taskings and increased overhead for LNO [liaison officer] support.”

The Air Force has been forced to raid its schools for drone operators to man the operational squadrons that are flying combat missions over places like Iraq and Syria. As a result, training squadrons—called Formal Training Units (FTU)—are being staffed with less than half the people they need. Even the Air Force’s elite Weapons School—the service’s much more extensive and in-depth version of the Navy’s famous Top Gun school—course for drone pilots was suspended in an effort to train new rookie operators.

Overworked drone crews have had their leaves canceled and suffered damage to their careers because they could not attend required professional military education courses.

The result is that drone operators are leaving the Air Force in droves. “Pilot production has been decimated to match the steady demand placed upon the RPA community by keeping ‘all hands’ in the fight,” Carlisle wrote. “Long-term effects of this continued OPSTEMPO are manifested in declining retention among MQ-1/9 pilots, FTU manning at less than 50%, and enterprise-wide pilot manning hovering at about 84%.”

The Air Force has about seven pilots for every eight drone pilot slots, in other words.

But it takes more than just pilots to operate the drone fleet. In addition to the pilots who “fly” the MQ-1s and MQ-9s, there are sensor operators who work the cameras and other intelligence-gathering hardware onboard the unmanned aircraft. Further, there are maintenance crews who have to fix those drones. Perhaps most crucially, drones require hundreds of intelligence analysts who have to comb through thousands of hours of video surveillance footage to understand what the flight crews are watching.

“Some have looked at this as a problem with just RPA pilots and the number of them required for these CAPs, but that ignores the tail required for supporting RPA operations,” a senior Air Force official said. “This tail requires hundreds of man-hours to support every hour of flight in forward operations, maintenance, and most starkly in the processing, exploitation, and dissemination of the intelligence that RPAs create.”

The problem for Carlisle and the Air Force is that even as the demand increases on the drone fleet, fewer new troops enter the ranks while more and more veteran operators vote with their feet.

Wild Thing's comment........

Obama has never run so much as a hot dog cart is somehow put in charge of the largest and most complex government on Earth. This is what happens.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

January 03, 2015

U.S. Army All-American Bowl Game Preview LIVE with Jenny Dell and Army Leaders

Jenny Dell, NFL reporter for CBS, sits down with Army leadership and Soldiers to talk about the elite teamwork operation underway here at the 2015 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Army Bowl Week brings together the nation's top high school football players, musicians and Soldiers to build the ultimate team. These players and musicians were granted the opportunity to wear the Army colors by demonstrating their dedication

Wild Thing's comment.........

I think this is excellent.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM

January 01, 2015

Story of the A 10 Warthog

Wild Thing's comment........

I thought this was interesting.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)

December 22, 2014

Six Year Old Pulls Santa’s Beard To Find Air Force Dad Underneath

Six-year-old Aaron Williams got the surprise of his life when he pulled on Santa’s beard this year–and found his Air Force dad hiding underneath.

Little Aaron had no idea his father was able to get time off from his deployment in South Korea, WSMV reports.

Aaron Williams, 6, had no idea he was about to be one of the main characters in his own Christmas story.

Nicholas Williams was in the back putting on a Santa suit.

“I’m here to surprise my son, who doesn’t know I’m coming home for Christmas,” Nicholas Williams said.

Nicholas had been overseas for eight months, and Aaron had been told he would not be able to make it home for the holidays.

“I told him that wasn’t going to be possible, that he couldn’t leave,” Whitney Williams said. “So he started actually crying when I told him that. He was really upset. I felt like a horrible mother for lying to him like that.”

Aaron’s Lakeview Elementary School kindergarten class thought it was story time. That was when Santa Claus showed up.

Out of all the gifts Aaron could have asked for, he just asked for one: “Daddy.” He got his Christmas wish.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This is so adorable and wonderful.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (3)

December 20, 2014

1,000 Soldiers From The 82nd Airborne Headed To Iraq

Approximately 1,000 paratroopers from the Army’s famed 82nd Airborne Division will deploy to Iraq early next year to help the Iraqi security forces take on the Islamic State, the Pentagon announced Friday.

The soldiers from the 82nd’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Bragg, N.C., will begin to deploy in late January to train, advise and assist the ISF, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters.

Their mission is part of the coalition effort to build up the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga so that they can recapture territory from Islamic State militants.

The paratroopers are preparing for a nine-month deployment, according to a spokeswoman for the 82nd Airborne.

Approximately 300 troops from other Army, Air Force and Marine Corps units will also deploy to provide “enabler” support in areas such as counterintelligence, logistics, and signals, Kirby said.

Last month, President Barack Obama authorized an additional 1,500 troops to deploy to Iraq to participate in the train, advise and assist mission. The deployment of elements of the 82nd Airborne is part of that initiative.

On Thursday, Lt. Gen. James Terry, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters that other countries in the coalition are expected to contribute to another 1,500-strong force for the capacity-building effort.

“The key to success out there will be increasing the capabilities of Iraqi security forces,” Terry said.

Iraqi officials are reportedly eager to go on the offensive and retake places like Mosul, but the U.S. military believes the ISF aren’t ready.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Prayers for our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

December 14, 2014

Visiting Soldier Can’t Stay With His Wife Or Landlord Will Double Rent

http://pushupsforcharity.com

CENTRAL, SC (FOX Carolina)

A soldier returning home for the holidays to see his wife and newborn baby in Central is being kicked out of his wife’s apartment after the landlord said he is overstaying the time allowed for visitors.

Sergeant William Bullock is stationed in Missouri, but his wife has been in Central. She gave birth to their daughter two weeks ago.

Bullock said the landlord at The Groves apartment complex in Central told him he had overstayed, saying visitors are not allowed to stay in the apartments past seven days, per the agreement signed by Bullock’s wife, Lily.

“I’m stationed in Missouri and we haven’t seen each other in six months. What’s the problem with me staying and visiting with my wife?” Bullock said.

The landlord, whose name is Chuck, told FOX Carolina he enforces that rule for all his tenants.

Since Bullock's name is not on the lease, even though he is a spouse visiting, the landlord said he is not allowed to stay. Bullock said the landlord threatened to press charges and double his wife's rent if he stayed.

"He stated to me that he didn't care about our situation, he didn't care about me being in the military," Bullock said.
Bullock said his wife is a Clemson University student and new mom. He fears she could be evicted.

FOX Carolina showed the agreement to an attorney, who said that provision is vaguely written, and said the landlord would have a hard time pressing charges, since the person visiting is the tenant's husband.

On Saturday, Bullock said his wife finished final exams at Clemson and they would be going to visit family.

They are planning to arrange to sit down with the landlord and a mediator to discuss how to change the lease to suit both parties. Bullock said they are hoping to find legal representation or someone from the university who will act as a mediator.

Bullock said his concern is the well-being of his wife when his leave ends. He is concerned about the possibility Chuck will want to raise their rent substantially.

Wild Thing's comment........

My God, this man is a husband - Not A Visitor!!

The wife is a new mom, a college student and he husband is in the military..... I t so hard to believe a landlord could be without any compassion. Hell has a special place for people like this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

December 08, 2014

Awesome America's Marines Singing "Days of Elijah"

America's Marines Singing "Days of Elijah"

Wild Thing's comment.......

I love this, God bless our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

November 28, 2014

US Troops Celebrate Thanksgiving in Afghanistan

Wild Thing's comment.......

May God Protect and keep every single one of you safe

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM

October 12, 2014

Judge Jeanine Pirro Opening Statement - Have We Lost Our Minds & Sense Of Respect For Our Military?

Wild Thing's comment....................

The biggest disrespect for our military comes from those on the left.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

September 23, 2014

Looks as If Syria Strategy 'Is Just to Degrade' Rather than Also Destroy

Wild Thing's comment......

Everything with Obama is about politics.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:25 PM | Comments (1)

Krauthammer Speaks about Syria vs, Iraq to fight ISIS

In Iraq we have Iraqi troops, the Kurds on the ground and Sunni tribes.
In Syria, "there's nobody on the ground"

Degrade and defeat ISIS? "That I don't see" Charles said on FNF this morning

Wild Thing's comment..........

I think Charles makes a good point.

This entire thing started with Obama, he is the one that let the leader of ISIS go free from GITMO and Obama is the one that lead his presidential campaign about getting 9ur troops out of Iraq. Of course Obama blames everyone and everything but himself.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:31 PM | Comments (1)

August 08, 2014

Oliver North Weighs In On Iraq

Wild Thing's comment.........

I am glad to know what Oliver North has to say about all of this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (2)

June 25, 2014

Pushups For Charity with Boot Campaign supporting our Troops and Veterans Visits Tyler, Texas

Boot Campaign headed to Tyler to help out at Premier CrossFit. With more than 144 participants, it’s not hard to see why this event logged 10,764 pushups! Members, kids and even Boot Campaign volunteers joined in to blow the original goal of 7,500 pushups right out of the water. Early fundraising totals exceed $26,000 for this event – woohoo! Special guests Morgan and Leslie Luttrell and Boot Campaign’s SSgt Joey Jones (USMC Ret) made the event even more special. We love it when a plan comes together!

In 90 seconds you can change the life of a Veteran. Pushups For Charity® is an annual fundraiser that raises awareness and support for our military heroes through the national nonprofit, Boot Campaign®. 1.4 Million Pushups to Raise $1 MILLION

Americans throughout the U.S. will show their support of the 1.4 million men and women who are currently serving by completing as many Pushups as they can in 90 seconds.

Each Pushup completed raises much needed funds for Boot Campaign®, a national nonprofit that promotes patriotism, raises awareness and provides vital assistance for our nation's heroes.

The Boot Campaign® provides assistance to our military and their family members through six key initiatives: Jobs, Housing, Wellness, Education, Urgent Assistance and Family Support.

It doesn't matter how many Pushups you can do or how well you can do them... Every PUSHUP makes a difference!

For more information visit the following places:

Pushups for Charity:

https://www.facebook.com/PushupsForCh...

Boot Campaign:
http://bootcampaign.com
http://facebook.com/bootcampaign

Wild Thing's comment............

Great cause and wonderful people that head this up. I love seeing how they have such an awesome reaction across the USA.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

May 24, 2014

Obama State Department Promotes Muslim Cleric Who Backed Fatwa On Killing of U.S. Soldiers

The State Department’s Counter Terrorism (CT) Bureau promoted on Friday a controversial Muslim scholar whose organization has reportedly backed Hamas and endorsed a fatwa authorizing the murder of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

The CT bureau on Friday tweeted out a link to the official website of Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, the vice president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), a controversial organization founded by a Muslim Brotherhood leader “who has called for the death of Jews and Americans and himself is banned from visiting the U.S.,” according to Fox News.

Bin Bayyah is reported to have been one of several clerics who endorsed a 2004 fatwa that endorsed resistance against Americans fighting in Iraq, PJ Media reported in 2013, when Bin Bayyah met with Obama’s National Security Council staff at the White House.

Wild Thing's comment..........

God be with our troops. The enemy they have against them is our own government. We have known of Obama's horrible troops killing R.O.E. and add this to it as well.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:49 AM | Comments (3)

January 27, 2014

Here's to the Heroes: A Military Tribute

Wild Thing's comment............

Thank you with all my heart to all our Veterans and our troops serving now.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

January 24, 2014

‘Saddles For Soldiers’ Program Finds Success Treating PTSD In Veterans Through Horse Bonding

It is estimated that at least 22 war veterans, returned from duty, are killing themselves each day in the U.S. according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

As more veterans begin returning home from combat zones overseas, the crucial necessity for rehabilitation programs, both psychological and spiritual in nature, becomes ever more pressing. In large numbers, troops coming home face the daunting, and often painful, task of re-acclimating themselves into every-day life. Often times, this is an insurmountable challenge.

Those men and women who find themselves emotionally or psychologically scarred from the trials of war widely find difficulty in locating the proper services owed them by society. In some cases, talking with a professional is not enough to teach these veterans how to cope with their experiences.

Peace, therefore, can sometimes only be found where it is least expected.

Tucked away in the foothills of the Shadow Hills community in Sunland is an equestrian center that offers veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder a path to emotional stability through working with horses.

The 12-step “Saddles for Soldiers” program is designed specifically for veterans who have experienced problems in their attempts to reintegrate back into society. According to the program’s website, “Saddles for Soldiers” is committed to assisting combat veterans deal with their traumas and helping them reestablish life skills by work with horses.

Iraq War veteran and Lancaster native Blade Anthony, who suffers from PTSD after serving as a combat medic with the United States Marine Corps for six years, recalls first joining the program.

“The first time I came, my first session, I was actually over there, in an arena, and you do these things [to get] the horse to bond, and I started thinking of things. I couldn’t handle it,” Anthony said. “So I threw down the rope and I said ‘I don’t want to do this, this is BS’. So I walked over to the fence, and the horse came up behind me, followed me, and put his big, giant muzzle, his head, on my shoulder. And I instantly said ‘Get away from me’, and smacked the horse. And, after I stopped crying, the horse just stood by me, the whole time, and took his head off [my shoulder]. So that was just one of so many experiences that are very positive — that have helped me.”

According to Mental Health and Operations Manager Susan Kelejian, it was estimated between 2007 and 2009 that 25-40 percent of the 1.64 million service men and women deployed for Operation: Enduring Freedom and Operation: Iraqi Freedom suffered from PTSD or major depression.

The theory behind the program is that equine therapy creates a human/animal bond, which, according to Kelejian, is a common first step in reintegration to social norms.

Anthony says that, once he started regularly attending the program, he began to feel better. The nightmares that he had previously experienced on a nightly basis reportedly decreased by 75%.

“They have this spiritual, psychic ability,” Anthony said of the horses. “And I don’t normally talk like that, but I strongly feel that it pretty much saved my life.”

Every Wednesday morning, veterans undergoing recovery are invited to begin their day with an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting along with the horse therapy program.

Owner and Equine specialist Johnny Higginson has run the “Saddles for Soldiers” program for five years with his own money. Higginson describes the changes he’s seen in Anthony through the progress he’s made with the program.

“.. he has changed so much,” Higginson said. “He is just so much more grounded than he used to be.”

While the program, which is said to have as many as 20 veterans attend at times, has reportedly reached dozens of veterans over those five years, Susan Kelejian says that, too many times, no veterans show up.

“A good day is when veterans show up and accept the service that we provide for them, and really that’s it. That’s the good day,” Kelejian said. “The non-good day is, providing the service and having the population not show up. I have to address that. This is an epidemic, and it doesn’t start with the service providers. It starts with the stigma and the trauma that this population has gone through to even be able to get out of the house to return phone calls to go through the multitude of spider-webbed bureaucracy that’s in the government to get them to fill out paperwork to come here. So with all that weighing on their head, on top of what they are diagnosed with and what they are living with, is really sporadic at best. So honestly, a good day is having veterans show up, because we know what we are doing, and we know that this treatment helps.”

The lack of attendance in this and in similar programs may be explained in part by the fact that many people, including some of the returning veterans themselves, are unaware that they are suffering.

“There are a lot of people who don’t know we are hurting. There are a lot of us who won’t admit it,” Anthony said. “For a marine, we always say ‘Suck it up’. You don’t know you are hurting, you just keep going on. I went to the VA (Veterans Affairs) on Sepulveda. I did all that stuff, but this really, really helped me.”

PTSD is an increasingly alarming issue for veterans trying to move on with their lives. Many of those who serve return home seeking peace, only to be faced with a new battle of re-acclimation. For some, therapeutic horse riding may be a way of finding that peace and escaping the pain of the past.

Anthony sums up how the program has helped him as a veteran by reading from a poem that is displayed on a wall at the facility.

“When you feel weak, let me help you build strength. When you can’t find your voice, let us speak without words. When you cannot reach, let me raise you above the world. When you want to give up, let me show you how far you can go.”

Wild Thing's comment..............

Love this and what a great idea.

Therapeutic ....Shadow Hills Riding Club

Here is their special Facebook page.............

Saddles for Soldiers ............is a program designed specifically by Shadow Hills Riding Club to assist veterans and their families cope with the traumas and stress.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM

January 20, 2014

‘Let Me Make Something Very Clear, Nobody That Wears A Navy SEAL Trident On Their Chest Is A Fan Of Obama Or Hillary Clinton Period’ _ Former Navy SEAL Christopher Mark Heben

‘Let Me Make Something Very Clear, Nobody That Wears A Navy SEAL Trident On Their Chest Is A Fan Of Obama Or Hillary Clinton Period’...former Navy SEAL Christopher Mark Heben.

Judge Pirro spoke with former Navy SEAL Christopher Mark Heben over the criticism Marcus Luttrell's "Lone Survivor" is receiving from the left and crap media. The left seem to question the events and the mission not understanding the purpose of the SEALs. They aren't primarily there to nation build and be peacemakers, as Heben points out SEALs are the "nation's a 911 response team... to make a person place or thing disappear"!

The discussion moved into Benghazi coverup where Heben made it clear the administration is positioning Hillary for her 2016 presidential run. This when he made a very clear statement that we the people can be thankful to hear "...let me make something very clear: nobody that wears a Navy SEAL Trident on their chest.. nobody is a fan of Obama, nobody is a fan of Hillary Clinton period" He then closes saying he and other former SEALs are planning to "expound upon everything that is out there right now on Benghazi".

Wild Thing's comment................

I think one reason why so many that serve our country are not far left politically is because those on the left do not love our country, do not feel the same way about our Constitution or anything else that has made America great.

Especially with people like Clinton a draft dodger or Obama, but not respecting our military. I would hate to have either one of them for my CIC.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

January 18, 2014

What I learned on the Highway of Death in Iraq - Allen West

Today is the 23rd anniversary of the start of the First Persian Gulf War also known as Operation Desert Storm. I was a 29-year-old Captain in the First Infantry Division, “The Big Red One” at Ft. Riley in Kansas. Angela and I just celebrated our first wedding anniversary in December 1990 and now I was deploying into combat — something she had seen her own dad do twice to Vietnam.

I was the Fire Support Officer for Task Force 2-16 Infantry (call sign Ranger 14) in the 2nd Brigade (Dagger). Our mission was to be the lead task force of the 1st Infantry, which was the lead Division of the US VII Corps, into the breach to establish the cleared lanes for the follow-on elements to exploit and continue the attack to envelope Saddam’s Republican Guard units.

Was I nervous, yep, but this was what we had been trained to do — open desert warfare — and would be the culmination of all those National Training Center exercises.

My Artillery Battalion chose me to be the advance party Officer in Charge since I was a senior captain who had already commanded.

My responsibility was to land early and begin preparations for the arrival of the full battalion. I remember the SCUD missile alerts and the threats of frogmen saboteurs at the port. We quickly gathered our equipment, combat-loaded and deployed into the deep desert.

Finally, the day came. It was a foggy, rainy morning. Visibility was poor but we launched. There was a massive artillery preparation, cannon and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). it was impressive, our modern US military.

Our scout platoon radioed back “contact” and we went into our plan. Mortars engaged, and then so quickly, ceased fire because the enemy was surrendering. We had surprised the Iraqi forces by showing up so deep in the desert with such a massive force, and thanks to our plan of deception, even the media didn’t know the entire US VII Corps was where it was.

We quickly rolled up the frontline defenses, opened up breach lanes, and began our follow and support operations to ensure there would be no remnant forces attacking to our rear. We knew we had the momentum and with our powerful M1 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradleys, M109 SP Howitzers, MLRS, AH-64 Apaches, and A-10s close air support our force firepower was overwhelming.

The damage delivered to the retreating Iraqi Army was devastatingly clear on what would be known as the “Highway of Death.” The last two Republican Guard Divisions were in our sights when the “ceasefire, consolidate in place” order came.

Our brigade consolidated around the Safwan airfield area and was tasked to secure the site for the surrender negotiations.

That night, after the grand meeting, we sat at our Task Force command post under the glow of the burning oil fields, shared stories and pondered the future. We knew the mission was a resounding success, but strategically we had left the enemy still capable.

And therein lies the lesson. We knew we would have to return, as some did in rotations to Kuwait, and others to guard a “no-fly” zone. We knew the enemy would use its capability against those who had wished we deposed Saddam, and that persecution happened to the Shia and the Kurds.

And so it goes.

Carl von Clausewitz wrote that war is the imposition of one’s will upon another. History teaches us that war has one of three objectives: annihilation, assimilation, or attrition of your enemy. When you engage in limited war, you will have even more limited results and lasting residual effects.

Many of us who were captains and staff sergeants returned to Iraq 12 years later as lieutenant colonels and master sergeants. The other night Greta van Susteren asked me what would I do regarding the situation in Iraq and the return of al Qaida. I responded that we would have to return. Astonished she said, you would go back to Iraq?

What Greta and many others fail to understand is that when you do not define victory and do not defeat your enemy, you will have to return — especially against the enemy called Islamic totalitarianism.

When we commit our forces, it must be to win, and our civilian leadership must have the burning desire and passion in their hearts to set up our men and women to win.

It is a sad cycle of warfare when it is fought by politicians, and not warriors or statesmen. I am proud to have served in Desert Storm and Iraq, the third generation in our family to have served in combat. But as I watched newly promoted Major Bernard West last week, I wondered, what battlefield will he have to return to? Plato said it best, “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

Wild Thing's comment............

God bless Allen West!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

January 06, 2014

'This Week' Sunday Spotlight: 'Lone Survivor'

Former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg on the new film "Lone Survivor."

A new movie tells the real-life story of a group of Navy SEALS forced to fight for their lives as the Taliban tries hunting them down.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wild Thing's comment.........

The highest number of Military deaths has happened under Muslim Obama.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

Son of fallen SEAL discusses movie 'Lone Survivor'

Son of fallen SEAL discusses movie

Jacob Healy says 'Lone Survivor' shows brotherhood well

Jacob Centeno Healy is the son of Sr. Chief Petty Officer Dan Healy, a Navy SEAL killed during the 2005 Operation Red Wings mission. He is a recent University of San Diego graduate.

By JACOB CENTENO HEALY

SPECIAL TO THE U-T

Peter Berg’s version of “Lone Survivor” is a step-by-step account of extraordinary men who were ready to answer the call and fight for their nation.

The film provides a taste of what it takes to become a SEAL and how qualified and prepared the close-knit band-of-brothers are. Most Navy SEALs share a strong sense of humor and camaraderie, which Berg illustrates well as we are introduced to the SEALs involved in Operation Red Wings.

Once the gunfight breaks out, viewers become engulfed in the downward spiral that these indomitable men had to suffer.

It is heart-wrenching and provocative. Each bullet that pierces Axe, Danny, Marcus and Murph really hurts you inside. The SEAL spirit and “never give up” mentality combined with the overwhelming and consistent worsening of the situation is a very emotional journey.

My advice is to pay close attention to the camaraderie and cohesive movement of the SEALs. My father always referred to the SEALs as team guys. In this film, this is depicted well. The SEALs acted as a unit and are always more concerned about their brothers than themselves.

I was pleased with the cast of “Lone Survivor.” The actors did a grand job of portraying each SEAL and did not take away from their real-life characters in any way.

My favorite part is subtle. Many viewers may know that Marcus Luttrell appears in several scenes. If you pay close attention, you’ll see Marcus is on board the quick reaction force helicopter that is called in by Lt. Mike Murphy and was subsequently shot down.

Anyone who understands the nature of the Navy SEAL brotherhood will understand Marcus when he claims a part of him died on those mountains in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. I found it powerful that Marcus went down with the helicopter in the film. Being that my dad, Senior Chief Daniel Healy, went down on that helicopter, it was a little overwhelming and hit a little too close to home seeing Marcus on board with his “brothers” who died that fateful day June 28, 2005.

However, the most sobering moment by far is the reel of images at the end. The tribute reminds us the events and the men were real; they had families, homes and hobbies just like all of us. Yet they would make the same sacrifice 100 times over because they loved who and what they were fighting for.

Wild Thing's comment...........

I am so glad this film has been made, I hope a lot of people go to see it. We can never thank our Veterans and troops enough for what they do and have done for us and for our country and for the world.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

December 15, 2013

Wreaths Across America delivered more than 143,000 wreaths-thanks to more than 30,000 volunteers

Wreaths Across America delivered more than 143,000 wreaths with the help of more than 30,000 volunteers to Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 14, 2013.

Wild Thing's comment............

God bless these people doing this every year, it is a wonderful cause.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

November 14, 2013

Saber Blitzkrieg in Afghanistan

Saber Blitzkrieg

Training is typically done under controlled conditions. But Soliders from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment's 4th Squadron decided to take the training to the battlfield in Afghanistan.

Wild Thing's comment............

God bless our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

November 13, 2013

Veterans Affairs Forbids Chaplains from Quoting Bible or Praying in Name of Jesus

Two chaplains were forced out of a military training program after they refused orders to quit quoting the Bible and mention Jesus.

The men said they were ridiculed and harassed.

Marine Corps: On Second Thought, Maybe We Won’t Go With The Unisex Hats…

Two Baptist chaplains said they were forced out of a Veterans Affairs chaplain training program after they refused orders to stop quoting the Bible and to stop praying in the name of Jesus.

When the men objected to those demands, they were subjected to ridicule and harassment that led to one of the chaplains leaving the program and the other being ejected, according to a federal lawsuit filed Friday.

The Conservative Baptist Association of America is suing Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki; the group’s suit alleges two of its chaplains were openly ridiculed by the leader of the San Diego-based VA-DOD Clinical Pastoral Education Center program.

‘Not only was the treatment these men received inappropriate, it was also a violation of federal law and the religious freedom guarantees of the First Amendment.’ - Attorney John Wells

“Not only was the treatment these men received inappropriate, it was also a violation of federal law and the religious freedom guarantees of the First Amendment,” said John Wells, an attorney representing the Colorado-based denomination.

“No American choosing to serve in the armed forces should be openly ridiculed for his Christian faith,” he said, calling it one of the most blatant cases of religious discrimination he has ever seen.

Wild Thing's comment.............

This is very troubling to see this happen in our country. It means more more, step by step it is headed to a Godless nation, I pray it won't go that far but it sure seems to be.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:48 AM | Comments (3)

October 27, 2013

Thank God! ...Marine Corps: On Second Thought, Maybe We Won’t Go With The Unisex Hats

The Marine Corps has shot down plans to make male and female leathernecks wear a unisex cap with their dress uniforms.

The Corps has been redesigning its female caps and was exploring the possibility of issuing a single cap for men and women. As we reported earlier Friday, a survey this week was meant to gauge interest in which of two options would work as a unisex cap—but critics said one new prototype was too feminine.

Wild Thing's comment..................

Good, our military has been weakened enough by Obama and his ilk. The stupid hat change looked stupid and girly. augh

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (1)

September 30, 2013

Portraits of Valor; Roy Benavidez

Roy Benavidez was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions West of Loc Ninh, South Vietnam in May of 1968. When word that a squad was pinned down by enemy fire Roy Benavidez immediately volunteered to exact their rescue. During the course of the effort he subjected himself to constant enemy fire and suffered numerous injuries, but still led the remaining soldiers to protect and defend their position even after their first rescue helicopter was shot down.

His Family has a Mexican restaurant in El Paso TX. on MacGruder street, just outside of Ft Bliss. It is called Carlos and Mickey’s. They have numerous pictures of him along with the ones of him receiving the MOH from President Reagan.

Wild Thing's comment...............

This is the kind of person the young should respect and realize they are the real heroes, not people like Obama.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

August 28, 2013

Awesome Love Story Marine Jesse Cottle and his wife Kelly

Marine Jesse Cottle lost his leg in battle but found true love from his wife, Kelly.

“If I hadn’t stepped on that IED I wouldn’t have met her,” Jesse told ABC News. “I wouldn’t take it back ever.”

After spending months recovering in the hospital, Jesse met his future wife Kelly, 24, in San Diego at a swim meet during one of his first outings with his new prosthetic legs. “His personality and who he is just outweighs his injuries by so much that you forget about it after a while,” Kelly explained.

Recently, the couple took a trip to visit Kelly’s family in Boise, Idaho, where they decided to have a family portrait taken. “Someone had suggested taking photos in the water,” said Kelly. “I was carrying Jesse back to his legs, and the photographer was like, ‘Oh we’ll get a couple of shots of you together.’ It wasn’t planned or anything.”

The photographer, Sarah Ledford, posted the picture to her Facebook page, where it immediately started gaining attention, racking up more than 7,000 likes, more than 500 shares and getting countless comments, all in awe of the couple’s strengths and resilience in the face of adversity.

“It’s an amazingly inspiring story that has touched the lives of many Americans,” Ledford said. “Jesse is not a hero for stepping on an IED, he’s a hero because of the way he has handled what was handed to him and how he chooses to continue to conduct his life with his positive attitude.”

“The photo really says it all,” Jesse added. “I actually look at it very much as a symbol for our whole relationship in general. She’s physically carrying me, but there’s times where she’s carrying me emotionally. It’s a perfect representation of who Kelly is.”

The happy couple just celebrated their first wedding anniversary on Aug. 18 by eating the top layer of their red velvet wedding cake.

Wild Thing's comment...........

Love this story and the wonderful thing about it too is that there are many others stories similar to this of loved ones being supportive of one of our Heroes when they come home.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM

August 19, 2013

American Military Spouses Choir

American Military Spouses Choir. Live from Chicago, The wives of military men sing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", originally sung by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and then by Diana Ross.

Wild Thing's comment............

God bless these wives and God bless our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

July 14, 2013

USS Kearsarge, USS San Antonio 'parked off of Egypt'

The USS Kearsarge and the USS San Antonio “moved up into the Red Sea and parked off of Egypt,” a couple of nights ago, “because we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Gen. James Amos said.

Air Force Removes Inspirational Painting With Bible Verse From Dining Hall – Atheists Found It “Repugnant”

As political unrest continues in post-coup Egypt, two amphibious assault ships have moved to the coast there, the commandant of the Marine Corps said Thursday.

The USS Kearsarge and the USS San Antonio “moved up into the Red Sea and parked off of Egypt,” a couple of nights ago, “because we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Gen. James Amos said.

Amos was speaking with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert at a forum on the future of maritime forces, which was held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Having noted earlier that he thinks “there’s zero peace dividend” coming out Afghanistan, he used the situation in Egypt as part of his pitch that despite uncertain budget times the U.S. military should maintain a robust presence throughout the world.

“Crisis happens. Egypt is a crisis right now,” Amos said. “When that happens...what we owe the senior leadership of our nation is versatile options.”

The two ships are “there on purpose,” he said. “That’s the flexibility that in a response to a crisis we have to have.”

He and Greenert also discussed the pivot to Asia, a strategy that they are working on how to implement within the current budget constraints.

The build up in Australia is continuing with the number of Marines in Darwin set to grow from 250 to 1,000 in 2014, and the Marines have gone from one to three battalions on the Japanese island of Okinawa with a fourth headed there this fall.

Wild Thing's comment.............

Not sure what Obama is up to.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM

CHOPPER PILOT - United States Army Helicopter Pilot Training Documentary circa 1960's (great video)

CHOPPER PILOT - United States Army Helicopter Pilot Training Documentary circa 1960's

Wild Thing's comment..............

Well done video, interesting too and you can see a lot of things from the past.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:48 AM | Comments (2)

July 03, 2013

A Wounded Warrior And The Golden Retriever Who Saved Him

U.S. Army Captain Luis Montalván was a victim of PTSD, a severe brain injury, and physical injuries so bad that he couldn't climb a flight of stairs.

He was disappointed and about to give up on life. Then he met a dog named Tuesday, that changed his life forever!

Wild Thing's comment.................

God bless Captain Luis Montalván and Tuesday.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

3-7 CAV History & Tradition

Soldiers deployed from the 3rd Squadron, 7th U.S. Cavalry talk about the rich history and tradition of their unit. Indian Wars, Stetson's, spurs, and more... Meet the proud soldiers of the 3-7 CAV.

Wild Thing's comment.............

I love our troops, all of them, every branch and all the levels of their service. Each one is so very importnt.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)

June 04, 2013

Air Force Removes Inspirational Painting With Bible Verse From Dining Hall – Horrible Disgusting Atheists Found It “Repugnant”

After complaints from atheists the Air Force removed an inspirational piece of artwork proclaiming the message of Matthew 5:9 in Wagon Wheel dining hall at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.
The atheists were offended.

An inspirational painting that referenced a Bible verse has been removed from a dining hall at Mountain Home Air Force Base after an anti-religion group filed a complaint.

The painting featured a medieval crusader and referenced Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation called the painting “repugnant” and an “overt display of Christian nationalism.”

They allegedly received a complaint from someone at the base who said the picture made “me feel terribly uncomfortable, disheartened and disappointed.”

“I have been extremely disturbed and shocked by a clearly Christian picture of religious supremacy very prominently hanging in the dining facility of our Air Force Base, the unidentified complainant states in an email. “I and countless other Airmen were forced to look at this ‘Crusader/USAF’ painting while we ate.”

The unidentified complainant said 21 other individuals also took issue with the painting. None were identified by the MRFF.

Wild Thing's comment.............

I wish so much those in our military would stand up to this crap instead of caving in to it.

What happened to God and country.???

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (3)

May 31, 2013

Soldier with arm transplants exceeding expectations

ARMY Times

Marine Commandant Helps Soldier Recieve Arm Transp...: Army Sgt. Brendan Marrocco was the first Iraq veteran to survive a quadruple amputation. With some help from Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos, Brendan has new arms.

rmy Sgt. Brendan Marrocco was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington for treatment more than two years ago when he first met Marine Gen. Jim Amos. The wounded warrior had become the first American serving in Iraq or Afghanistan to survive a quadruple amputation, and he was frustrated by his lack of independence.

“He looked at me and said, ‘General Amos, if I could just have one hand, my life will be changed forever,’ ” said Amos, who was then the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. “I’ll never forget that.”

Amos gave Marrocco a pep talk, but he also suggested the infantryman consider pursuing transplants for his arms and hands, Marrocco said. The soldier did just that in December, undergoing 13 hours of surgery here at Johns Hopkins Hospital on his way to becoming the first veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to receive a double arm transplant.

Amos, now the commandant, checked in on Marrocco on May 8, visiting Johns Hopkins with his wife, Bonnie, and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Mike Barrett. The wisecracking infantryman has exceeded expectations in his recovery, developing dexterity and range of motion a couple of months ahead of schedule, his doctors said. He was initially wounded on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009, after his truck was hit by an explosion that killed Cpl. Michael Anaya and wounded himself and one other soldier.

Marrocco said he works about four hours a day in physical therapy. He can now grip some small objects, transfer pegs from one hole to another and throw a lightweight rubber ball. He’s looking forward to hunting pheasant in the future, and agreed with his doctors that he enjoys proving them wrong about how quickly he can achieve his goals in physical therapy.

“I do,” he said with a hint of both pride and amusement. “And I’m pretty sure that on every occasion, I have.”

It will take up to three years to determine how fully Marrocco can use his new arms and hands, said Dr. Andrew Lee, who led the 16-doctor team that performed the surgery. Patients must continue physical therapy and take a combination of immunosuppressive drugs that prevent the body from rejecting the transplant, he said.

Marrocco said he still suffers some “phantom pain,” but added that it is no different from what he dealt with while equipped with prosthetic arms. He doesn’t have any sense of touch in his new hands yet but is enthusiastic about how things have progressed.

Amos asked Lee if his patients see the transplants as “black magic,” but the doctor said their concerns are fading. Once patients can move their new arms on their own, they consider them their own, Lee said. Doctors at Johns Hopkins are now researching how they can help service members who sustain blast injuries to their genitalia, which could lead to transplanted penises, he said.

Marrocco and Lee both credited Amos with nudging the soldier toward the arm transplants, but the commandant demurred.

“You did it,” he told Marrocco. “I’m just glad we got to sit down that day, is all.”

The commandant also offered a prediction.

“Next time we meet, we’re going to sit down and have lunch together,” Amos said. “And, you’re going to be eating cheeseburgers with both of your hands.”

Wild Thing's comment................

Prayers for his continued recovery.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM

May 04, 2013

3rd US Military Support Plane Crashes In Afghanistan In Less Than A Week, 3 Crew From Crash Not Yet Found

Radio Free Europe

Search teams in Kyrgyzstan were continuing to look for three crew members of a U.S. KC-135 Stratotanker that crashed near the border with Kazakhstan.

Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Minister Kubatbek Boronov said on May 3 that the black box from the plane had been found, but there was no sign of any of the crew.

“The plane broke into five or six pieces. One of the engines was found and some 400 to 500 meters away another engine was found. The main body of the plane was split into two parts,” Boronov told reporters.

“We are now searching for the people [crewmembers]. There are three of them, but we have not found them yet. If they were still aboard the plane, they may been burned to nothing because even the metal [of the plane] burned.”

Akjibek Beishebaeva, a spokeswoman for the U.S. transit center at the Manas airport near Bishkek, told RFE/RL: “A rapid-reaction team is at the scene of the incident. The status of the crew is unknown. The plane’s crew is from the transit center outside Bishkek. The cause of the crash is under investigation.”

The plane went down minutes after departing the Manas airfield on route to Afghanistan.

Witnesses in the area of the village of Chaldovar where the plane went down said the aircraft appeared to explode in midair.

There were no casualties reported among local residents.

The U.S. military has been using the Manas airfield since December 2001 to support operations in Afghanistan.

Wild Thing's comment.............

The Carter-Clinton-Obama Syndrome.You gut the military and our people die needlessly from neglect. If that is not what is happening then it is the enemy including Obama.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM

April 23, 2013

Woman Who Lost Legs in Boston Terror Attack Gets Heartwarming Visit From Marine (Wounded Warrior) With Same Injuries

Woman Who Lost Legs in Boston Terror Attack Gets Heartwarming Visit From Marine (Wounded Warrior) With Same Injuries.

She lost her legs at the knees and so did he. This Marine stops by to tell her everything is gonna be just fine.

Wild Thing's comment...................

God bless this Marine and prayers for both this woman and the Marine.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)

March 29, 2013

" Damn Few " by Lieutenant Commander Rorke Denver

Damn Few by Rorke Denver and Ellis Henican goes on sale February 19th. The book is a dramatic look inside the training of America's premier special-ops commando teams. Never before has such a high-level SEAL officer written with such candor and insight about the making of U.S. Navy SEALs. With his action-packed mission experience and top training role, Lieutenant Commander Rorke Denver understands exactly how tomorrow's warriors are recruited, trained, motivated, and deployed. In Damn Few, he explains the unique psychology behind the SEALs' legendary training program and reveals the modern techniques that turn these chosen men into lethal warriors. From his own SEAL training and wild missions overseas, Denver details how the SEALs' creative operations became front-and-center in America's War on Terror—and how they are altering warfare everywhere.

Lieutenant Commander Rorke Denver, author of DAMN FEW: Making the Modern SEAL Warrior.

Navy SEAL and ‘Act of Valor’ star Rorke Denver joined us to talk about his new book, the New York Times bestselling ‘DAMN FEW: Making the Modern SEAL Warrior’. Denver spent 13 years as Navy SEAL, the last four of which he spent leading all aspects of SEAL training–basic and advanced. DAMN FEW takes readers on a riveting journey inside the training of America’s premier special-ops commando teams, where Denver shares how soldiers are recruited, selected, sculpted, motivated, and deployed to become modern-day warriors.

Wild Thing's comment.................

Excellent book.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (1)

March 12, 2013

VFW and Congressional Members Join in Protest of Obama’s New Drone Strike Medal

The VFW and Congress teamed up to oppose Obama’s latest folly–
Team Obama recently created a new drone strike medal and placed it above the Purple Heart for those soldiers and Marines serving in the field. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) has introduced legislation to require that the Purple Heart occupy a position of precedence above the new Distinguished Warfare Medal. The bipartisan bill has 42 cosponsors including a few Democrats.

Army Times

The 1.9 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars is being mobilized by the group’s commander-in-chief to overturn a Pentagon decision to rank a new medal for drone operations higher in precedence than the Purple Heart.

In a message to all post, district and department managers, Vietnam veteran and former Marine John Hamilton says he wants every member of the nation’s largest organization for combat veterans to support House and Senate bills that would make certain the new Distinguished Warfare Medal ranks below the Purple Heart.

Defense Department officials, so far unswayed by complaints, want the new medal for cyber warriors and drone operators ranked ninth in order of precedence, ahead of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

“I cannot tell you how displeased I am with the new defense secretary for not overriding what has proven to be an extremely divisive decision by his predecessor, but the buck has not stopped yet,” Hamilton says in the letter.

There are 42 cosponsors of HR 833 and 11 cosponsors of S 470, similar bills ordering the Defense Department to reduce the ranking of the new medal.

“We have many friends in Congress who agree 100 percent with our position,” Hamilton said, “but the VFW needs you to get the other members of Congress off their duffs.

The VFW added this in their action alert:

VFW

The newly created medal would outrank the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. The VFW immediately came out in opposition of the placement of the medal. We believe it is very important to properly recognize all who serve and excel, but the new medal could spark internal debate and deteriorate morale as it leapfrogs more than a dozen current medals and ribbons – to include valor and combat injury awards.

Wild Thing's comment..............

Sickening what Obama is doing!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

March 11, 2013

7-Year-Old Joins the Army

Seven-year-old Ian Field, who is battling muscular dystrophy, wished he could be a soldier for one day ... and it came true. He was invited by the 4th brigade to be a part of the ultimate army treatment. He told Gretchen what made him want to be a soldier.

Wild Thing's comment..................

A very special child!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (1)

February 04, 2013

Hero! American Sniper Navy SEAL Chris Kyle Killed while Trying to Help Fellow-Soldier Recover from PTSD

Hero American Sniper Navy SEAL Chris Kyle Killed while Trying to Help Fellow-Soldier Recover from PTSD

Famed Navy SEAL Chris Kyle slain at gun range in N. Texas

A former U.S. Navy SEAL who gained recognition during the Iraq War was one of two people fatally shot southwest of Fort Worth on Saturday

American Hero, former Navy SEAL, Chris Kyle, has been shot and killed while at the “Rough Creek Lodge” near Fort Worth, Texas. Kyle was known as the “American Sniper,” and was reportedly trying to help a fellow soldier who was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The soldier he was trying to help reportedly turned his gun on Kyle and another man while at a shooting range with them and shot them both at point-blank range.

Wild Thing's comment.............

HORRIBLE!!!!!

Chris Kyle will never ever be forgotten. This is heartbreaking what has happened to him.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

December 28, 2012

Desert Storm commander Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf dies

U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf, who led the United States to a decisive victory in the first Gulf War, has died in Tampa, Florida.

Desert Storm commander Norman Schwarzkopf dies

Truth is, retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf didn't care much for his popular "Stormin' Norman" nickname.

The seemingly no-nonsense Desert Storm commander's reputed temper with aides and subordinates supposedly earned him that rough-and-ready moniker. But others around the general, who died Thursday in Tampa, Fla., at age 78 from complications from pneumonia, knew him as a friendly, talkative and even jovial figure who preferred the somewhat milder sobriquet given by his troops: "The Bear."

That one perhaps suited him better later in his life, when he supported various national causes and children's charities while eschewing the spotlight and resisting efforts to draft him to run for political office.

He lived out a quiet retirement in Tampa, where he'd served his last military assignment and where an elementary school bearing his name is testament to his standing in the community.

Schwarzkopf capped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991 — but he'd managed to keep a low profile in the public debate over the second Gulf War against Iraq, saying at one point that he doubted victory would be as easy as the White House and the Pentagon predicted.

Schwarzkopf was named commander in chief of U.S. Central Command at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base in 1988, overseeing the headquarters for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly two dozen countries stretching across the Middle East to Afghanistan and the rest of central Asia, plus Pakistan.

When Saddam invaded Kuwait two years later to punish it for allegedly stealing Iraqi oil reserves, Schwarzkopf commanded Operation Desert Storm, the coalition of some 30 countries organized by President George H.W. Bush that succeeded in driving the Iraqis out.

At the peak of his postwar national celebrity, Schwarzkopf — a self-proclaimed political independent — rejected suggestions that he run for office, and remained far more private than other generals, although he did serve briefly as a military commentator for NBC.

While focused primarily on charitable enterprises in his later years, he campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2000, but was ambivalent about the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In early 2003 he told The Washington Post that the outcome was an unknown: "What is postwar Iraq going to look like, with the Kurds and the Sunnis and the Shiites? That's a huge question, to my mind. It really should be part of the overall campaign plan."

Initially Schwarzkopf had endorsed the invasion, saying he was convinced that Secretary of State Colin Powell had given the United Nations powerful evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. After that proved false, he said decisions to go to war should depend on what U.N. weapons inspectors found.

He seldom spoke up during the conflict, but in late 2004 he sharply criticized Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the Pentagon for mistakes that included erroneous judgments about Iraq and inadequate training for Army reservists sent there.

"In the final analysis I think we are behind schedule. ... I don't think we counted on it turning into jihad (holy war)," he said in an NBC interview.

Schwarzkopf was born Aug. 24, 1934, in Trenton, N.J., where his father, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., founder and commander of the New Jersey State Police, was then leading the investigation of the Lindbergh kidnap case. That investigation ended with the arrest and 1936 execution of German-born carpenter Richard Hauptmann for murdering famed aviator Charles Lindbergh's infant son.

The elder Schwarzkopf was named Herbert, but when the son was asked what his "H" stood for, he would reply, "H."

As a teenager Norman accompanied his father to Iran, where the elder Schwarzkopf trained the Iran's national police force and was an adviser to Reza Pahlavi, the young Shah of Iran.

Young Norman studied there and in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, then followed in his father's footsteps to West Point, graduating in 1956 with an engineering degree. After stints in the U.S. and abroad, he earned a master's degree in engineering at the University of Southern California and later taught missile engineering at West Point.

In 1966 he volunteered for Vietnam and served two tours, first as a U.S. adviser to South Vietnamese paratroops and later as a battalion commander in the U.S. Army's Americal Division. He earned three Silver Stars for valor — including one for saving troops from a minefield — plus a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and three Distinguished Service Medals.

While many career officers left military service embittered by Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was among those who opted to stay and help rebuild the tattered Army into a potent, modernized all-volunteer force.

After Saddam invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Schwarzkopf played a key diplomatic role by helping persuade Saudi Arabia's King Fahd to allow U.S. and other foreign troops to deploy on Saudi territory as a staging area for the war to come.

On Jan. 17, 1991, a five-month buildup called Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as allied aircraft attacked Iraqi bases and Baghdad government facilities. The six-week aerial campaign climaxed with a massive ground offensive on Feb. 24-28, routing the Iraqis from Kuwait in 100 hours before U.S. officials called a halt.

Schwarzkopf said afterward he agreed with Bush's decision to stop the war rather than drive to Baghdad to capture Saddam, as his mission had been only to oust the Iraqis from Kuwait.

But in a desert tent meeting with vanquished Iraqi generals, he allowed a key concession on Iraq's use of helicopters, which later backfired by enabling Saddam to crack down more easily on rebellious Shiites and Kurds.

While he later avoided the public second-guessing by academics and think tank experts over the ambiguous outcome of the first Gulf War and its impact on the second Gulf War, he told The Washington Post in 2003, "You can't help but ... with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say, `Look, had we done something different, we probably wouldn't be facing what we are facing today.'"

After retiring from the Army in 1992, Schwarzkopf wrote a best-selling autobiography, "It Doesn't Take A Hero." Of his Gulf War role, he said: "I like to say I'm not a hero. I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war." He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and honored with decorations from France, Britain, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

Schwarzkopf was a national spokesman for prostate cancer awareness and for Recovery of the Grizzly Bear, served on the Nature Conservancy board of governors and was active in various charities for chronically ill children.

"I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I'm very proud of that," he once told The Associated Press. "But I've always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I'd like to think I'm a caring human being. ... It's nice to feel that you have a purpose."

Schwarzkopf and his wife, Brenda, had three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.

Above is video of Gen. Schwarzkopf giving a briefing during the First Gulf War that drove Saddam Hussein and Iraqi Forces out of Kuwait.

HERO!

In Vietnam in March 1970, Schwarzkopf was involved in rescuing men of his battalion from a minefield. He had received word that men under his command had encountered a minefield on the notorious Batangan Peninsula, he rushed to the scene in his helicopter, as was his custom while a battalion commander, in order to make his helicopter available. He found several soldiers still trapped in the minefield. Schwarzkopf urged them to retrace their steps slowly. Still, one man tripped a mine and was severely wounded but remained conscious. As the wounded man flailed in agony, the soldiers around him feared that he would set off another mine. Schwarzkopf, also wounded by the explosion, crawled across the minefield to the wounded man and held him down (using a “pinning” technique from his wrestling days at West Point) so another could splint his shattered leg. One soldier stepped away to break a branch from a nearby tree to make the splint. In doing so, he too hit a mine, which killed him and the two men closest to him, and blew an arm and a leg off Schwarzkopf’s artillery liaison officer. Eventually, Schwarzkopf led his surviving men to safety, by ordering the division engineers to mark the locations of the mines with shaving cream. (Some of the mines were of French manufacture and dated back to the Indochina conflict of the 1950s; others were brought by Japanese forces in World War II). Schwarzkopf says in his autobiograpy It Doesn’t Take a Hero that this incident firmly cemented his reputation as an officer who would risk his life for the soldiers under his command.

Schwarzkopf told his men that they might not like some of his strict rules, but it was for their own good. He told them “When you get on that plane to go home, if the last thing you think about me is ‘I hate that son of a bitch’, then that is fine because you’re going home alive.” Lt. General Hal Moore later wrote that it was during his time in Vietnam that Schwarzkopf acquired what later became his infamous temper, while arguing via radio for passing American Hueys to land and pick up his wounded men.

Wild Thing's comment................

I have always really liked this man. How sad it is for him to pass away.

R.I.P. General Schwarzkopf.

Something to share with you.............. This is one of my favorite teddybears in my collection. A Carol Black Bearhearts Original, created on October 5, 1992 in California ,Stormin' Norman is named after General Norman Schwarzkopf and is authentically dressed from his desert fatigues right down to his helmet,two watches just like the General would wear when deployed, official ID's, his backpack, rations and American flag.
He is stuffed with desert sand!

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (2)

December 26, 2012

Troops Celebrate Christmas in Afghanistan ( video)

Troops Celebrate Christmas in Afghanistan

International troops in Afghanistan celebrated Christmas day with a traditional Christmas meal at Kabul International Airport in a dining hall packed with soldiers from the United States, France and Germany. (Dec. 25)

Wild Thing's comment..............

God bless our awesome troops and protect them.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM

December 22, 2012

U.S. Troops Respond To The Taliban After Coming Under Attack

Wild Thing's comment...............

God bless and protect our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:50 AM | Comments (1)

December 02, 2012

U.S.-Afghan Base in Eastern Afghanistan Attacked By Taliban Suicide Bombers

USA Today

December 2. 2012 – KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)

Taliban suicide bombers assaulted a joint U.S.-Afghan air base in eastern Afghanistan early Sunday, detonating explosives at the gate and sparking a gunbattle that lasted at least two hours with American helicopters firing down at militants before the attackers were defeated.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the attackers detonated a car bomb at the entrance of Jalalabad air base before storming it. A spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, confirmed that car bombs were used at the gate but said none of the militants were able to enter. The NATO military coalition also described it as a failed attack.

We can confirm insurgents, including multiple suicide bombers, attacked Jalalabad Airfield this morning. None of the attackers succeeded in breaching the perimeter," Lt. Col. Hagen Messer, a spokesman for the international military coalition, said in an email. He said that the fighting had ended by midmorning and that reports showed one member of the Afghan security forces was killed. Several foreign troops were wounded, but Messer did not give any numbers or details.

"The final assessment of what happened this morning is not yet complete, but initial reports indicate there were three suicide bombers," Messer said.

Provincial police said there were at least four attackers in two vehicles. The first vehicle, a four-wheel-drive car, blew up at the gate of the base, said Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. Guards started shooting at the second vehicle he added, before it too exploded. It was unclear if the explosives were detonated by the attackers themselves or by shooting from the guards, he said.

Wild thing's comment...............

I pray every day for our troops. They have the worst CIC our nation ever had.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:44 AM

August 06, 2012

Johnny Cash - I Won't Back Down (US Army Tribute)

Wild Thing's comment..................

God bless and protect our US Army and our Veterans.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM

Five Finger Death Punch performing Bad Company

Music video by Five Finger Death Punch performing Bad Company

Wild Thing's comment............

I never heard of this group before, but I like the way the video was put together and the music fits it as well.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (1)

July 05, 2012

Allen West: Military infiltration by Islamic terrorists all part of a bigger stealth Jihad

Allen West: U.S. Military Infiltrated By Islamic Terrorists While Obama Admin Labels Patriotic Americans “Potential Domestic Threats”

Before the libs get their “Islamophobia” panties in a wad, West is only reiterating what Congress was told by FBI officials.

Wild Thing's comment............

Good for West, I love the way he speaks up.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

June 18, 2012

This is a 1970's Recruiting Video for the U.S. Army Airborne

Wild Thing's comment...........

A little trip into the past. The recruiting ads have changed a little, but really not that much. They were always good.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (5)

June 13, 2012

Soldier trades smokes for maimed dog in Afghanistan

Obama Not Scheduled to Commemorate D-Day

Army sergeant "Nick B" surely saw some heart-wrenching horrors during his stint in Afghanistan, but one of them he realized he had to change. When he came across a tied-up dog covered in mud, its ears and tail hacked off, Nick knew he needed to get the pup away from its owners. He traded his cigarettes for the dog, won his trust with beef jerky and worked out a deal with the Puppy Rescue Mission to transport his new pal, Bodhi, through Taliban-controlled areas and out of the country. The pair had an emotional reunion in Florida last weekend. "He's going to have a great life with us," Nick said. See? Cigarettes are good for something.

Wild Thing's comment........

Great story, God bless this soldier and his dog too.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

June 11, 2012

91-Year-Old WWII Veteran Receives High School Diploma

A World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and at Normandy finally received the high school diploma he earned 71 years ago. Denver Kelly attended Ohio’s Oberlin High School in 1941, but he was deployed with the Army before he could walk in the graduation ceremony.

The 91-year-old accepted his diploma and spoke at this year’s graduation.

Kelly joked during his speech, “I wonder now at 90-something years old what this will do for me.”

Wild Thing's comment...........

I love what he said.....hahaha so cute. God bless this wonderful Veteran.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (2)

June 07, 2012

Barack Obama nor his wife Michelle Did a Single Thing to Commemorate D-Day! SHAME ON BOTH OF THEM!

It was D-Day and President Obama is hitting the beaches – of sunny California!

Instead of scheduling a brief event to mark the 68th anniversary of America’s brutal landing on the shores of Normandy, Obama is already on his way to San Francisco, where he will hold two fundraisers before moving on to Beverly Hills to stage two more.

Obama failed to mark D-Day with either a speech or a written proclamation both last year or the year before. He did give a speech in 2009, the 65th anniversary of the event.

First Lady Michelle Obama, who has made much of her “Joining Forces” campaign to support military families, also has nothing planned for D-Day. She’ll be in New York City for a fundraiser and then in Philadelphia to meet with campaign volunteers.

Obama’s failure to mark D-Day in any significant way is both a shame and a political mistake.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This is a two edged sword. On one hand I would prefer is is never around our awesome Veterans or troops, but when it comes to doing the things a President should do and a CIC is supposed to do, Obama is the most disgusting human piece of flesh on earth. He has no shame...none.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (4)

June 06, 2012

D-Day June 6th, 1944 Normandy France

It was on 6th June 1944 that Operation Overlord - the long anticipated Allied invasion of Nazi-held Europe - went into action. What came to be known as the 'D-day landings'.

On the French beaches and in those hedgerows, many making the ultimate sacrifice. Over two thousand Americans, British, Canadians, and Australians died that first day, trading their lives for a single ambition...so we could live free.

The allied commander of the D-Day invasion, Gen Dwight D Eisenhower gives the order of the Day.

"Full victory - nothing else" to paratroopers in England, just before they board their airplanes to participate in the first assault in the invasion of the continent of Europe.

….”In some sectors the area was so heavily occupied by the Germans the paratroopers were fired upon while in the plane, in decent, and after landing... Many men were wounded or killed during one phase or another... The illumination created by fires on the ground was a death sentence if you were caught in an open field... This great confusion created by the troopers, moving in all directions, completely baffled the Germans in that they could not establish how many allied paratroopers had landed, or determine where our front line was. The fact that we were scattered over many miles, (mistakenly,) became advantageous to our mission..”

The first wave of assault troops of the 29th Infantry Division, it was four rifle companies landing on a hostile shore at H-hour, D-Day - 6:30 a.m., on June 6, 1944

The long-awaited liberation of France was underway. After long months in England, National Guardsmen from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia found themselves in the vanguard of the Allied attack. In those early hours on the fire-swept beach the 116th Infantry Combat Team, the old Stonewall Brigade of Virginia, clawed its way through Les Moulins draw toward its objective, Vierville-sur-Mer. It was during the movement from Les Moulins that the battered but gallant 2d Battalion broke loose from the beach, clambered over the embankment, and a small party, led by the battalion commander, fought its way to a farmhouse, which became its first Command Post in France.

Wild Thing's comment .......

We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to those who gave their lives in this giant struggle and to those who were lucky enough to come back home.

We can only imagine the horror and the dying that took place. We need to perpetuate their story of sacrifice and glory for as long as we live.

Can you see the thousands of ships offshore that formed the most powerful armada that the world has ever seen? A huge salvo is being laid down prior to the invasion. Troops climb down rope ladders into landing craft. Many invasion force craft are circling around, grouping up, just before they make their final drive for the beach.

The Germans are entrenched in concrete bunkers and gun emplacements and are shelling the approaching landing craft. Many men never make it to the beach, but instead die in the churning surf. Those who do get to the beach and tumble out of their craft are subject to horrendous machine gun fire from pillboxes that rake the entire shore. There are the dead and the dying.

Valiant army engineers mount a superhuman effort to blow a hole in the concrete barricade so troops can move inland, away from the murderous fire coming from above them.

Those first few hours must have indeed been some of the longest ever faced by bold and courageous men. May their honor and sacrifice not be forgotten, and may this event in history go down not as just about death and dying, but as a turning point for the world, toward peace. God willing, it will never have to be repeated.

Posted by Wild Thing at 09:46 AM | Comments (5)

June 03, 2012

Cross-country walk to remember fallen soldiers

Wild Thing's comment............

God bless these people and thank you for all you are doing......we will never forget our Fallen and are thankful every day.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (1)

May 29, 2012

American Soldier Reunited With Puppy He Saved From Torture In Afghanistan

Wild Thing's comment.............

Love stories with happy endings.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

May 18, 2012

Awesome Allen West To The Dems Wanting To Defund Combat Operations In Afghanistan

"Why in God's Name Do We Want to Repeat Vietnam?"

Allen West slams the Democrats for trying to cut funding of combat operations in Afghanistan for diplomatic and withdrawal purposes and compares it to America restricting funding in Vietnam .

Wild Thing's comment..........

Allen West is one of a few who kindles hope. God Bless you LTC West! This man deserves, from all Americans, the utmost respect. I am proud of him.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (6)

May 03, 2012

Toby Keith Rocks Paktika province in a surprise concert at the 172nd Infantry Brigade headquarters FOB Sharana

Toby Keith rocks Paktika province in a surprise concert at the 172nd Infantry Brigade headquarters, April 29. FOB Sharana and the surrounding combat outposts, are the center of the fight against foreign insurgents trying to infiltrate into Afghanistan.
Keith will perform additional concerts in Afghanistan over the following days.

Wild Thing's comment..........

God bless Toby Keith, and our awesome troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (2)

April 30, 2012

President George W. Bush and Veterans Bike Ride for Wounded Warriors

Dr. Marc Siegel shared a remarkable experience he had this past weekend with veterans of Wounded Warriors and President George W. Bush. In Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas he joined the veterans and former president for a 100k mountain bike ride. The 20 veterans participating have all faced challenges and among the most common are traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. President Bush said, “It’s an opportunity for me to say to our vets I care for you, I thank you, I honor you.”

Dr. Siegel said, “It was a deeply stirring experience … about mind over matter, about veterans who have been wounded, trying to get back to society, regain the new normal, overcoming post-traumatic stress, amputation … it’s clearly an inspiration and it’s helping the veterans to recover.”

Retired U.S. Navy service member Chris Goehner told Fox News, “The lowest point for me was definitely the night that I wanted to commit suicide. There was a lot of survivor’s guilt. … Having an event like this to help with the recovery and you know whether it be at the beginning or end of it, it’s just kind of this is what you’re working for.”

Major Daniel Gade lost his leg in Iraq and since then he has received his PhD and teaches at West Point. Living proof of mind over matter, Gade says, “My brain works fine, my hands work fine, you know, my wife still loves me so I don’t consider myself disabled. I just consider myself like, it’s just an inconvenience.”

Wild Thing's comment.........

Bush never ever used our troops for a photo-op like Obama has done. I love how G.W. truly loves and cares about our troops and Veterans and wounded warriors. They know it too.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (6)

April 19, 2012

Lt. Col. Ralph Peters Slams the Liberal Media, Obama and Some of the Military Leaders for Jumping to Judgement on our Troops Photos

Lt. Col. Ralph Peters joins Megyn Kelly on FOX News to discuss the publication of photos of U.S. soldiers posing with the bodies of suicide bombers.

Peters: My take on this is that there's a terrible scandal here Megyn, but it has nothing to do with our troops in combat. Those troops escaped a suicide bomber, bad judgment, took some dumb pictures, and no terrorists were harmed in the taking of those snapshots. The real scandal is that the LA Times, desperate to survive, creates a scandal, publishes the pictures over the Pentagon's objections. The real scandal is that the establishment media leaps on another chance to trash our troops. The worst of the scandal is that our leaders, in and out of uniform, rush to condemn our troops. No explanation, no context. And I suggest that White House Spokesman Jay Carney join the military and see what it's like himself before he condemns our troops.

I'm especially appalled that those in uniform, Gen. Allen, our commander in Afghanistan, just jump to trash our troops. Look, he needs to put it in context. Megyn, the "greatest generation" sent Japanese skulls home to their girlfriends. I'm not condoning it, but I'm trying to make the point that our soldiers out on the front line, and our Marines, are under tremendous stresses. War is not a ladies auxiliary tea party, and it's all too easy for people comfortable in Los Angeles or New York or the White House to condemn the troops without context. Those troops should be given company level letters of reprimand and moved on.

And, by the way, if our strategy and doctrine is so pathetically weak that it can be derailed, destroyed, shattered by a few burning Korans or a few photographs -- the dead body parts of terrorists -- well that's not much of a strategy or a doctrine. So, I'm furious, not at the troops who did something dumb, but I'm furious at the moral cowardice of military leaders who never stick up for our troops but protect their own careers. Do I sound angry? As a 22-year-old former Army enlisted man and officer, I'm angry as can be because Gen. Allen needs to get it through his head that a leader is responsible for everything his troops do or fail to do. That's the military code. Don't blame the troops out doing the tough work. Blame the generals whose strategy has failed, the cowardly, cowardly White House just trying to kick the can down the road to November, and blame the establishment media

Wild Thing's comment.........

Good for Lt.Col. Peters!!!!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (4)

April 16, 2012

18 Hours Of Fighting The Taliban in Kabul

The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks across the Afghan capital and at least three eastern provinces on Sunday, targeting NATO bases, parliament and foreign embassies in a complex assault. (April 15)

Wild Thing's comment.........

Prayers for for every American in Afghanistan....military or civilian.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (3)

March 20, 2012

Big Grateful Crowd Welcomes and Thanks Service Members From the Final R&R Flight at DFW Airport

A crowd of more than a hundred people greeted servicemembers from the final R&R flight at DFW Airport, ending eight years of troops funneling through the airport en route home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wild Thing's comment..........

I LOVE...LOVE...Love it when I see people appreciate what our troops do and have done and welcome them home like this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM

December 18, 2011

Last U.S.Soldiers Leave Iraq

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A United States military officer gestures upon entering Kuwait during their withdrawl from Iraq
December 18, 2011

MSNBC

The last American troops crossed the border from Iraq into Kuwait early Sunday, ending the U.S. military presence there after nearly nine years.

As the last convoy left Iraq at daybreak Sunday, soldiers whooped, bumped fists and embraced each other in a burst of joy and relief, The Associated Press reported.

The Iraq War began on March 20, 2003, at a time when national defense was a top priority for Americans still shocked by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. It continued with the invasion and ouster of Saddam Hussein, then ground through years of war against an insurgency that left tens of thousands dead.

The final column of around 100 mostly U.S. military MRAP armored vehicles carrying 500 U.S. troops trundled across the southern Iraq desert through the night along an empty highway to the Kuwaiti border

"It's good to see this thing coming to a close. I was here when it started," Staff Sgt. Christian Schultz said just before leaving Contingency Operating Base Adder, 185 miles south of Baghdad, for the border. "I saw a lot of good changes, a lot of progress, and a lot of bad things too

Iraq Can't Defend Itself Fully Before 2020 -General

In a final tactical road march, the last U.S. troops in Iraq crossed the border into Kuwait on Sunday morning, ending almost nine years of a deadly and divisive war.

About 500 Fort Hood, Texas-based soldiers and 110 military vehicles made the journey south from Camp Adder, near Nasiriya, to the Khabari border crossing, from where they will head to Camp Virginia in Kuwait before flying home.

They were the last soldiers in what amounted to the largest U.S. troop drawdown since the war in Vietnam.

Brigade Commander Col. Doug Crissman said his soldiers used the cover of night for security and timed the troop movements so as to avoid a traffic jam on the main north-south highway, which the Americans called Main Supply Route Tampa.

Staff Sgt. Daniel Gaumer, 37, recalled his first tour of Iraq, in August 2003, when he drove in on this very same road. He had never been in a combat zone before.

He was driving an unarmored Humvee -- something that is unimaginable now. He was frightened.

There was not a lot of traffic at that time, he recalled. He remembered a lot of cheering by Iraqis, even though the situation was tense.

Sunday morning, the air was decidedly different.

"It's pretty historic," he said about the drive south, hoping he will not ever have to come back through this unforgiving desert again.

"The biggest thing about going home is just that it's home," he said. "It's civilization as I know it -- the Western world, not sand and dust and the occasional rain here and there."

Wild Thing's comment.......

WELCOME HOME !!!!

God Bless our returning troops!

Happy sight, but also a sad time for many. My prayers and wishes go out to all of those who lost loved ones, husbands, wives, brothers, sons, daughters in this war, and in Afghanistan. We will never forget the sacrifices made — never ever forget.

It’s hell to be one of those who does NOT have a loved one returning when the troops come back. I’ve watched widows having to do this — although they bravely chose to stand with the rest of the families at these welcome home ceremonies.

Am praying for them at this time.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (2)

December 13, 2011

Soldier Surprises His Children This Christmas Season

"Chris's kids think they're going to see Santa to tell him what they want for Christmas, they don't know that their present is already here"

Wild Thing's comment.......

I love this, what a wonderful suprise.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (4)

November 26, 2011

U.S. troops in Afghanistan celebrate Thanksgiving

Pfc. Cuyler Slocum explains his idea for a Turkey Day parade at COP Garcia in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.

Wild Thing's comment.........

LOVE our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (2)

October 31, 2011

Iraq Can't Defend Itself Fully Before 2020 - Says Lieutenant General Babakir Zebari

Iraq's defense chief has said his military will not be fully ready to defend Iraq from external threats until 2020 to 2024, according to a U.S. inspector's report released on Sunday.

Lieutenant General Babakir Zebari has repeatedly warned that Iraq's security forces, rebuilt after the 2003 invasion that ousted strongman Saddam Hussein, would not be ready for years.

President Barack Obama announced on October 21 that American troops would fully withdraw from Iraq by year-end, as scheduled under a 2008 security pact between the two countries.

Both Iraqi and U.S. military leaders have said the army and police are capable of containing internal threats from Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militias that launch scores of attacks monthly, but that they lag in external defense.

"General Zebari suggested that the Ministry of Defense will be unable to execute the full spectrum of external-defense missions until sometime between 2020 and 2024, citing ... funding shortfalls as the main reason for the delay," said the report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR)

Zebari said the air force would not be able to defend Iraqi airspace until 2020 and is not capable of supporting ground combat operations, citing a long-delayed deal to buy F-16 warplanes from the United States, the SIGIR report said.

Wild Thing's comment...........

This whole thing is a mess. It will be wonderful for our troops to be home for Christmas but everything else about this is troubling and upsetting.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (3)

October 25, 2011

Speaking Out About Obama's DANGEROUS Iraq Troop Pullout Decision

"We Are Sending a Signal To Iran That is A Green Light To Them..It May Prove to Be a Major Political Blunder in the Middle East For the United States"

Lt. General Tom McInerny on Fox News blasts Obama's troop pullout decision as "very dangerous" saying "it may prove to be major political blunder in coming years"..."It may look good now for the election but it could prove to be a major political blunder in the coming years for the Unites States." McInerny also says "If Iraq becomes aligned with Iran, then you have a clear path directly into Israel." I'll take a career military Lt. General's opinion on the Iraq pullout over a community organizer in-over-his-head President with a blank resume anyday of the week. Here's McInerny of Fox News this morning

Rush: Obama's Far-Left Base Would Love It If We Ended Up Losing in Iraq
Rush: "Damn straight"..."We're not dealing with a rational bunch of people on the left"

Wild Thing's comment........

Iran is the big winner here.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (2)

October 22, 2011

Obama on Ending War in Iraq

As a candidate Barack Obama consistently called Iraq the wrong war, a failed mission. Obama opposed the surge. He refused to admit that the Bush Surge was a massive success of historical proportions.

Now that the mission is over Barack Obama announced today that he will withdraw troops from Iraq. He spoke for six minutes. The troops will be home for the holidays. Obama told America the war in Iraq was over.
But, he refused to say it was a victory for America.

Wild Thing's comment.....

How about after we get our troops out of Iraq we send Obama there for good and don't let him back into our country.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (8)

August 07, 2011

25 U.S. Navy SEALs Among the 31 U.S. Forces Killed in Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan; Taliban Takes Credit

Afghan president Hamid Karzai said 31 U.S. Special Forces and 7 Afghan soldiers were killed in one of the deadliest single attacks for U.S. troops in nearly 10 years of war in Afghanistan.

U.S. Special Forces Chinook Helicopter crashed after being hit by a Taliban-fired RPG. CNN reports the Pentagon says they were on a rescue mission to assist U.S. Forces who were pinned down in a firefight. Twenty-two of the Special Forces were Navy SEALs from SEAL Team 6 – the same unit that killed Osama Bin Laden.

From FOX News: Fox News said they were told by Defense Department Officials that the SEALs killed in the Helicopter Crash were NOT the same soldiers who actually raided Osama Bin Laden’s compound and killed him. They were members of the same SEAL team – SEAL Team 6.

Wild Thing's comment......

I am sick about this.

Obama issued a statement saying “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families”. Big deal. He should be saying we will make those responsible pay. I hate that man more than I ever imagined I could hate someone.

God bless the fallen and their families. This is awful.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (6)

June 14, 2011

Happy Birthday United States Army!!

Two hundred and thirty-six years ago, the United States Army was established to defend our Nation. From the Revolutionary War to the current operations taking place around the world, our Soldiers remain Army Strong with a deep commitment to our core values and beliefs.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Happy birthday Army & a resounding thank you to all who serve!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (2)

June 09, 2011

Delta Airlines Charges Soldiers for "Exta Baggage"

Delta Airlines charged troops returning from Afghanistan $2800 baggage fee for their own weapons

PHONE: 1-404-773-0305
Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-7pm ET

Flight 1625 from Baltimore to Atlanta June 7

HERE IS AN ADDED LINK IN CASE THE VIDEO ABOVE IS TAKEN DOWN.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9DpSBU0gM4

CBS

Delta Airlines is apologizing to 34 U.S. Army troops who just returned from Afghanistan.

The reason? They had to pay some $2,800 in baggage fees, reports Steve Higgins of CBS affiliate WGCL in Atlanta. In a video posted on YouTube, one solider says, "Not happy, not happy at all. We had a little issue with the bags this morning."

Most of the GIs, it seems, had four bags.

Another soldier said in the video, "Delta only allows three for free in coach, "and anything over three bags, you have to pay for, even though there's a contract between the U.S. government and Delta Airlines."

The soldiers say their orders allow them to bring four bags on board -- for free.

A military spokeswoman told WGCL any extra baggage fees assessed by an airline will be reimbursed by the government, depending on the troops' orders.

Delta later issued a statement saying,

"We would like to publicly apologize for any miscommunication ... as well as any inconvenience we may have caused." The carrier promises to "reach out" to the soldiers involved to "address their concerns."

Delta's statement also said active duty military personnel are allowed to check three bags for free in coach and four in first or business class, but the posted policy on the Delta website clearly states they are allowed to check four free bags in coach and five in first or business:

In the YouTube video, one of the soldiers says his fourth bag had "a weapons case holding my grenade launcher and a 9 millimeter, the tools that I used to protect myself and the Afghan citizens while I was deployed in the country."

Wild Thing's comment........

No matter what the troops were told about what they could take. Delta should not have charged them at all. I am so tired of our troops and Veterans getting treated badly in any way.

Hello Delta, give our Heroes they money back.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (4)

May 28, 2011

Fleet Week New York 2011, Parade of Ships

Marine Band sings Beautiful Girl by Sean Kingston to one lucky lady during Fleet Week New York 2011

Wild Thing's comment......

Love seeing the ships during Fleet Week.

And the other video of the Marine Band is so great. LOL I love seeing them have fun and what a great day!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (2)

March 20, 2011

U.S., British Ships Launch more than 110 Tomahawk Missiles at 20 Targets in Libya

Tomahawk missiles being fired from a U.S. warship off the coast of Libya.

This video is a report from Tripoli by Fox News’ Steve Harrigan. He said it is very tense there. Civilians have reportedly gathered around the Presidential Palace to be human shields for Gadhafi.

U.S., British Ships Launch more than 110 Tomahawk Missiles at 20 Targets in Libya

The U.S. military launched its first airstrikes on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses, officials said Saturday.

U.S. Tomahawk missiles landed in the area around Tripoli and Misrata, a senior military official said, adding that the action was taken after Gadhafi failed to comply with a cease-fire.

"He's clearly been on the offensive," the official said of Gadhafi. "He said that he was going to do a cease-fire and he continued to move his forces into Benghazi."

U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed that he had authorized "limited military action in Libya" and that "that action has now begun."

The attacks on Gadhafi's forces will be part of a multiphase approach in a sequential and deliberate manner, according to the official.

"The U.S. will be at the front end of this, providing the unique capabilities that the U.S. has," the official said.

Bombs dropped near Kadhafi’s Tripoli bunker: AFP

TRIPOLI (AFP) – Bombs were dropped near the Tripoli headquarters of strongman Moamer Kadhafi early Sunday, prompting barrages of anti-aircraft fire from Libyan forces, an AFP reporter said

The bombs exploded as an aircraft overflew the Bab al-Aziziyah headquarters in the south of Tripoli.

It was not immediately clear what targets had been hit.

Wild Thing's comment.........

How odd is this: a half-American, non natural-born citizen, posing as President, launches a war without Congress’ approval, while on vacation?

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (9)

March 16, 2011

Heroic Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter Honored

Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, gets support from his fiance Jordan Gleaton, in the state senate chambers, where Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, presented a proclamation honoring Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter

Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, flanked by his parents, Robert and Robin Carpenter of Gilbert, recounts his experience of being injured in a combat zone in Afghanistan during a press conference Wednesday at the statehouse.

Jordan Gleaton helps her fiance, Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter with a sip of water after a press conference

Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, flanked by his parents, Robert and Robin Carpenter of Gilbert, laughs during a press conference

Heroic Marine honored

Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter, his face missing an eye and crisscrossed with deep scars, stood on the floor of the S.C. Senate on Wednesday to receive the thanks of his state.

Carpenter, 21, of Gilbert lost the eye, most of his teeth and use of his right arm from a grenade blast Nov. 21 near Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Friends and family say he threw himself in front of the grenade to protect his best friend in Afghanistan, Cpl. Nick Eufrazio.

Carpenter just remembers seeing the grenade. Then a white flash. Then a fellow Marine telling him he would be fine.

Then, four weeks later, he woke up in a hospital in Germany.

“The second I woke up, I saw my family by my bedside,” he said.

The Senate resolution noted Carpenter “suffered catastrophic wounds in the cause of freedom” and “has shown himself worthy of the name Marine.”

Carpenter shook almost every senator’s hand — with his left hand — after the reading.

He said his experience was nothing unusual in war. People back home, worried about the economy and gas prices, he said, should remember Marines and soldiers are still being maimed and killed.

“The light is on me right now,” he said. “But I’m hoping what happened to me will help remind people that things like this happen every day and people don’t see it. I’m proud of what my fellow Marines have done there and are doing there now.”

Helmand Province is one of the most dangerous places in the world.

Carpenter and a 12-man squad from his 9th Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, were on patrol outside Marjah. They were in the fifth month of a seven-month deployment.

They were in a village they called Shadier, between two other villages they named Shady and Shadiest.

They had been in hard combat, he said, as the Marines were pushing out farther from their base, expanding the territory they controlled.

“For two days we had been hit pretty hard,” he said. “We moved into (enemy) territory, and they didn’t like it.”

He was fighting on a rooftop when the grenade hit.

“I took 99 percent of the blast,” he said. “But one little piece of shrapnel got by me and went into (Eufrazio’s) brain.”

According to Sen. Jake Knotts, who sponsored and read the proclamation, Eufrazio suffered a serious brain injury and is recovering in Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. He is now speaking and talking.

Carpenter also spent most of his recovery time — which so far has included 25 surgeries and more than 100 hours of physical therapy — at Bethesda.

There, he said, he was inspired by the other patients, many of whom had no legs or no eyes or no arms.

“I’m lucky,” he said.

Knotts said that Carpenter has been nominated for the Medal of Honor, adding, “And I think this kid deserves it.”

But Carpenter said that “people saying they are proud of me is enough.”

That doesn’t surprise his 20-year-old fiancee, Jordan Gleaton.

“I haven’t heard him complain one time,” Gleaton said. “I would be a mess.”

“It’s been a tough three months,” she added. “I don’t feel like I’m 20 anymore.”

Carpenter’s parents, Robert and Robin Carpenter of Gilbert, say they are proud of the way their son has handled his horrific injuries.

They call him “our miracle.”

Wild Thing's comment........

God bless Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, and may he always know how much his sacrifices mean to all of us, that we will never forget. He has serious injuries but an amazing strength. A true hero. With all my heart I truely thank you Marine Lance Col William Kyle Carpenter.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (10)

March 09, 2011

Arlington A Tribute

The music is Trace Adkin's "Arlington".

I never thought that this is where I'd settle down,
I thought I'd die an old man back in my hometown,
They gave me this plot of land, me and some other men,
for a job well done.

There's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road,
The man inside he cried the day they brought me home,
They folded up a flag, and told my mom and dad, 'We're proud of your son'.

And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,
I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've done,
I can rest in peace, I'm one of the chosen ones,
I made it to Arlington.

I remember daddy brought me here when I was eight,
We searched all day to find out where my granddad lay,
And when we finally found that cross,
He said, 'Son this is what it cost, to keep us free'.
Now here I am a thousand stones away from him,
He recognized me on the first day I came in,
And it gave me a chill, when he clicked his heels, and saluted me.

And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,
And I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've done,
I can rest in peace, I'm one of the chosen ones,
I made it to Arlington.

And every time I hear, twenty-one guns,
I know they brought another hero home, to us.

We're thankful for those thankful for the things we've done,
We can rest in peace, 'cause we were the chosen ones,
We made it to Arlington, yea, dust to dust
Don't cry for us, we made it to Arlington.

Wild Thing's comment.........

This is a great song and a wonderful tribute to America's warriors and Heroes. Thank you!!!!!

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (3)

March 01, 2011

American Combat Troops To Get Gay Sensitivity Training Directly On The Battlefield

In the heat of battle: Marines fighting the Taliban in Helmand Province, Afghanistan

Combat troops to get gay sensitivity training New policy OK’d for battlefield

http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2008/1108_warriorcare/army_personality_video.html

American combat troops will get sensitivity training directly on the battlefield about the military’s new policy on gays instead of waiting until they return to home base in the United States, the senior enlisted man in Afghanistan said Thursday.

The Pentagon is launching an extensive force-wide program to ease the process of integrating open homosexuals into the ranks, including into close-knit fighting units.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, the top enlisted man in Afghanistan where 100,000 U.S. troops are deployed, said that the sessions on respecting gays’ rights will go right down to the forward operating bases, where troops fight Taliban militants.

“I have heard about the training that will be forthcoming to the battlefield,” Sgt. Hill told Pentagon reporters via a teleconference from Kabul.

“We will take our directions from the Department of Defense, from the secretary of defense, the chairman, as well as the service chiefs of each service. Our plan is to take their direction, and we’re going to execute that training right here on the battlefield.”

No unit is exempted, he said.

“Our goal is to not allow a unit to return to home station and have the unit responsible for that,” he said. “While we own those soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, we’re going to execute that training on the ground. We hope that it will have little impact on their combat and security operations here.”

Elaine Donnelly, who heads the Center for Military Readiness, said it is “ridiculous” to train combat Army soldiers and Marines as they are engage in daily combat with tenacious insurgents.

“It’s absurd because the military has more important things to think about in that dangerous part of the world,” she said. “For the administration to say this is more important than even with the troops we’re trying to train in that part of the world, I think it shows flawed priorities at best. It is ridiculous.”

Wild Thing's comment.........

I sure never thought we would see this happening to our military.

The real enemy of our country is not the terrorists, not number one enemy anyway. The most dangerous destroyer to our country is sitting in the Oval office and all the rest of the Progressives. Where was OUR vote about all of this. Why didn't we have a say in this repeal of DADT. And dear God WHY DO WE IN OUR COUNTRY GIVE IN TO THE MINORITIES OVER AND OVER AGAIN !!!

So now we have our troops being shot at, IED's around them, and they are being told they also have to add gay sensitivity training in the mix.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (9)

February 26, 2011

Capt. D.J. Skelton, the Army's Most Seriously Wounded Commander, Returns to Combat

Army Capt. D.J. Skelton, commander of Company E, 229th Military Intelligence Battalion, stands in front of his company with his first sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class James O. Bishop. Skelton was seriously wounded in Iraq and chose to stay on active duty.

Sources:

DOD...
By Fred W. Baker III.....American Forces Press Service

ABC News

Captain D. J. Skelton was wounded in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004. He is considered America’s “most wounded soldier,” and has been learning to live with his disabilities for seven long and painful years. Today he is readying to take charge of the same unit he fought with in Iraq, this time stationed in Afghanistan.

Skelton, who was then a lieutenant, and his platoon had just arrived in Fallujah at a time when the city was the hottest battlefield in Iraq.

Around 11 p.m., Skelton received a radio report from a patrol that had spotted something suspicious. After reports of explosions, Skelton told the team to wait where it was until he and another squad could get there in a Stryker armored vehicle.

As they moved closer to the location, Skelton and his team exited the Stryker. They heard gunshots, but kept on going with Skelton and radio operator Lt. Roy Rangel in the rear. Suddenly, the team was blitzed with bullets and rocket-propelled grenades.

An explosion knocked Rangel momentarily unconscious and shrapnel pierced his legs, but he resumed fighting.

Skelton, however, was badly wounded.

"I remember all my vision went out. I was completely blind. I felt no pain. It felt as if I was floating through the air on my back. My audio was still intact. ... I could hear the firefight and voices in the distance screaming, but could not make out the words. ... Then all of a sudden, I felt the most intense pain I have ever felt in my life," Skelton said.

Skelton was a Lieutenant on that November day in 2004. He says now of his injuries, it was like being a real-life Mr. Potato Head:

Skelton had dismounted the vehicle when the RPG struck. Instead of exploding, it shattered, sending shards of shrapnel into his face and body.

Before his body even hit the ground, Skelton was sprayed with rounds from an enemy AK-47 assault rifle. He doesn’t know how many bullets hit him – he didn’t count them, he jokes now.

His injuries were horrific. Shrapnel had gone through his right cheek and torn apart his jaw and the roof of his mouth.

He had also been shot in the chest and had a ‘shrapnel tunnel’ through his body.

"I wanted to die right then. I hear a voice yelling, 'Lieutenant ... Lieutenant ... oh my God ... I think the lieutenant is dead. ...' I remember being drug and put into a vehicle. ... I was screaming the whole time ... but with most of my face blown off and my mouth destroyed ... it came out as this ghostlike hollow sound ... not even human. The next thing I remember was waking up weeks later at Walter Reed Army Hospital in D.C."

A piece of shrapnel had entered Skelton's right cheek and exited his left eye socket, destroying his upper jaw and the roof of his mouth. He had taken an AK-47 round through his upper left arm and had a "shrapnel tunnel" through his left chest.

"My left arm was destroyed, but my hand was intact. I have no bone between my hand and elbow. My stomach and chest were split open where shrapnel and AK-47 rounds had shredded. My right leg had a fist-sized hole through the lower portion. All the bone was missing from my foot to my knee."

It has taken six years and more than 60 surgeries for him to recover but he still has a missing left eye, only has partial use of his left arm and limited use of his left ankle.

The roof of his mouth has gone and he cannot eat or drink without a custom prosthetic, but the Warrior said his men never quit on him, and he wasn’t going to quit his fight to heal.

‘I can’t control what happens to my body or how my body heals. ‘I can either dwell on what happened and be miserable and pissy and complain or I can look at what I do have left and figure out how to make the most of my new life… how to make what I have work while always looking for creative ways to make up the difference.’

Skelton credits his life to the medic of 1st platoon of Charlie Rock. Listen to this – the character of the magnificent men serving our country:

Skelton said he owed his life to the “amazing training and skills of my young medic, the audacity, competence, and cool under fire of the men of 1st platoon of Charlie Rock [company] who under extreme fire drug me off the battle field, administered medical aid and got me to a hospital.”

“They did it in a manner that was not because it was their job but because we cared about each other. … We loved each other. … We were family, and we would die for one another,” he said.

“I remember seeing the RTO and Lt. Skelton fly through the air,” said Alejandro Rodriguez, the platoon’s medic. An RPG had exploded a concrete pylon, blasting Skelton’s face and body with shrapnel and rock.

“Next thing I remember, I was completely blind,” Skelton recalled. “I had no feeling whatsoever. My radio guy said he’d been shot, and then I heard a voice say, ‘Oh, my God, the lieutenant’s been hit! I think he’s dead!’ All of a sudden, there was a rush of feeling, which was probably the most intense pain I will ever in my entire life feel.”

Skelton was then sprayed with several enemy AK-47 rounds as he was dragged out of the kill zone, his body armor stopping at least one bullet to the chest. But it was the shrapnel that did the most damage. He begged his men to leave him behind.

The Army did not want to retain Skelton. He found a commander in Missile Defense who accepted him for duty at Camp Greeley, Alaska. It wasn’t the infantry, but it bought him some time. He used that time to learn everything he could about the way the Army worked:

He started studying policy and regulations and the relationship between the Defense Department and the Army. He also studied congressional procedures and how they relate to the military.

Skelton started writing recommendations on how to keep soldiers on active duty and how to improve wounded warrior care, and began e-mailing them to everyone he had met during his recovery. He also was becoming well versed on the medical board process, the relationship between unit commanders and hospitals and the transition between active-duty care and the Department of Veterans Affairs care system, Skelton said.

Then a huge opportunity came his way, and Skelton had a meeting with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld:

After the meeting, Skelton was offered a job in Rumsfeld’s office as the first person at his level to look hard at the gaps in care. Skelton sat on multiple committees and served as a military advisor to Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England.

Skelton had a front-row seat to history-making changes in wounded warrior care that swept across the Defense Department and, to an extent, the Veterans Administration. He regularly spoke with top DoD and congressional leaders, and even the president.

It was now 2007, and Skelton said he knew his active duty time was borrowed time. He felt he would be forced to resign because of his physical limitations:

He was a former enlisted interrogator and had a passion for American-Chinese relations, so he decided he wanted to return to the Army in the foreign area officer program. He could continue his education and learn advanced Chinese.

When Skelton approached Army leadership about staying on active duty this time, he received a different response. The request was granted almost overnight.

Skelton went on to command Company E, 229th Military Intelligence Battalion, at the Defense Language Institute’s Foreign Language Center.

General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, says not all wounded soldiers who are able to go back to service, are fit for combat:

Not all of the soldiers returned to duty are deemed fit for combat duty, and at first Skelton fell into this category. But with determination, and the right qualifications, he was granted an exception to not only return to active duty but active duty combat command.

Seeing Clearly - Through One Eye

The Army's new attitude of care is more reflective of its values, Skelton said.

"The Army ethos is to never leave a fallen comrade behind. What better way to live that ethos than to show the force out there in the fight that, God forbid, if something happens to you … we will not leave you?" he said.

Skelton said he still feels the pain of his injuries every day. He has to have a neighbor or a friend button his sleeve, because his left hand will never improve. He doesn't wear an eye patch, he said, because he wants people to see the scars of war.

"I'm having fun. I'm being challenged intellectually. I'm being challenged physically and mentally," he said. "I look forward every morning to putting on the uniform and coming to work."

Also, Skelton said, he has found that fellow soldiers are inspired by his continued service and are more inclined to come to him with their problems, knowing he has had to work through his own.

"We all go through struggles in life," he said. "And none are more severe or bigger than others. They're just different."

Despite his positive outlook, Skelton said he is not sure he would want to go through the experience again. But, then again, he wouldn't rule it out. It has given him a perspective that promises hope and contentment in life, he said.

"Someone once said to me, 'You see things more clearly with one eye than I do with two,'" Skelton said. "I believe that each and every one of us should do what we love to do. And if you wake up one day and you don't love what you're doing, think about changing."

The Captain runs 5 miles a day in northern California. He runs marathons. He is learning to surf. He’s fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has a tour in China as a foreign area officer already on his resume. Skelton is a long-time rock climber, and he is back at it these days. Since his injuries, he has held classes to teach amputees how to climb. He kayaks, ice climbs, and he co-founded, and is President of Paradox Sports, a nonprofit dedicated to helping wounded service members learn new sports or get back to the sports they loved before being wounded. He graduated West Point! He is one of the youngest grads of Harvard’s Senior Executive Fellowship program. He is a Military Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

In a few weeks, Captain D. J. Skelton will command the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment in southern Afghanistan.

Wild Thing's comment........

Remarkable! This is the story of the Warrior spirit. I thank you and America thanks you Capt. D.J. Skelton. God bless you and protect you.

This is also an excellent video of an interview of the Capt. :

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (3)

February 21, 2011

Wounded Iraq Vet Heckled at Columbia University

Veteran Anthony Maschek (above, with fiancée Angela O'Neill) faced heckling from fellow Columbia students over ROTC

"Racist!" some students yelled at Anthony Maschek, a Columbia freshman and former Army staff sergeant awarded the Purple Heart after being shot 11 times in a firefight in northern Iraq in February 2008. Others hissed and booed the veteran.

Maschek, 28, had bravely stepped up to the mike Tuesday at the meeting to issue an impassioned challenge to fellow students on their perceptions of the military.

Wounded Iraq Vet Heckled at Columbia University

FOX Nation

New York Post

by Bruce McQuain

Apparently civility and free speech only apply to one side at Columbia University - the anti-military side. Woe be unto you if you have the temerity to stand up in an open forum as a member of the Columbia University community and voice an opinion in opposition to that which is prevalent there.

A wounded Iraq war veteran found that out recently as he stood up - something he had to learn to do again after his wounds - and gave what the NY Post describes as an "impassioned challenge to fellow students on their perceptions of the military." It occurred during the second of three meetings the University has scheduled to talk about ROTC and the possibility of bringing it back on campus.

Speaking truth to ignorance, Anthony Maschek said to his fellow students:

“It doesn’t matter how you feel about the war. It doesn’t matter how you feel about fighting,” said Maschek. “There are bad men out there plotting to kill you.”

One student shouted “racist” at the former soldier, awarded the Purple Heart for somehow surviving being shot 11 times .

Several students laughed and jeered the Idaho native, a 10th Mountain Division infantryman who spent two years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington recovering from grievous wounds.

Maschek, who is studying economics, miraculously survived the insurgent attack in Kirkuk. In the hail of gunfire, he broke both legs and suffered wounds to his abdomen, arm and chest.

Several students laughed and jeered the Idaho native, a 10th Mountain Division infantryman who spent two years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington recovering from grievous wounds.

Opinions of the military like that aren’t unheard of among some members of our colleges and universities. But this is 2011, not 1971 and the vast majority of Americans decided early on in this century that it isn’t at all acceptable anymore.

Behavior like that of Columbia’s anti-military crowd toward Mascheck is rude, crass, childish, and demonstrates a cosseted ignorance that they, for some reason, seem eager to display. It speaks to the fact that differing opinions are not welcome. And civil debate? Why bother with that when you can bravely stand up and call a wounded warrior a “racist” for simply expressing himself in an open forum?

This sort of bratty behavior toward a man who literally bled on their behalf only demonstrates for all the the emptiness of words like “tolerance”, “civility”, “acceptance” and “equality” for the Columbia anti-war students who jeered and laughed at this man. They should be mortally ashamed of themselves.

The incident also demonstrates that there is no real desire to engage and discuss – instead the emotional argument hold’s sway and any who oppose it are shouted down. Their minds are made up and they have no desire to hear dissenting opinions – their preconceived notions based in a totally naive outlook on the world have formed their unchangable opinion about the military. And ROTC.

“Universities should not be involved in military activities,” Sociology Professor Emeritus Herbert Gans told The Post. “Columbia should come out against spending $300 billion a year on unnecessary wars.”

Wild Thing's comment........

Thank you for your service, Anthony Maschek. We are proud of you!

This really boils my blood. This soldier is a hero, and he is being heckled by a bunch of spoiled commie punks.

Why do these things always seem to happen 500 plus or whatever miles away? I would welcome the chance to be present when things like this happen. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (10)

February 16, 2011

Obama Planning To Replace General Petraeus as Commander of US and NATO Forces in Afghanistan

REPORT: General Petraeus To Quit As US Commander In Afghanistan

The Times of London is reporting from exclusive sources that General David Petraeus, the commander of the US-led international coalition in Afghanistan, is to be replaced.

“General David Petraeus, the most celebrated American soldier of his generation, is to leave his post as commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan. The Times can reveal that the Pentagon aims to replace General Petraeus, who was appointed less than eight months ago, by the end of the year. Sources have confirmed that the search for a new commander in Kabul is under way,” reported The Times.

The report said the US is seeking sweeping changes of top US leadership in Afghanistan with the aim of establishing a view the efforts were not dependent on Petraeus’ reputation. The goal is to replace him by the end of the year.

Petraeus was installed as the commanding general only eight months ago, replacing General Stanley McChrystal who was pushed out over remarks made to a Rolling Stone magazine reporter.

“General Petraeus is doing a brilliant job but he’s been going virtually non-stop since 9/11 [and] he can’t do it forever,” Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, told The Times.

Afghanistan: Petraeus, personalities and policy

Senior US Marine Says "Multiple Platoons" Are Headed To Egypt

Petraeus, more than anyone else, has been identified with the intensified military campaign in Afghanistan which, according to critics of the policy, has reduced prospects of a political settlement by alienating Taliban leaders who might otherwise be coaxed into peace talks.

Petraeus has been a towering figure in Washington and difficult to challenge politically. He had what was seen in the United States as a good track record in Iraq. And he was backed by Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — making it very hard for those within the U.S. administration who disagreed with his assessment to win President Barack Obama over to their point of view.

Moreover, Obama had already sacked two generals — Generals David McKiernan and Stanley McChrystal — and could hardly dismiss a third. (If I remember rightly — and no doubt someone will correct me if I am wrong — no president since Abraham Lincoln has changed his generals so frequently in wartime.) Promoting Petraeus would be far easier.

His departure, especially with Gates on his way out, could create the space for Obama to recalibrate Afghan strategy, backing away from the military surge and focusing more on a political settlement - if he wants to do so.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Petreaus is a good military man, waging a war he’s not ALLOWED to win, seeing good men being killed and injured. No way he leaves a war un-won after only eight months in charge. That’s not his history; that’s not his style. Petraeus is not being given the freedom to implement his strategy, but instead is being ordered to follow a plan that has no hope of success. So I really think this is all on Obama and his campaign for 2012, his wanting to make the war more like tea time with the taliban then bombing the hell out of the place. To do that he would have to remove or promote Petraeus to clear the way for someone more akin to how obama thinks. Just a guess on my part, I could be wrong.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (6)

The 1st Marine Division Marines of "The Old Breed" Celebrate 70 Years ~ Awesome Video Tribute!

The 1st Marine Division was activated aboard the battleship Texas February 1, 1941. It is the oldest, largest, and most decorated division in the United States Marine Corps. Marines with 1st Marine Division Combat Camera pay tribute to "The Old Breed" on its 70th anniversary.

Wild Thing's comment........

Please know that we are all so grateful for your sacrfice!! You are our heros!!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM

February 09, 2011

Pvt. Stefan Villareal and His Canine Partner Toki Never Far Apart, A working K9 team in Afghanistan

Pvt. Stefan Villareal and his partner Toki have been joined at the hip almost as long as they have been in the Army. Spc. Adam Ross introduces us to a duo who are learning to work as a team for Task Force Strike, based in Zhari Province, Afghanistan. Includes sound bites from PV2 Stefan ZVillareal, Dog Handler, 101st Airborne Division, 2nd Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company.

Wild Thing's comment.....

I love these special relationships our troops have with their caninei partners. There are some awesome stories about them from every war we have had this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (2)

February 08, 2011

Special Ops Marines and Connecticut National Guard Detachment To Be Deployed To Egypt

A senior member of the US Marine corps is telling people "multiple platoons" are deploying to Egypt, a source tells us.

There is a system within the US Marines that alerts the immediate families of high-ranking marines when their marine will soon be deployed to an emergency situation where they will not be able to talk to their spouses or families.

That alert just went out, says our source.

This senior Marine told our source that the Pentagon will deploy "multiple platoons" to Egypt over the next few days and that the official reason will be ‘to assist in the evacuation of US citizens."

Our source was told that "the chances they were going over there went from 70% yesterday to 100% today."

We're keeping these people anonymous because both would get in trouble for sharing this information with the press.

On Friday, the Pentagon announced it would move "U.S. warships and other military assets to make sure it is prepared in case evacuation of U.S. citizens from Egypt becomes necessary," according the the LA Times.

And it appears quite evident that it’s not just special ops Marines on the move.

According to a report in The Day newspaper in Connecticut:

“Connecticut National Guard Detachment 2, Company I, 185th Aviation Regiment of Groton has mobilized and will deploy to the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, to support the Multinational Force and Observers.

The unit left Connecticut Jan. 15 for Fort Benning, Ga., for further training and validation. The unit operates C-23C Sherpa aircraft and has deployed three times in the last seven years in support of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The unit will provide an on-demand aviation asset to the Multinational Force and Observers commander to support its mission of supervising the security provisions of the Egypt/ Israel Peace Treaty.

Chief Warrant Officer Four James Smith of Ivoryton, CT., commands the aviation unit.”

The key statement there being the “supervising the security provisions of the Egypt/Israel Peace Treaty”. It’s highly doubtful that mission would include any military activity in Cairo. It would seem far more likely these troops and their aircraft would be utilized elsewhere.

EGYPT: Pentagon moving warships, preparing for possible evacuations

Pentagon officials emphasized that military intervention in Egypt was not being contemplated and that the warships were being moved only for contingency purposes in case evacuations became necessary.

In addition to the Marines, the Kearsarge normally carries around four dozen helicopters and harrier jets that would permit evacuations and other humanitarian operations, the officials said. More than 1,000 Marines from the Kearsarge were sent to Afghanistan last month on a temporary deployment, leaving roughly one-third still aboard, officials said.”

As noted by the L.A. Times, the Kearsarge is an “amphibious assault ship” that’s normally equipped and manned for offensive military action.

Wild Thing's comment........

God bless our Marines and the National Guard that will be going to Egypt. I had not heard if they got the Americans out of there, maybe they are being sent too to protect Americans. The Embassy that will need protecting and eventually evacuating. Or maybe Obama wants to give Mubarak a secure way out of the country at a time when he can’t necessarily trust his own people to not kill him while trying to leave.

I sure hope obama is not sending these brave warriors there to protect his Muslim brotherhood, gosh I hate thinking that way . I would not feel comfortable being an American stuck in the Middle East right now with Obama as president.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (8)

January 30, 2011

Pentagon: Training On 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Starts In Feb. For Troops, Commanders

Pentagon: Training on 'don't ask, don't tell' starts in Feb. for troops, commanders

Using lectures, videos and PowerPoint slides, the Pentagon plans to start training commanders, chaplains and troops next month on how to adjust to a military that will allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in uniform, a critical step in ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, officials said Friday.

The new guidelines come as President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates vowed this week to lift the ban this year, a promise in line with the expectations of gay rights groups who are seeking a swift end to the policy.

Each of the military services will be responsible for the specifics of training, which will occur in three phases. Military chaplains, lawyers and civilian personnel will go first, followed by commanding officers and the rank-and-file. The services will focus on training troops before they deploy, but some training may take place on the battlefront, officials said.

"Moving along expeditiously is better than dragging it out," Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James E. Cartwright said Friday in a briefing with reporters.

The services must submit detailed training plans to Gates by next Friday. Training should focus on reminding troops to treat one another with respect, that no policy will be established solely based on sexual orientation and that harassment or unlawful discrimination of any service member is prohibited, he said in a memo instructing the changes.

Training is likely to be led by instructors, and may include written materials, videos, vignettes describing different elements of military life and PowerPoint slides outlining the changes. Each individual will need to certify that he or she completed the training, Cartwright said.

Obama, Gates and Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen should be able to certify that the military is ready to end the ban before every service member has been trained, Cartwright said, but neither he nor Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, would say how long they thought individual training sessions would last.

"When you're dealing with 2.5 million people, we're probably going to have some discoveries as we go," Cartwright said. Military leaders will meet every two weeks to review potential concerns or delays.

"We do take it seriously. It won't be a 'Here, read this' and move on," Cartwright said later.

Stanley said few, if any changes to military personnel policy and benefits programs are required, because the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits extending most medical, housing and travel benefits to same-sex partners. The Pentagon will continue to explore whether gay troops could designate same-sex partners as beneficiaries, he said in a memo outlining changes.

Once the ban is lifted, the military will no longer be able to remove troops for being gay and will cease investigations of troops who allegedly violated the policy, the memo said. Current military policy on free speech, religious expression and equal opportunity is also adequate, he said.

Service members discharged for violating "don't ask, don't tell" will be eligible to reenlist, but "there will be no preferential treatment" for them. Troops dismissed for violating the ban will not be eligible for retroactive pay, Stanley said.

There will be no new policy for releasing service members opposed to repealing the gay ban, but those in opposition may request voluntary discharges. Service members may already seek voluntary discharges if they wish to go to school or refuse to be transferred to a different location. Service secretaries could grant a discharge based on opposition to ending the ban if it's in the best interest of the service, Stanley said.

Officials did not know the expected costs of the training programs, but Gates promised to provide "adequate funding."

Gay rights groups hailed the Pentagon's plans.

"A brief training period for administrators and commanders is reasonable if it means that we will be done with this law forever immediately afterward," said Alexander Nicholson, president of Servicemembers United, one of several groups that pushed last year for an end to the ban.

Critics warned Friday that the Pentagon is rushing too quickly to end the ban. Elaine Donnelly, founder of the Center for Military Readiness and a vocal opponent of changing the policy, said "scores of complicated issues and problems involving human sexuality" remain unresolved. "All of these problems will be loaded on the backs of trainers and field commanders, who will be expected to divert valuable time to deal with all of the negative consequences in the midst of ongoing wars," she said.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday however, Obama said he expects to end the policy sooner rather than later. "Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love," he said.

The next day, Gates said in an interview: "We will move as fast as we responsibly can."

But he has warned troops that enforcement of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy remains in effect until official certification is approved. Stanley would not directly say Friday whether the military is currently considering the removal of troops in violation of the policy and added that he would consider removing someone, "if the case merits."

"We are obligated to follow that law, and to say anything other than that at this time would be inappropriate," Stanley said.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Officials did not know the expected costs of the training programs, but Gates promised to provide "adequate funding."

They’re cutting out weapons systems, yet they have money for this crap.

Time spent in sensitivity training and dispute management is time stolen from real training in the ways and means of warfare. This stupidity will cost dearly in many ways. We have Iran building nucs, Eygpt going nuts and China launching missiles off the west coast. And we are wasting money on this crap when we need to train more troops to use weapons.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (6)

January 03, 2011

An Ex-Con Finally Realizes How Much Our Troops and Veterans Have Done For Him and For America

A moment between an ex-con and an Army veteran friend is captured on film. You can see the two of them walking together at the beginning of the film.

An Ex-Con who has realized the error of his ways comes face to face with the fact that while he was committing crimes there are others who were defending his freedoms.

Wild Thing's comment........

Students should see things like this. Many of them could use a reality check like this to help change their perspectives!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (3)

January 01, 2011

Family Of Fallen Soldier Warmed By Letters, Stung By Politicians

Retired Lt. Col. Patrick Collins places his hand on his son Cpl. Sean Collins' coffin before the memorial service

Family of fallen soldier warmed by letters, stung by politicians ( OBAMA and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.)

Tacoma WA.News

The parents of a Yelm soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this month have received cards from friends and strangers expressing condolences, and they’re grateful for the support. “As a father of someone killed, it is overwhelming,” said Lt. Col. Patrick Collins (Ret.).

His son, Sgt. Sean Collins, was buried Wednesday at the Tahoma National Cemetery.

Among that outpouring of empathy, two politicians inadvertently stung the family.

One slight came in a letter of condolences the family received from the office of Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

At first, the Collins family appreciated that Cantwell had taken the time to send a letter acknowledging their son’s sacrifice. But the letter misidentified the slain soldier in its last paragraph, which reads:

“Again, please accept my warmest condolences. May your memories of Bryn and the knowledge that he made a positive impact on the lives of so many serve as a source of comfort to you during this time of sorrow.”

The letter was dated Dec. 20 and delivered to Sean Collins’ mother, Linda Collins of Yelm. The error conveyed to the family that Cantwell had sent a form letter.

“They couldn’t even proofread it,” she said. “I’m sure if her son had died, she would’ve at least wanted his name spelled correctly. That’s just sloppy staff work, that’s an embarrassment,” Patrick Collins said. He has not yet called Cantwell’s office to ask for an apology.

Cantwell’s office is on short staffing for the holiday week and has not replied to an email to its press staff. The Collins family was in touch with Cantwell’s office in the capital Thursday, and was told Cantwell’s staffers were looking into the mistake.

The other slight came when Patrick Collins called the White House and asked to have President Obama call his ex-wife, Linda, to talk about their son. He was told that Obama did not regularly make phone calls to the families of fallen soldiers.

Later, Patrick Collins read a story about Obama’s phone call to Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie. Obama reportedly praised Lurie for giving quarterback Michael Vick a second chance to play football after serving time in prison for running a dog fighting ring.

“That burns,” Patrick Collins said Thursday. “Any soldier that gets killed in action, you’d think the president would be calling someone in the family. There’s no politics in it. His predecessor did it,” Collins said

Soldier laid to rest

Sgt. Collins died with 5 of his fellow soldiers on December 12 in a suicide attack on their Kandahar province combat outpost.

Muffled sobbing quickly followed the first melancholy notes of music as they rang out for Sgt. Sean M. Collins. The fallen soldier’s father, Lt. Col. Patrick Collins (Ret.), grimaced as he fought back his own tears. He stood at attention by a casket while the bugle played taps, holding a final salute to the son he called a hero.

The 2004 Yelm High School graduate volunteered for his last tour with the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky. It was his third combat deployment in five years.

“My son was a hero,” said Patrick Collins, who served in Afghanistan in 2004 and 2005. “He could have stayed at Campbell. He had dwell time. He was a team leader and he wanted to go with his team.”

“Sean wanted to be in the Army since he was 3,” said his brother, Travis.

The day the soldiers died, Dec. 12, 2010, “will be a day no soldier in Bravo Company will ever forget,” said Capt. David Yu, according to a report from the memorial that appeared in Stars and Stripes. Yu was the commander of Collins’ company in the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

Brig. Gen. Kurt Story presided over Sgt. Collins funeral today. A seven-soldier honor guard handles the services with precision. It fired a 21-gun salute, stood by while the bugler played Taps and folded the flag over Collins’ casket with sharp, tight angles.

Story handed the flag to Linda Collins, as well as a separate flag to Patrick Collins.

“Your son will be missed, but he will never be forgotten,” Story told them.

After the military honors, Collins’ family talked with guests while the cemetery prepared a grave for his ashes. The mourners made one more caravan to the site and gathered in a circle around the grave while his urn was laid into the ground.

Wild Thing's comment.......

First honestly I would not want to hear from either of these to democrat freaks if I had a son that was killed in the war. But I DO understand the point, it is supposed to be done or should be by their local politician and also if Obama was like Bush did there would be a phone call.

These dems in power are the worst form of humanity.

It is not an excuse if her staff made a misake or not it is still UNACCETABLE!

Remember the Ft Hood shooting, where GW Bush and his wife Laura drove to Hood to see the wounded. Several hours later, the White House called and asked the Bushes to leave. A couple of days later, Obama showed up for a speech which began with shout outs.

Posted by Wild Thing at 08:48 AM | Comments (2)

December 27, 2010

The Last Six Seconds

Speech by Marine Lt. General Kelly as he spoke.

On Nov 13, 2010, Lt General John Kelly, USMC gave a speech to the Semper Fi Society of St. Louis , MO. This was 4 days after his son, Lt Robert Kelly, USMC was killed by an IED while on his 3rd Combat tour. During his speech, General Kelly spoke about the dedication and valor of our young men and women who step forward each and every day to protect us.

During the speech, he never mentioned the loss of his own son. He closed the speech with the moving account of the last 6 seconds in the lives of 2 young Marines who died with rifles blazing to protect their brother Marines.

This is that speech:

Nine years ago two of the four commercial aircraft took off from Boston, Newark, and Washington. Took off fully loaded with men, women and children—all innocent, and all soon to die. These aircraft were targeted at the World Trade Towers in New York, the Pentagon, and likely the Capitol in Washington, D.C… Three found their mark. No American alive old enough to remember will ever forget exactly where they were, exactly what they were doing, and exactly who they were with at the moment they watched the aircraft dive into the World Trade Towers on what was, until then, a beautiful morning in New York City. Within the hour 3,000 blameless human beings would be vaporized, incinerated, or crushed in the most agonizing ways imaginable. The most wretched among them—over 200—driven mad by heat, hopelessness, and utter desperation leapt to their deaths from 1,000 feet above Lower Manhattan. We soon learned hundreds more were murdered at the Pentagon, and in a Pennsylvania farmer’s field.

Once the buildings had collapsed and the immensity of the attack began to register most of us had no idea of what to do, or where to turn. As a nation, we were scared like we had not been scared for generations. Parents hugged their children to gain as much as to give comfort. Strangers embraced in the streets stunned and crying on one another’s shoulders seeking solace, as much as to give it. Instantaneously, American patriotism soared not “as the last refuge” as our national-cynical class would say, but in the darkest times Americans seek refuge in family, and in country, remembering that strong men and women have always stepped forward to protect the nation when the need was dire—and it was so God awful dire that day—and remains so today.

There was, however, a small segment of America that made very different choices that day…actions the rest of America stood in awe of on 9/11 and every day since. The first were our firefighters and police, their ranks decimated that day as they ran towards—not away from—danger and certain death. They were doing what they’d sworn to do—“protect and serve”—and went to their graves having fulfilled their sacred oath. Then there was your Armed Forces, and I know I am a little biased in my opinion here, but the best of them are Marines. Most wearing the Eagle, Globe and Anchor today joined the unbroken ranks of American heroes after that fateful day not for money, or promises of bonuses or travel to exotic liberty ports, but for one reason and one reason alone; because of the terrible assault on our way of life by men they knew must be killed and extremist ideology that must be destroyed. A plastic flag in their car window was not their response to the murderous assault on our country. No, their response was a commitment to protect the nation swearing an oath to their God to do so, to their deaths. When future generations ask why America is still free and the heyday of Al Qaeda and their terrorist allies was counted in days rather than in centuries as the extremists themselves predicted, our hometown heroes—soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines—can say, “because of me and people like me who risked all to protect millions who will never know my name.”

As we sit here right now, we should not lose sight of the fact that America is at risk in a way it has never been before. Our enemy fights for an ideology based on an irrational hatred of who we are. Make no mistake about that no matter what certain elements of the “chattering class” relentlessly churn out. We did not start this fight, and it will not end until the extremists understand that we as a people will never lose our faith or our courage. If they persist, these terrorists and extremists and the nations that provide them sanctuary, they must know they will continue to be tracked down and captured or killed. America’s civilian and military protectors both here at home and overseas have for nearly nine years fought this enemy to a standstill and have never for a second “wondered why.” They know, and are not afraid. Their struggle is your struggle. They hold in disdain those who claim to support them but not the cause that takes their innocence, their limbs, and even their lives. As a democracy—“We the People”—and that by definition is every one of us—sent them away from home and hearth to fight our enemies. We are all responsible. I know it doesn’t apply to those of us here tonight but if anyone thinks you can somehow thank them for their service, and not support the cause for which they fight—America’s survival—then they are lying to themselves and rationalizing away something in their lives, but, more importantly, they are slighting our warriors and mocking their commitment to the nation.

Since this generation’s “day of infamy” the American military has handed our ruthless enemy defeat-after-defeat but it will go on for years, if not decades, before this curse has been eradicated. We have done this by unceasing pursuit day and night into whatever miserable lair Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their allies, might slither into to lay in wait for future opportunities to strike a blow at freedom. America’s warriors have never lost faith in their mission, or doubted the correctness of their cause. They face dangers everyday that their countrymen safe and comfortable this night cannot imagine. But this has always been the case in all the wars our military have been sent to fight. Not to build empires, or enslave peoples, but to free those held in the grip of tyrants while at the same time protecting our nation, its citizens, and our shared values. And, ladies and gentlemen, think about this, the only territory we as a people have ever asked for from any nation we have fought alongside, or against, since our founding, the entire extent of our overseas empire, as a few hundred acres of land for the 24 American cemeteries scattered around the globe. It is in these cemeteries where 220,000 of our sons and daughters rest in glory for eternity, or are memorialized forever because their earthly remains are lost forever in the deepest depths of the oceans, or never recovered from far flung and nameless battlefields. As a people, we can be proud because billions across the planet today live free, and billions yet unborn will also enjoy the same freedom and a chance at prosperity because America sent its sons and daughters out to fight and die for them, as much as for us.

Yes, we are at war, and are winning, but you wouldn’t know it because successes go unreported, and only when something does go sufficiently or is sufficiently controversial, it is highlighted by the media elite that then sets up the “know it all” chattering class to offer their endless criticism. These self-proclaimed experts always seem to know better—but have never themselves been in the arena. We are at war and like it or not, that is a fact. It is not Bush’s war, and it is not Obama’s war, it is our war and we can’t run away from it. Even if we wanted to surrender, there is no one to surrender to. Our enemy is savage, offers absolutely no quarter, and has a single focus and that is either kill every one of us here at home, or enslave us with a sick form of extremism that serves no God or purpose that decent men and women could ever grasp. St Louis is as much at risk as is New York and Washington, D.C… Given the opportunity to do another 9/11, our merciless enemy would do it today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter. If, and most in the know predict that it is only a matter of time, he acquires nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, these extremists will use these weapons of mass murder against us without a moment’s hesitation. These butchers we fight killed more than 3,000 innocents on 9/11. As horrible as that death toll was, consider for a moment that the monsters that organized those strikes against New York and Washington, D.C. killed only 3,000 not because that was enough to make their sick and demented point, but because he couldn’t figure out how to kill 30,000, or 300,000, or 30 million of us that terrible day. I don’t know why they hate us, and I don’t care. We have a saying in the Marine Corps and that is “no better friend, no worse enemy, than a U.S. Marine.” We always hope for the first, friendship, but are certainly more than ready for the second. If its death they want, its death they will get, and the Marines will continue showing them the way to hell if that’s what will make them happy.

Because our America hasn’t been successfully attacked since 9/11 many forget because we want to forget…to move on. As Americans we all dream and hope for peace, but we must be realistic and acknowledge that hope is never an option or course of action when the stakes are so high. Others are less realistic or less committed, or are working their own agendas, and look for ways to blame past presidents or in some other way to rationalize a way out of this war. The problem is our enemy is not willing to let us go. Regardless of how much we wish this nightmare would go away, our enemy will stay forever on the offensive until he hurts us so badly we surrender, or we kill him first. To him, this is not about our friendship with Israel, or about territory, resources, jobs, or economic opportunity in the Middle East. No, it is about us as a people. About our freedom to worship any God we please in any way we want. It is about the worth of every man, and the worth of every woman, and their equality in the eyes of God and the law; of how we live our lives with our families, inside the privacy of our own homes. It’s about the God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable right.” As Americans we hold these truths to be self-evident. He doesn’t. We love what we have; he despises who we are. Our positions can never be reconciled. He cannot be deterred…only defeated. Compromise is out of the question.

It is a fact that our country today is in a life and death struggle against an evil enemy, but America as a whole is certainly not at war. Not as a country. Not as a people. Today, only a tiny fraction—less than a percent—shoulder the burden of fear and sacrifice, and they shoulder it for the rest of us. Their sons and daughters who serve are men and women of character who continue to believe in this country enough to put life and limb on the line without qualification, and without thought of personal gain, and they serve so that the sons and daughters of the other 99% don’t have to. No big deal, though, as Marines have always been “the first to fight” paying in full the bill that comes with being free…for everyone else.

The comforting news for every American is that our men and women in uniform, and every Marine, is as good today as any in our history. As good as what their heroic, under-appreciated, and largely abandoned fathers and uncles were in Vietnam, and their grandfathers were in Korea and World War II. They have the same steel in their backs and have made their own mark etching forever places like Ramadi, Fallujah, and Baghdad, Iraq, and Helmand and Sagin, Afghanistan that are now part of the legend and stand just as proudly alongside Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima, Inchon, Hue City, Khe Sanh, and Ashau Valley, Vietnam. None of them have every asked what their country could do for them, but always and with their lives asked what they could do for America. While some might think we have produced yet another generation of materialistic, consumeristic and self-absorbed young people, those who serve today have broken the mold and stepped out as real men, and real women, who are already making their own way in life while protecting ours. They know the real strength of a platoon, a battalion, or a country that is not worshiping at the altar of diversity, but in a melting point that stitches and strengthens by a sense of shared history, values, customs, hopes and dreams all of which unifies a people making them stronger, as opposed to an unruly gaggle of “hyphenated” or “multi-cultural individuals.”

And what are they like in combat in this war? Like Marines have been throughout our history. In my three tours in combat as an infantry officer and commanding general, I never saw one of them hesitate, or do anything other than lean into the fire and with no apparent fear of death or injury take the fight to our enemies. As anyone who has ever experienced combat knows, when it starts, when the explosions and tracers are everywhere and the calls for the Corpsman are screamed from the throats of men who know they are dying—when seconds seem like hours and it all becomes slow motion and fast forward at the same time—and the only rational act is to stop, get down, save yourself—they don’t. When no one would call them coward for cowering behind a wall or in a hole, slave to the most basic of all human instincts—survival—none of them do. It doesn’t matter if it’s an IED, a suicide bomber, mortar attack, sniper, fighting in the upstairs room of a house, or all of it at once; they talk, swagger, and, most importantly, fight today in the same way America’s Marines have since the Tun Tavern. They also know whose shoulders they stand on, and they will never shame any Marine living or dead.

We can also take comfort in the fact that these young Americans are not born killers, but are good and decent young men and women who for going on ten years have performed remarkable acts of bravery and selflessness to a cause they have decided is bigger and more important than themselves. Only a few months ago they were delivering your paper, stocking shelves in the local grocery store, worshiping in church on Sunday, or playing hockey on local ice. Like my own two sons who are Marines and have fought in Iraq, and today in Sagin, Afghanistan, they are also the same kids that drove their cars too fast for your liking, and played the God-awful music of their generation too loud, but have no doubt they are the finest of their generation. Like those who went before them in uniform, we owe them everything. We owe them our safety. We owe them our prosperity. We owe them our freedom. We owe them our lives. Any one of them could have done something more self-serving with their lives as the vast majority of their age group elected to do after high school and college, but no, they chose to serve knowing full well a brutal war was in their future. They did not avoid the basic and cherished responsibility of a citizen—the defense of country—they welcomed it. They are the very best this country produces, and have put every one of us ahead of themselves. All are heroes for simply stepping forward, and we as a people owe a debt we can never fully pay. Their legacy will be of selfless valor, the country we live in, the way we live our lives, and the freedoms the rest of their countrymen take for granted.

Over 5,000 have died thus far in this war; 8,000 if you include the innocents murdered on 9/11. They are overwhelmingly working class kids, the children of cops and firefighters, city and factory workers, school teachers and small business owners. With some exceptions they are from families short on stock portfolios and futures, but long on love of country and service to the nation. Just yesterday, too many were lost and a knock on the door late last night brought their families to their knees in a grief that will never-ever go away. Thousands more have suffered wounds since it all started, but like anyone who loses life or limb while serving others—including our firefighters and law enforcement personnel who on 9/11 were the first casualties of this war—they are not victims as they knew what they were about, and were doing what they wanted to do. The chattering class and all those who doubt America’s intentions, and resolve, endeavor to make them and their families out to be victims, but they are wrong. We who have served and are serving refuse their sympathy. Those of us who have lived in the dirt, sweat and struggle of the arena are not victims and will have none of that. Those with less of a sense of service to the nation never understand it when men and women of character step forward to look danger and adversity straight in the eye, refusing to blink, or give ground, even to their own deaths. The protected can’t begin to understand the price paid so they and their families can sleep safe and free at night. No, they are not victims, but are warriors, your warriors, and warriors are never victims regardless of how and where they fall. Death, or fear of death, has no power over them. Their paths are paved by sacrifice, sacrifices they gladly make…for you. They prove themselves everyday on the field of battle…for you. They fight in every corner of the globe…for you. They live to fight…for you, and they never rest because there is always another battle to be won in the defense of America.

I will leave you with a story about the kind of people they are. About the quality of the steel in their backs. About the kind of dedication they bring to our country while they serve in uniform and forever after as veterans.

Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 “The Walking Dead,” and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour. Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines. The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda.

Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and he supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island . They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America ’s exist simultaneously depending on one’s race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born.

But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.

The mission orders they received from the sergeant squad leader I am sure went something like: “Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass.” “You clear?” I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like: “Yes Sergeant,” with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, “No kidding sweetheart, we know what we’re doing.”

They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, Al Anbar, Iraq .

A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way-perhaps 60-70 yards in length-and sped its way through the serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically.

Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque 100 yards away collapsed. The truck’s engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped. Our explosive experts reckoned the blast was made of 2,000 pounds of explosives. Two died, and because these two young infantrymen didn’t have it in their DNA to run from danger, they saved 150 of their Iraqi and American brothers-in-arms.

When I read the situation report about the incident a few hours after it happened I called the regimental commander for details as something about this struck me as different. Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat. We expect Marines regardless of rank or MOS to stand their ground and do their duty, and even die in the process, if that is what the mission takes. But this just seemed different. The regimental commander had just returned from the site and he agreed, but reported that there were no American witnesses to the event-just Iraqi police. I figured if there was any chance of finding out what actually happened and then to decorate the two Marines to acknowledge their bravery, I’d have to do it as a combat award that requires two eye-witnesses and we figured the bureaucrats back in Washington would never buy Iraqi statements. If it had any chance at all, it had to come under the signature of a general officer.

I traveled to Ramadi the next day and spoke individually to a half-dozen Iraqi police all of whom told the same story. The blue truck turned down into the alley and immediately sped up as it made its way through the serpentine. They all said, “We knew immediately what was going on as soon as the two Marines began firing.” The Iraqi police then related that some of them also fired, and then to a man, ran for safety just prior to the explosion. All survived. Many were injured, some seriously.

One of the Iraqis elaborated and with tears welling up said, “They’d run like any normal man would to save his life.” “What he didn’t know until then,” he said, “and what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal.” Choking past the emotion he said, “Sir, in the name of God no sane man would have stood there and done what they did.” “No sane man.” “They saved us all.”

What we didn’t know at the time, and only learned a couple of days later after I wrote a summary and submitted both Yale and Haerter for posthumous Navy Crosses, was that one of our security cameras, damaged initially in the blast, recorded some of the suicide attack. It happened exactly as the Iraqis had described it. It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated.

You can watch the last six seconds of their young lives. Putting myself in their heads I supposed it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. Exactly no time to talk it over, or call the sergeant to ask what they should do. Only enough time to take half an instant and think about what the sergeant told them to do only a few minutes before: “.let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass.” The two Marines had about five seconds left to live.

It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up. By this time the truck was half-way through the barriers and gaining speed the whole time. Here, the recording shows a number of Iraqi police, some of whom had fired their AKs, now scattering like the normal and rational men they were-some running right past the Marines.

They had three seconds left to live.

For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines’ weapons firing non-stop.the truck’s windshield exploding into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart and tore in to the body of the SOB who is trying to get past them to kill their brothers-American and Iraqi-bedded down in the barracks totally unaware of the fact that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground. If they had been aware, they would have known they were safe, because two Marines stood between them and a crazed suicide bomber. The recording shows the truck careening to a stop immediately in front of the two Marines. In all of the instantaneous violence Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread shoulder width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. They had only one second left to live.

The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God. Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty, into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight-for you.

We Marines believe that God gave America the greatest gift he could bestow to man while he lived on this earth-freedom.

We also believe he gave us another gift nearly as precious-our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines-to safeguard that gift and guarantee no force on this earth can every steal it away.

It has been my distinct honor to have been with you here today. Rest assured our America, this experiment in democracy started over two centuries ago, will forever remain the “land of the free and home of the brave” so long as we never run out of tough young Americans who are willing to look beyond their own self-interest and comfortable lives, and go into the darkest and most dangerous places on earth to hunt down, and kill, those who would do us harm.

God Bless America , and..SEMPER FIDELIS!”

Wild Thing's comment........

WHEW wow, there is no way I could read this without crying. I am in awe of our Veterans and our men and women serving today. Awe because of their spirit, their hearts and their sacrifices they have made and continue to make for our country and for all of us to keep us free and safe. Our country has been so blessed to have such warriors.

Thank you, General Kelly for telling their story while in mourning for your son.

My condolences to General Kelly.May his son, Lt. Kelly Rest In Peace. And also the two heroes cited by General Kelly, Marines, forever young, and to whom we owe so much.

"We Marines believe that God gave America the greatest gift he could bestow to man while he lived on this earth-freedom. We also believe he gave us another gift nearly as precious-our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines-to safeguard that gift and guarantee no force on this earth can every steal it away."

God I wish I could do something more for our warriors and Veterans.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (8)

December 26, 2010

Officer Won't Sign Order For Troop Indoctrination

Officer won't sign order for troop indoctrination

Obama's repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is already damaging the U.S. military.

An Army lieutenant colonel has asked to be relieved of command rather than order his troops to go through pro-homosexual indoctrination following the repeal of the policy, which required homosexuals to keep silent about their sexual preference.

Currently the commander of a battalion-sized unit in the Army National Guard, the officer also has threatened to resign his commission rather than undergo "behavior modification" training intended to counter his religious convictions about homosexuality.

The soldier sent the following letter to his commanding officer:

Subject: Request for Relief from Command due to Personal Moral Conflict with New Homosexual Policy

1. I respectfully request to be relieved of Command of XXX Squadron, XXX Cavalry prior to new policy implementation subsequent to the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." My personal religious beliefs and moral convictions do not permit me to treat homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle, compatible with military service, any more than adultery, illicit drug use, or criminal activity. I believe this lifestyle runs counter to good order and discipline in military units, and I refuse to sacrifice my belief system, protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, in order to fall in line with the command policy that will logically follow. This new policy will undoubtedly include mandatory sensitivity training as well as same-sex partner inclusion in Family Readiness Group activities and integration into the full spectrum of other military benefits, as well as a whole new category of discrimination standards and investigative procedures. I will not, as a commander, put my signature on a training schedule or other document recognizing or legitimizing any of these things that contradict my personal beliefs.

2. I would like to remain in the XXX Army National Guard until I am eligible for retirement (at 20 years and 0 days), which would be in the late summer of 2012, but on grounds of my religious beliefs, I will not attend sensitivity or behavior modification training consequential to this policy change, even if it means disciplinary action. I regret that I cannot continue to serve in the military further, but feel that my efforts would be insincere because my heart will no longer be in it."

"I will not be the person who forces this training on my soldiers," the officer, whose identity was being protected, told WND. He plans to go on the record as soon as he discusses his request with his chain of command.

The officer said he's aware of other officers who intend to resign their commissions.

"These people want to serve. I want to serve. I love my job, but I can't do this job once they begin to implement this policy," he told WND.

Under the terms of the DADT repeal, the armed forces will not be permitted to allow open homosexuality in the service until the president, secretary of defense and head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff can certify that terminating DADT will not impair military readiness. During the transition period that will precede certification, the military plans to require servicemen to attend mandatory training sessions intended to change their attitudes toward homosexuality.

"Very few soldiers are fine with open homosexuals in the service," said the officer. "I cannot believe the numbers jibe with what was published in the previous survey," referring to a study commissioned by the Pentagon to assess whether the military could safely repeal DADT.

"I did not give up my constitutional rights and freedom of religion when I joined the military. I don't believe in subjecting myself to all of the behavior modification and sensitivity training. They're going to try to push the position that this is an acceptable lifestyle."

Beyond concerns about violating his own conscience and the beliefs of his soldiers, the officer predicts several additional adverse consequences to repealing the military's ban on open homosexuality.

"I don't believe the steps they're taking allow a commander to maintain good order and discipline in a military unit," the officer told WND. "DADT was a compromise to allow homosexuals to serve as long as they kept it to themselves. Now they'll be able to throw their lifestyle in everybody's face and commanders won't be able to do anything about it."

The officer also predicted problems with retention and recruitment:

"I think it might not have an immediate, huge impact, but as enlistments expire you'll get people who vote with their feet and leave the service, and I don't believe the recruiting effort is going to offset the amount of people that leave. The military historically attracts a more conservative group of people who have certain principles and beliefs and swear an oath to the Constitution."

Some experts predict as many as a quarter of Americans in military service will resign or leave earlier than planned because of the advent of open homosexuality. Nearly half of the Marine Corps respondents to the Pentagon survey said they would consider leaving the service earlier than planned.

The officer also predicted growing security problems as homosexuals become more prevalent in the service.

"One of the Army values is selfless service. Placing the good of the nation above personal desires is an essential trait of a good soldier, who may be called upon to give his or her life in the nation's defense. When you start trying to attract people who are so self-centered that they put living their lifestyle out in the open above the needs of their country and national defense, then you have a really dangerous combination. That's when you get instances like PFC Bradley Manning, who is a homosexual. Because of his personal beliefs and bitterness toward the military he decided to leak 150,000 sensitive wires that have done irreparable damage to our nation."

Manning, an openly gay soldier, reportedly sent many thousands of sensitive documents to the Wikileaks website out of anger over the military's ban on open homosexuality.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Incredible. They already have the “training programs” in place? I guess they (the US govt under Dictator Obama were pretty sure this was going to go through.

This was the primary objective of the homosexual agenda in general and the repeal of DADT specifically: Demoralize and compromise the United States military.

The Left is using our Military, which they hate so much, as a mechanism by which their agenda is inflicted upon society and culture and anyone who dares to disagree will have the full force of military justice turned upon them and they will risk having their lives destroyed if they don't "get their mind right"

Never forget the names of these worthless so called Republicans that voted Yes along with the Democrats on this:

Brown (R-MA)
Burr (R-NC)
Collins (R-ME)
Ensign (R-NV)
Kirk (R-IL)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Snowe (R-ME)
Voinovich (R-OH)

Republicans Not Voting:

Bunning (R-KY)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (10)

Vets Protest Plan Opening Military To Homosexuals

Vets protest plan opening military to homosexuals

Officer requests command relief over scheduled 'behavior modifications'

Veterans and active duty personnel alike are reacting harshly to the news that Barack Obama has signed the repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, and one much-needed leader already could be lost to the military.

A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army has confirmed to WND that he is asking to be relieved of the command of his squadron because of the new policy. And former combat personnel are telling WND that they are continuing to keep the pressure on Congress to reverse itself.

"I have already requested through my chain of command that I be relieved of command of my squadron prior to new policy implementation on grounds that my personal beliefs don't permit me to force the coming 'behavior modifications' training and other inevitable policies on my soldiers," the officer, whose name has been withheld, wrote to WND.

The statement highlights the question of whether soldiers themselves are ready to go along with the controversial social experiment imposed by Congress, or whether they'll carefully withdraw from command positions and troop ranks, pack their bags and leave the military.

Earlier, during congressional debate over the radical Obama plan to make the military more "gay"-friendly, officials reported that 12.6 percent of the personnel, some 264,600 soldiers, said they would leave sooner than planned because of the change. Another quarter of a million said that would be among their options when considering their careers.

The survey, done by the military itself, said nearly one-third of Marines would leave sooner than planned and another 16.2 percent would consider that – hitting possibly half of the members of the corps.

Another member of the military, whose name also is being withheld, warned that group showers, lack of doors on bathroom stalls and no doors in dressing areas now become issues.

"Who do I sue if I feel harassed? The drill instructor? His commanding officer? The post/base commander? Or does my harasser suffer a fall going down the stairs? Or from a high point in the obstacle course? How many harassment complaints until the pervert is washed out? How many witnesses to the event are required?" he asked.

"I presume our military are no longer welcome in Saudi Arabia where homosexuality is a capital crime," he suggested.

With Obama's signature today on the law that had been approved earlier by Congress, the protests are surging. America's leading veterans groups are helping lead the charge.

"The members are making their sentiments known," Marty Callaghan, a spokesman for the American Legion in Washington. D.C., said. "They are making comments."

Sometimes the comments appeared to go into a black hole.

"I just wrote my Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who voted for this bill," William R. Bridgeman, who served in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division, said.

He also served in the first Gulf War.

"I suppose a decadent society with decadent politicians is more than comfortable with a decadent military," he added.

But Burr was not responding.

His office declined to respond to phone calls and e-mails seeking comment for the WND story.

Callaghan said the veterans organization had urged patience and a thorough review.

"We sent a letter asking them not to rush through repeal of DADT," he said.

The policy was created about 17 years ago when the nation's law read that it is illegal for homosexuals to be in the military. The accommodation to those who choose an alternative sexual lifestyle was that if they did not publicize their choice, the military would not inquire.

A wide range of combat veterans say the law simply substitutes political correctness for military readiness, and that already is harming U.S. national security and morale.

"This further increases the political correctness syndrome within the military," said Brian McDowell, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence analyst who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and is now a chief investment officer with FBR Wealth Management Group.

"Loss of attention equals mission failure."

McDowell, who earned 18 awards and medals in the military and graduated from a number of leadership and command programs, warned soldiers need to concentrate on "weapons cleaning, physical fitness, strategy, tactics, potential threat responses, and operational multipliers, to name a few. Anything that takes attention away from these things increases the chance of not succeeding."

Social experimentation and political correctness were not among the priorities he cited.

"While our combat troops continue to focus on their mission on the war-front throughout the world, Congress can't focus on funding those very service members," said Tim Tetz, director of the Legion's legislative division.

He said Congress clearly didn't "take whatever time is necessary to understand the nuances a repeal of 'Don't ask, don't tell' would have on our nation's fighting forces."

The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James Amos, and the leaders of the Army and Air Force have voiced similar analysis. They agreed in testimony earlier this month before the Senate Armed Services Committee that repeal would be a distraction upon those in combat now.

Robert W. Spanogle, a past national commander of The American Legion, is taken aback by the lame-duck session's actions.

"Count me in with the commandant and those soldiers and Marines in the mud on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq, the tip of the spear," said Spanogle. "Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed said they believed there would be a negative impact on their unit's effectiveness with a repeal of 'Don't ask, don't tell.'"

While advocates for promoting homosexuality are awash in good cheer over their work, people with military experience fear the harm that is developing.

"This is a volunteer force with honorable men and women volunteering to give up their lives if needed in order to achieve the objectives of their country," McDowell said.

"If this attitude of valor is not respected by our policy makers we will see a degrading in the general order and discipline of our forces, by both soldier and commander," he said.

The soldier who raised concerns about privacy suggested to WND the military course of action now is filled with pitfalls that have yet to be considered.

"I presume now that all public bathrooms in America are unisex and all doors on the stalls will be removed? What's great for the military is great for society right? Isn't that what the lefties are telling us? So women using the toilet will have men watching them. Hey, we are all adults right? We won't peek and pedophiles won't sneak cameras into public bathrooms," he wrote.

"The real issue will be unequal treatment of men if you stop them from showering with women. Isn't the very nature of sexual attraction and the normalcy of it the point here?

"Why let one class of people shower with their muses while denying the majority the very same privilege? Otherwise won't we have to make lesbians shower with hetero men?

"So they aren't making the women in the shower uncomfortable? Ditto for gay guys. Will gay men only shower with hetero women? What do we do with the transgendered or bisexuals?" he said.

The reaction was moving far beyond the ranks, too. Leading traditionalist civil rights attorneys were dismayed by the law's enactment, but vowed to join veterans and active duty servicemen in the fight.

Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center in Michigan, said the military now will be under the microscope by those who watch for rights violations.

"The Thomas More Law Center will review cases of discrimination against Christian service members as a result of this repeal, and where appropriate, defend at no charge those service members penalized for resisting this abhorrent new 'morality' being forced upon them."

He noted during George Washington's command of the Continental Army, he approved the sentence dismissing an officer from the service for attempted sodomy in 1778.

Washington ordered the officer drummed out of camp and never be allowed to return.

"Service in the United States military is not a right," Thompson explained. "The fact that someone wants to serve in the military has never been the sole standard by which to allow service. The military has historically been selective about who can join, imposing restrictions based on age, weight, physical fitness, health, drug usage, and more. "

He charged that Obama and Congress had no thoughts other than to "curry favor with homosexual groups.

"It betrays our combat troops who overwhelming spoke out against it. And in time, it will destroy the religious foundations and the high moral standards that are characteristic of our military. It was those religious and moral standards, and not the sophistication of our military hardware, that made the American soldier the best in the world," he said.

WND previously reported that under the specification of the language in the law, the policy must remain in force until the president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff can certify that the change will not impair combat readiness.

Before that happens the military must rewrite laws and regulations that could affect same-sex relationships, such as the Uniform Code of Military Justice ban on sodomy and also indoctrinate soldiers, sailors and airmen to tolerate open homosexuality. The transition period is expected to take a year.

"It's important for people to know that this is not over," said Robert Knight, a leading opponent of the homosexual political agenda. "There are no permanent victories or defeats in politics. And this can be reversed at some point, in a more conservative Congress."

Demonstrating that the repeal will not adversely affect the military could prove a great challenge for the president.

"We think it's going to be very damaging to readiness and recruiting," said Tommy Sears, executive director of the Center for Military Readiness. "You're going to have people currently serving, valuable, experienced individuals, refusing to continue. On the flip side, people who would have considered serving will not because this policy is going to say you must accept this open homosexuality policy. The military will not do things halfway. They will impose a zero tolerance policy for the full range of preferences and rights for homosexuals."

Wild Thing's comment........

Making the Army bleed to death without fighting back in Afghanistan wasn't enough for Obama.

The military is no place for social engineering, and this policy is clearly causing problems with morale.

This isn't about freedoms and civil rights -- this is about changing the moral code. And what a way to do it -- forcing it upon the traditionally conservative institution of our US Military.

There is something we have been seeing much to much of in our country. The number of homosexuals in our country is very small compared to the total population, yet our government gives in to them. The number of Muslims in our country is small ( so far) again compared to the masses that are not Muslim. The comparison can go on with other issues and topics as well. So why in the hell does this kind of thing continue, why can't those we elect take a stand and even mention the small minority demanding things that are only destructive to our country and like this is to our Military. I could speak up easily and darn well would, and I know all of you here at this blog would as well if we were elected officials. Maybe the Tea Party movement will have given those elected more backbone to do just that......... speak up and stop the insanity and treason against what our country has stood for in so many areas.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (4)

Tacoma Native Awarded Silver Star in Afghanistan

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey pins a Silver Star Medal on U.S. Army Spc. Nicholas Robinson of Tacoma, WA, Company D, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, during a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Salerno Dec. 23rd. (Photo by U.S. Army Pfc. Christopher McKenna, Task Force Rakkasan Public Affairs)

Tacoma native awarded Silver Star in Afghanistan

The News Tribune

It was a typical morning in Afghanistan and Spc. Nicholas Robinson was just about finished with a six-hour guard duty shift at an Afghan police compound near his combat outpost.

Then all hell broke loose.

A mortar round landed roughly 20 meters in front of his guard tower.

“It knocked me back and when I got up I saw an explosion like nothing I had ever seen before going off,” the Tacoma native told a public affairs writer with the 101st Airborne Division’s Task Force Leader Rakkasan. “Then gunfire erupted from every possible side you could imagine.”

Over the next seven minutes in the first combat action he had seen, Robinson killed one insurgent carrying a rocket launcher and then held off 15 to 20 insurgents, killing two of them. One of them was a suicide bomber who got to within 50 feet of Robinson.

For his heroism and bravery, Army Chief of Staff George Casey presented Robinson Thursday with a Silver Star, the Army’s third highest award for valor in combat.

During the brief award ceremony at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Casey said Robinson’s actions were in keeping with the finest tradition of heroism and courage under fire, according to an Army press release.

Noting that soldiers always remember the first time they saw action and pointing out that this attack was Robinson’s baptism under fire, Casey asked them if they all responded “the same way Spc. Robinson did.”

Robinson, a machine gunner with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, recalled that when the bullets started flying he grabbed a Russian PKM machine gun and fired back. He killed one insurgent 35 yard away who was carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

More insurgents followed firing all kinds of weapons, Robinson said.

“So I just shot up all the ammo I could at them,” he said. “Then an (American) 240 machine gun was brought up because more people were coming up so I used that.”

Another mortar round went off in front of him about the same time as he ran out of ammunition on the M240. He then grabbed an AK-47 (automatic rifle) from one of the border policemen and began shooting the remaining insurgents including the suicide bomber.

At the ceremony, Casey told the assembled troops stories of recent Medal of Honor awardees and said Robinson’s actions were an example of the courage that is spoken of when talking about heroes.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Outstanding! Spc. Robinson!

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (3)

December 19, 2010

Straight Troops Must Shower With Gays, Says DOD Working Group

Straight Troops Must Shower With Gays, Says DOD Working Group--‘Gay Men Have Learned to Avoid Making Heterosexuals Feel Uncomfortable or Threatened in Situations Such as This’

CNSNews

Saturday, December 18, 2010

By Terence P. Jeffrey

A special Defense Department working group appointed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended that the military should “expressly prohibit” heterosexuals from using separate showers, bathrooms and bunking facilities from homosexuals when the repeal of the law banning homosexuals from the military goes into effect.

The working group has also recommended that commanding officers be left with the authority to exempt individuals from using the same showers, bathrooms and living facilities as homosexuals, but only on a “case-by-case” basis.

The House voted earlier this week and the Senate voted this afternoon to repeal the military ban on homosexuals, which has often been referred to as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

The working group’s Nov. 30 report—“Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’”–concluded that permitting heterosexuals to use separate showers, bathrooms and bunking facilities from homosexuals of the same gender would “stigmatize” homosexuals and be “reminiscent of ‘separate but equal’ facilities for blacks prior to the 1960s.”

“In the course of our review we heard from a very large number of Service members about their discomfort with sharing bathroom facilities or living quarters with those they know to be gay or lesbian,” said the report. “Some went so far to suggest that a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell may even require separate bathroom and shower facilities for gay men and lesbians. We disagree, and recommend against separate facilities. Though many regard the very discussion of this topic as offensive, given the number of Service members who raised it, we are obliged to address it.”

The working group was co-chaired by Jeh Charles Johnson, the Defense Department’s general counsel, and U.S. Army Gen. Carter F. Ham.

“The creation of a third and possibly fourth category of bathroom facilities and living quarters, whether at bases or forward deployed areas, would be a logistical nightmare, expensive, and impossible to administer,” said the report.

“And, even if it could be achieved and administered, separate facilities would, in our view, stigmatize gay and lesbian Service members in a manner reminiscent of ‘separate but equal' facilities for blacks prior to the 1960s,” said the report.

“Accordingly,” the report concluded, “we recommend that the Department of Defense expressly prohibit berthing or billeting assignments or the designation of bathroom facilities based on sexual orientation. At the same time, commanders would retain the authority they currently have to alter berthing or billeting assignments or accommodate privacy concerns on an individualized, case-by-case basis, in the interests of morale, good order and discipline, and consistent with performance of mission. It should also be recognized that commanders already have the tools—from counseling, to non-judicial punishment, to UCMJ prosecution—to deal with misbehavior in either living quarters or showers, whether the person who engages in the misconduct is gay or straight.”

The report quoted the adverse sentiments of a number of service members who participated in focus groups where they indicated they did not want to have to shower, use the bathroom or roommate with homosexuals.

“I live in the barracks and I don’t think that it would go over well in that kind of environment,” one service member told a DOD focus group. “I’m concerned about how people would treat that individual.”

“In the privacy side of the thing, they’ll have to make some changes to the current infrastructure, [for example] privacy stalls in the bathrooms,” said another service member.

“I do not have to shower or sleep in a room with men so I do not want to shower or sleep in the same room as a woman who is homosexual,” said a female service member. “I would feel uncomfortable changing and sleeping as I would if it was a man in the room. I should not have to accept this.”

“Tell him if he hits on me I will kick his - - -!” said another service member who participated in a DOD focus group.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This has everything to do with weakening our military by lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, and creating discomfortable situations within our uniformed services, and inviting good Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to leave and be replaced by...(use your imagination).

It also has to do with destroying the military traditions and culture.

What is next? Sensitivity training and indoctrination seminars?

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (14)

Senate Passes Bill to Lift Military Gay Ban ~ Not A Good Day For America and Our Troops!!!

The final vote was 65-31, with eight Republicans crossing the aisle to support the measure.

Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.) and Sen. John Ensign (R., Nev.) both voted to repeal the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on homosexuality. The measure passed by a 65–31 margin this afternoon. Other Republicans voting in favor of repeal: Sen. Mark Kirk (Ill.), Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.), Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and the Maine ladies, Sen. Olympia Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins.

Burr said it was not a difficult vote to cast, despite his state’s being home to Camp Lejeune, the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast. Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, had been one of the most high-profile opponents of repeal.

“Even though this bill has now passed, it should never be enacted immediately,” he said, expressing concern over how and when the bill would go into effect. Burr said he hoped the implementation process would address his concerns and those of military officials, like General Amos, who had come out against repeal. “The speed with which this was done ignores their input and their concerns,” he said.

Mediaite

With this repeal, the process is set in motion to, for the first time in U.S. history, allow gays to serve openly in the military without having to hide their sexual orientation. Under President Bill Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, men and women in service were required to stay silent about their sexuality, and since 1993 more than 13,500 service members were dismissed for failing to do so.

Earlier this week the House approved the bill by a 250-174 vote. The next step is for President Obama and his top military advisers to certify to Congress that ending the repeal of this policy would not hurt the ability of troops to fight. Thereafter, there will be a 60-day waiting period before the passed bill becomes law.

New Hampshire Senator Shaheen says this move will strengthen our national security.

NO it won't~ ~ Wild Thing

Marine general suggests repeal of 'don't ask' could result in casualties

The Taliban released a statement in response to the former community organizer’s speech.

The Marine Corps' top general suggested Tuesday that allowing gays to serve openly in the military could result in more casualties because their presence on the battlefield would pose "a distraction."

"When your life hangs on the line," said Gen. James F. Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps, "you don't want anything distracting. . . . Mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines' lives."

He cited a recent Defense Department survey in which a large percentage of Marine combat veterans predicted that repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" law would harm "unit cohesion" and their tight-knit training for war.

"So the Marines came back and they said, 'Look, anything that's going to break or potentially break that focus and cause any kind of distraction may have an effect on cohesion,' " he said. "I don't want to permit that opportunity to happen. And I'll tell you why. If you go up to Bethesda [Naval] Hospital . . . Marines are up there with no legs, none. We've got Marines at Walter Reed [Army Medical Center] with no limbs."

Amos had said previously that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly could cause "distractions" and "risks" for combat units. But his remarks Tuesday were the first time that he or any other senior military leader has suggested that repealing the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" law could directly endanger troops and cost lives.

The Marine Corps leaders have been more resistant to overturning the law than other branches of the armed forces.

The Defense Department survey, released last month, found that 58 percent of those in Marine combat arms units predicted that repeal would negatively affect their ability to "work together to get the job done." In comparison, 48 percent of those in Army combat units felt the same way.

Amos, the first Marine commandant with a background as a jet pilot, has been outspoken on the subject since he was confirmed by the Senate in September. In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Dec. 3, he was more critical of efforts to overturn the law than the other military branch chiefs, saying that changing the rules during wartime would be disruptive and ill-advised.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Obama Nation = ABOMINATION!

Marine Commandant General James Amos has stated several times that openly practicing homosexualism will get Marines killed. The top guy in the Marine Corps says so. He has been in the trenches. He knows.

As I said earlier, any senator that voted in support of DADT has knowingly and quite purposefully gone about destroying and weakening America's military .

Damn them, for making the already super deadly and tough lives of our brave troops, especially SpecialOps and troops at the tip of the spear on the frontlines, have to even think about dealing with these distractions. Damn them all.

May the blood of the lost who tragically die needlessly from such an insane circus and dangerous distraction stain their hands unto eternity.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (3)

Families Welcome Marines Home At Camp Pendleton

Wild Thing's comment.......

This is a feel good video to see this. WELCOME HOME!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (2)

December 18, 2010

Our Troops At Camp Mike Spann Say Thank You for your Support

Video provided by: Sandra Arnold, APR Public Affairs Advisory Team Director Department of Defense Civilian ISAF Joint Command

Michael Spann was a paramilitary operations officer in the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division. Spann was the first American killed in combat during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Merry Christmas and THANK YOU to our troops! You are in our prayers each day and our grateful hearts.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (2)

Obama Reaches Out (AGAIN) To Taliban ~ Taliban Release Their Response

Our troops on foot patrol in Afghanistan

Barack Obama once again reached out to the Taliban terrorist organization.

The White House ...for complete text.

Over the past year, we’ve dramatically increased our civilian presence, with more diplomats and development experts working alongside our troops, risking their lives and partnering with Afghans. Going forward, there must be a continued focus on the delivery of basic services, as well as transparency and accountability. We will also fully support an Afghan political process that includes reconciliation with those Taliban who break ties with al Qaeda, renounce violence and accept the Afghan constitution.

The Taliban dismissed President Obama's Afghan/Pakistan Strategy as a failed strategy, stating it has failed both militarily and on the civilian administration fronts.

Zabiullah Mujahid said, in an e-mail, the last nine years of war have proven that increased troop levels have no effect on the outcome.

"It is a failed strategy, not only on the military side but also in civilian and administrative affairs," he said. "Public services in Afghanistan have failed. Corruption, insecurity and also the civilian casualties are a result of failed American strategy."

"President Obama is also talking about progress, but it is clear for everyone that the reality is completely the opposite of what he says," he added.

President Obama unveiled his Afghan/Pakistan Strategy Review yesterday. He said that some progress had been made and that the Taliban and Al Quaeda momentum has been halted and that the insurgents had suffered grievous losses.

Obama emphasized that further progress will not come easily. Success is largely dependent on Pakistan's effectiveness of eliminating insurgents and the training of the Afghan National Security Forces.

The President also said that the transition phase would commence in 2011, with a complete handover to Afganistan's Security Forces by 2014.

In their response, the Taliban claimed that the exit or withdrawal of U.S. troops is not the result of success but rather an effect of increased U.S. casualties and the cost of the Afghan war, which the U.S. can no longer afford.

Mujahid vowed that the Taliban would continue the fight agains coalition forces. He said that "with the presence of foreign forces in our country there will be no peace and security. The interference of foreign forces in the affairs of Afghanistan ... will only increase casualties."

While NATO officials believe they have weakend the Taliban, it must also be pointed out that, as a rule, the Taliban do not fight during the winter months. The proof will be in the pudding, sort to speak, when the fighting season restarts this spring.

The transition phase, which is to start next July, is also contingent on conditions on the ground. The Taliban will certainly look to exploit NATO's public perception of this war and continue its strategy of IEDs, car bombs and infiltration of Afghans Security Forces.

Wild Thing's comment........

Good grief, Obama should just go over there and join the Taliban.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (4)

December 16, 2010

House of Representatives Passes Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Mike Pence Opposes Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal

House of Representatives Passes Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

House lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday to end the "don't ask, don't tell" law, giving new momentum to an effort backed by President Obama, Pentagon leaders and gay rights activists to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military this year.

The House voted 250 to 175 to repeal the 17-year Defense Department law that bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in uniform. The 75-vote margin was wider than a similar vote in May. Fifteen Republicans voted for the bill while 15 Democrats opposed it.

Wednesday's vote sends the bill back to the Senate, where a vote will not occur until next week at the earliest, if at all, according to Senate aides.

The bill's language originally appeared in an 800-page defense authorization bill passed by the House in May. But the bill failed a procedural vote in the Senate last week, requiring the House to vote again on a new measure to end the ban.

Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the new bill last week, believing it will earn broader Republican support after the Senate completes consideration of the New START Treaty and government spending.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said Wednesday she would join Republican colleagues Scott Brown (Mass.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) in voting to end the ban if the Senate votes again on the bill

Most House Republicans opposed Wednesday's vote

In a conversation with reporters before the vote, Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif), who is slated to chair the House Armed Services Committee in the next Congress, said Democrats "were more concerned about 'don't ask don't tell,' I believe, than about the military and about carrying out our responsibilities for those who are laying their lives on the line every day to protect us. That's a bad system."

House Votes to Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell; Loretta Sanchez Says Gay Soldiers Can Bolster National Security

The endless screaming you hear is from a rural Virginia estate, the home of former Orange County Congressman Robert K. Dornan, who must be quite aroused by today's events.

Loretta Sanchez, the woman who ended his notable political career in 1996, today did what Dornan, long a vocal opponent of gay rights, would have never done even with a gun to his head: She voted to allow gay and lesbian citizens to serve openly in the U.S. military.

Sanchez took the vote, which passed 250-175, in stride.

"Repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is the right thing to do," the Santa Ana congresswoman said in a prepared statement. "Everyone who is willing and able to serve their country should be able to do so, regardless of sexual orientation. This is an issue of national security as well as fairness that affects every single American."

According to wire service reports, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-San Diego), the son of an old Dornan pal, said it's wrong to treat the U.S. military like "the YMCA" and argued that "a liberal crusade to create a utopia" must end.

House Republicans who votes for DADT repeal

Biggert(IL)
Bono Mack (CA)
Campbell (CA)
Cao (LA)
Castle (DE)
Diaz-Balart, L (FL)
Djou (HI)
Dreier (CA)
Ehlers (MI)
Flake (AZ)
Paul (TX)
Platts (PA)
Reichert (WA)
Ros-Lehtinen (FL)

Oliver North: Repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Could Be 'Very Detrimental' to Military

and also notes take from :
FOX News

"Stunning assault on the all-volunteer military, the very best in the world. Barack Obama now intents to treat them like lab rats in a radical social experiment, and it can be very, very detrimental. This guy is in so far over his head you can't find him with sonar. And proof of that is the comment he made by the Navy Corpsman, in calling him a "corpse" man."

From Ollie North's Op Editorial he writes:

An old axiom, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," has been replaced by the Obama White House with one of its own: "If it ain't broke, fix it till it is."

That's certainly what the O-Team is doing to the U.S. military.

Congressional testimony, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, Adm. Gary Roughead, who is the chief of naval operations, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway all urged that the law remain unchanged while American troops are at war. Conway, who retires next week after more than 40 years of service, was blunt: "My best military advice to this committee, to the secretary and to the president would be to keep the law such as it is."

That advice was ignored by the O-Team.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a startling statement in congressional testimony last week. When asked if allowing open homosexuals into the U.S. military would lead to a mass exodus of troops from active service, he boldly declared that they can “find another place to work.”

67 percent of all Marines, more than 60 percent of special-operations personnel, and 57 percent of soldiers in Army combat units believe changing the law would hurt military efficiency, unit cohesion, readiness, and retention. Overall, 35 percent of service members deployed overseas said that changing the law in current circumstances would have a negative impact on combat effectiveness. And, perhaps most telling, nearly one-third of all those who are now part of the best-educated, best-trained, and most-combat-experienced military in history will consider “getting out” rather than serve side by side with openly homosexual men or lesbians.

Our all-volunteer military, particularly the Marines, Army combat arms, and special-operations forces — and their families at home — are making extraordinary sacrifices to protect us from an implacable enemy. The young Americans I see on the battlefields of Mesopotamia and in the shadow of the Hindu Kush are warriors in the crucible of mortal combat. They deserve better than to be treated like lab rats in Mr. Obama’s radical social experiment.

— Lt. Col. Oliver North, USMC (Ret.), is the host of War Stories on the Fox News Channel, author of the New York Times–bestselling American Heroes in Special Operations, and the founder and honorary chairman of Freedom Alliance.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Some names I am familiar with are no surprise like Cao and Castle. Or even Ron Paul. Djou being touted as the Republican version of Barack Obama. Djou was defeated in the last election and is being replaced by an uber progressive labor attorney who will make Nancy Pelosi look like a moderate.

Marine Corps General James Amos immediately condemned the vote as costing lives: "When your life hangs on a line on the intuitive behavior of the young man that sits to your right and your left, you don’t want anything distracting that."

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (8)

December 12, 2010

Little Marines Say Goodbye to Their Father

ABC News

Rochester, N.Y.- Staff Sergeant Javier Ortiz-Rivera called his boys his little Marines. He loved playing with them and teaching them how to salute and stand tall.

The youngsters used those lessons to bid their father farewell. Wearing tiny Marine uniforms made especially for them, they saluted their father as he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Seventy family members and friends attended the service to honor Sergeant Ortiz-Rivera. It was his wish to be buried there.

Family members say Javier sensed he was in danger weeks before he was killed in Afghanistan.

In a letter dated the week before he was killed, Javier's brother Orlando says, Javier told his wife Veronica, he was exhausted and was tired of being shot at. Ortiz says he thinks his brother sensed he was in danger. At one point, Javier told his wife, "time seems to be slipping away."

Veronica Ortiz-Rivera received that letter yesterday.

Orlando Ortiz says his brother never questioned his service to his country and loved what he did.

Though his family is devastated, Orlando says they are very proud of Javier and know his children will be so proud, once they understand who their father was and that he died fighting for his country.

Staff Sgt. Javier O. Ortiz Rivera, 26, of Rochester, N.Y., died Nov. 16 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

26-year-old Staff Sgt. Javier Ortiz-Rivera, was killed Tuesday in an explosion in Afghanistan. Sgt. Ortiz-Rivera apparently was killed while on patrol in a remote region of the country.

Staff Sgt. Ortiz-Rivera, 26, joined the Marines after graduating from Edison Tech in 2002. He served three tours of duty overseas, in Iraq in 2003 and in Afghanistan in 2005 and 2010.

"He was dedicated to his Marines and was proud of them," said wife, Veronica Ortiz. "He told me he was extremely blessed to be out there with the guys he was out there with. He started a Bible study with his guys, and his faith was stronger than ever."

Ortiz-Rivera lived with his wife and three children, Alyssa Jade, 8, Andrew Joshua, 5, and Anthony Javier, 3, in married housing at Camp Lejeune. Veronica said in an e-mail that her husband was a wonderful father.

“They are devastated,” Veronica Ortiz said in an e-mail. “Andrew says ‘Papi died, but it’s OK. He’s an angel that lives in my heart.’ Anthony asked, ‘Why did my dad die?’ I told him he died because he’s our hero and he was protecting us. His response was, ‘He was fighting the dragons and the bears, Mommy.’ Our daughter Alyssa is old enough to understand but the reality is slowly setting in. She is taking it the hardest and wears her dad’s dog tags and will be writing a letter to put in her dad’s casket.”

Wild Thing's comment........

Rest in peace brave Marine Staff Sergeant Javier Ortiz-Rivera. You will not be forgotten.

My heart aches for this family. May God give them comfort.

I can’t help but contrast the high ideals and clear direction of our troopsan with the sleaziness and greasy corruption of our politicians. Looking at the amoral human waste in this government makes me ill when I read about these American patriots!

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (7)

December 11, 2010

Awesome AH-64 Apache Longbow II - In Action In Iraq\Afghanistan

Wild Thing's comment......

LOVE it! We have such fantastic people in our military!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (2)

December 08, 2010

Catch-and-release of Taliban in Afghanistan Angers Troops ~ You Can Thank Dem.Obama and President Hamid Karzai

Catch-and-release of Taliban in Afghanistan Angers Troops

The Washington Examiner

More than 500 suspected Taliban fighters detained by U.S. forces have been released from custody at the urging of Afghan government officials, angering both American troops and some Afghans who oppose the policy on the grounds that many of those released return to the battlefield to kill NATO soldiers and Afghan civilians.

And those numbers understate the problem, military officials say. They do not include suspected Taliban fighters held in small combat outposts or other forward operating bases throughout the region who are released before they ever become part of the official detainee population.

An Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that President Hamid Karzai's government has personally sought the release of as many as 700 suspected Taliban fighters since July, including some mid-level leaders. "Corruption is not just based on the amount of money that is wasted but wasted lives when Taliban return only to kill more NATO forces and civilians," said the official, who opposes what he considers corruption in the Karzai administration.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Karen Davis, a spokeswoman in Kabul, told The Washington Examiner "nearly 500 detainees held in the [detention facility in Parwan] have been released outright or transferred to the [Afghan government] for disposition under Afghan law" so far this year.

She did not comment on detainees held at other facilities throughout the country, dozens of whom have been released, according to U.S. military officials in Afghanistan. Parwan is the main prison facility located at Bagram Airfield, just north of the capital of Kabul.

Davis added "nearly 200 of those 500 [at Bagram] have been released" since July.

The criteria for detention is not based upon a particular affiliation, such as the Taliban, "but rather is an assessment based upon a preponderance of evidence that an individual participated in the conflict as an enemy combatant and, if so, detention is necessary to mitigate the threat posed to the government and people of Afghanistan, the U.S. and its coalition partners," Davis said.

The Detainee Review Board, made up of three U.S. commissioned officers with a rank of major or above, determines when a prisoner is eligible for release and whether a detainee is likely to be rehabilitated.

Prisoners held at the Bagram facility are not considered guilty or innocent but rather a determination is made "based upon evidence that detention is necessary to mitigate the threat the detainee poses to the government and people of Afghanistan, the U.S. and its coalition partners," states a document provided by the International Security Assistance Force.

Earlier this year, The Examiner reported that numerous insurgents captured in Pakistan, including some members of al Qaeda, were returned to Afghanistan upon the request of the Karzai government, and then, according to a senior Pakistani official, "released back to the Taliban as bargaining chips in negotiations."

A Marine stationed in southern Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province told The Examiner that efforts to detain insurgent fighters are "worthless."

Earlier this year, his unit held a man known to be working with the Taliban. The Marines had gathered evidence that the man was transporting hundreds of pounds of bomb-making equipment and explosives for the Taliban. But, shortly after they captured him, he was set free.

"Less than two weeks later, we saw the same guy walking through the bazaar," said the Marine, who spoke on condition that he not be named. "He recognized us. I wanted to shoot him right then and there. We got the guy, and yet there he was, walking around planning to kill again, and we couldn't do a thing about it."

For American combat troops in Afghanistan, the release of suspect Taliban is seen as a symptom of the corruption of the Karzai government.

"Back-room dealings between Karzai officials and local government connected to the Taliban make NATO's work almost impossible," said a military official stationed in Afghanistan. "They call the shots, and we've got to release the bad guys."

The release of more than 250,000 diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks last week provided a rare glimpse into what the State Department considers official corruption in the Karzai government.

That was the opinion of Afghan officials interviewed recently. "Afghanistan is a corrupt mess populated by citizens who are far more comfortable thinking and acting locally and tribally than nationally," one official said. "Karzai takes advantage of that for his own benefit," he added. "The U.S. turns a blind eye because they don't know how to stop it."

Wild Thing's comment.........

More than 500 suspected Taliban fighters detained by U.S. forces have been released from custody at the urging of Afghan government officials.

Then what in HELL are we DOING there?????????????????????????????????

Just say it Obama you want to KILL our troops!!!!

Then there is also how our US troops are being prosecuted for killing the Muslim enemy.

If Obama will not let us win it with his rules of engagement and this shit going on in this latest article, then lets get out. Obama will not speak up for our troops, no way, he favors his precious freaking Muslims even if they are terrorists.

In war you kill the enemy and destroy their means of making war, but not with Obama at the helm.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (5)

December 07, 2010

December 7th ....A Day That Will Live In Infamy

On December 7th 1941, on an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning on a beautiful Hawaiian island, the first wave of Japanese airplanes left 6 aircraft carriers and struck Pearl Harbor a few minutes before 8 AM local time.

In two waves of terror lasting two long hours, they killed or wounded over 3,500 Americans and sank or badly damaged 18 ships - including all 8 battleships of the Pacific Fleet - and over 350 destroyed or damaged aircraft. At least 1,177 lives were lost when the Battleship U.S.S. Arizona exploded and subsequently sank.

Wild Thing's comment........

May God rest those we lost....we shall never forget.

Americans remembered Pearl Harbor for four years during WWII. We are at war right now and most Americans forgot why. 9/11 was a momentous event just like Pearl Harbor. However, the War on Terror has been turned into a political event by the media and by much of Congress. That has divided America and we don't have the solidarity we had during WWII.

Anyone that goes to the Arizona Memorial simply MUST walk across the parking lot and also tour the USS Bowfin submarine and museum.......highly under-publicized, but well worth the extra hour or so.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (5)

December 06, 2010

Santa Clause is a Paratrooper! Elves gear up for Operation Toy Drop

A paratrooper at Fort Bragg waits in line December 4, 2009 with toys to donate at last year's Operation Toy Drop. This year's event takes place December 10th and 11th at Fort Bragg.

Paratrooper Mulhall waits with his bear for an opportunity to jump at Operation Toy Drop last year. The annual event takes place December 10th and 11th at Fort Bragg and will raise more than 6,000 toys for area families.

Santa Clause is a Paratrooper! Elves gear up for Operation Toy Drop

POPE AIR FORCE BASE, NC - As the paratroopers of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) gear up for what will be the biggest airborne operation held by the U.S. Army, one thing remains first on their minds, it's for the kids.

"For me, Toy Drop means that for Christmas morning, a child who doesn't usually get any sort of presents will be able to open one and play with that toy all day long," said Hipenbecker. "That child wouldn't have gotten that toy if it wasn't for these caring paratroopers."

The annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop has become the largest combined airborne operation held by the U.S. Army Reserve's USACAPOC(A) with the help of Pope Air Force Base's 43rd and 440th Airlift Wings, the participation of Soldiers from Fort Bragg's XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division and Special Operations Command. This year's event takes place December 10th and 11th at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and hopes to raise more than 6,000 toys for families in need.

Here's how it works. Paratroopers bring an unwrapped toy to donate in exchange for the opportunity to earn foreign jump wings from allied soldiers from around the world.

What is OTD 13?

Operation Toy Drop is a week-long, philanthropic project where Fort Bragg's paratroopers (or visiting paratroopers from across the nation) individually contribute new, unwrapped toys to be distributed to local children's homes and social service agencies. Despite the project's name, these toys are not "dropped" anywhere except into the arms of deserving children throughout.

This year's event will host allied jumpmasters from 10 different countries. Joining the returning allied jumpmaster favorites from Germany, Canada, Poland, Ireland, and Chile, are jumpmasters from Botswana, Thailand, Estonia, Israel, and Latvia.

Elves, including Hipenbecker, collect and sort the toys by age and gender, wrap the toys, and deliver them to wherever they are needed.

The event incorporates airborne training, foreign military jumpmasters and local charities into one event. Toys are distributed to social service organizations and children's homes throughout central and Eastern North Carolina as well as the Pediatrics section of Womack Army Medical Center, and military Families in need.

The first Operation Toy Drop in 1998, with the help of Marine pilots, was very small and collected around 200 toys, but in the years to follow the operation continued to grow, grossing up to about 35,000 toy donations since the beginning of Operation Toy Drop.

Last year, the event drew more than 2,000 paratroopers, 2,900 toys, and 24 allied jumpmasters. Started by then Staff Sgt. Randy Oler, a jumpmaster for USACAPOC(A), the event has become a tradition for Fort Bragg's paratroopers. The operation was renamed in Oler's honor after his sudden death from a heart attack in 2004.

This year's event is promised to be even bigger, allowing more toys to be given to Families in need. USACAPOC(A) has reached out to the communities surrounding Fort Bragg and toy collection boxes have been placed in area businesses. In addition, the local hockey team, the FireAntz, will be collecting toys during their military appreciation games, Dec. 3 and 4.

"Families should come out and see the airborne operation, see what their paratrooper does, and join in on all the activities that will be available," explained Hipenbecker. "It's a great opportunity to get the community involved and join in on the holiday spirit."

Wild Thing's comment........

We have such awesome Americans in our military. God bless each one of them and their loved ones and keep them safe.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (4)

America's Best in Afghanistan

from WeaselZippers

Wild Thing's comment......

Wonderful video of our troops!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (3)

December 02, 2010

"Smart" Grenade Launcher Deployed in Afghanistan

The Pentagon has rolled out prototypes of its first-ever programmable "smart" grenade launcher, a shoulder-fired weapon that uses microchipped ammunition to target and kill the enemy, even when the enemy is hidden behind walls or other cover.

The gun's stats are formidable: it fires 25mm air-bursting shells up to 2,300 feet (700 meters), well past the range of most rifles used by today's soldiers, and programs them to explode at a precise distance, allowing troops to neutralize insurgents hiding behind walls, rocks or trenches or inside buildings.

CNN reported on the weapon almost a year ago, when the Pentagon still had it in tests. Watch this video report from former CNN reporter Rick Sanchez to get an idea of what this weapon can do, both for US forces and for innocent civilians in the immediate area of gunfire:

And now it's being deployed to the Middle East to take out the enemy:

The Academy Award-winning film The Hurt Locker has a particularly memorable scene involving a standoff between an American sharpshooter and an Iraqi insurgent, where both have each other pinned down behind cover. The American sharpshooter wins the standoff — but doesn’t realize it for hours, only moving after it becomes clear that the insurgent died from a well-aimed shot earlier in the day. Imagine the same scene, but with a weapon that can actually find a target behind cover and detonate without air or artillery support, and what that would mean for US forces engaged in urban or guerilla warfare.

Actually, we don’t have to imagine it. The XM-25 has been deployed to Afghanistan, where infantry units call it a “gamechanger“:

It looks and acts like something best left in the hands of Sylvester Stallone’s “Rambo,” but this latest dream weapon is real — and the US Army sees it becoming the Taliban’s worst nightmare.

The Pentagon has rolled out prototypes of its first-ever programmable “smart” grenade launcher, a shoulder-fired weapon that uses microchipped ammunition to target and kill the enemy, even when the enemy is hidden behind walls or other cover.

After years of development, the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, about the size of a regular rifle, has now been deployed to US units on the battlefields of Afghanistan, where the Army expects it to be a “game-changer” in its counterinsurgencyoperations.

“For well over a week, it’s been actively on patrols, and in various combat outposts in areas that are hot,” said Lieutenant Colonel Chris Lehner, program manager for the XM25.

Wild Thing's comment........

Love our troops getting as many goodies as possible.

AWESOME!

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (1)

November 29, 2010

Lex The Purple Heart Dog - Semper Fi "Always Faithful"

Lex is not the average dog. He's a Marine Corps bomb sniffing dog that was previously stationed in Fallujah. He has won a Purple Heart for his service. In March of 2007, Lex was injured in a granade explosion that took the life of his handler, Corporal Dustin J. Lee. Since then, Lex has suffered a variety of problems related to his injury, including chronic arthritis.

From 2008

Marines Times

Lex will be given a commemorative Purple Heart next month at the Working Dog and Fallen K-9 Handler Tribute.

Eight-year-old Lex was working with Lee when the Marine was killed during a bombing in Iraq last year. The German shepherd was also injured. He has since been retired and lives with Lee’s family in Clarke County, Miss. Lee and Lex had been assigned to the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga.

The tribute will be Feb. 16 at the Air Armament Museum, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Lee’s family is scheduled to be on hand for the event.

In December, the Marine Corps announced Lex could go home to Lee’s family. It is the first time the military has granted a dog early retirement to be adopted by someone other than a former handler.

The military has more than 1,700 dogs that work alongside American troops, including about 260 in the Marines. Their bomb-sniffing skills have been in high demand in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Working Dog Association said dogs have worked with the military beginning with World War II.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This is such a great story, it is sad because Corporal Dustin J. Lee was killed. But the good part is that Lex gets to be with the family of Corporal Dustin J. Lee. And they are taking such good care of him and giving him a loving home right where he belongs.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:48 AM | Comments (5)

Checking In With Our Troops ~ They ROCK!

More M1A1 Tanks Arrive in Afghanistan

M1A1 Abrams tanks are staged at the Initial Issue Provisioning lot at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. Five tanks have arrived so far and another dozen or so are expected to arrive over the coming weeks. Marines and contractors will inspect and up-armor the tanks before they are issued to infantry Marines throughout Helmand province. The Tanks will provide coalition forces with superior optics, maneuverability and precision fire power to be used during counter insurgency operations. Produced by Staff Sgt. Jennifer Brofer.

Tanks were last used by the Marine Corps in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Army Spc. Kathryn Fish coaches a fellow soldier during a leader development program at Camp Taji, Iraq

Chief Warrant Officer Jose Martinez performs dumbbell chest presses in the gymnasium aboard the amphibious dock landing ship Pearl Harbor on Nov. 22. Pearl Harbor is part of the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group, which is transiting the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility.
MC2 Michael Russell / Navy

Members of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, fire mortar rounds from their forward operating base at Mian Poshteh, Helmand province, on Tuesday.
Manpreet Romana/Agence France Presse

U.S Army Soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division patrol through the bazaar in Charkh, Afghanistan.

Fresh artillery blasts near a South Korean Island attacked earlier this week apparently came during drill today by North Korea. (Nov. 26)

Wild Thing's comment.......

THANK YOU!!! for all that you do!! For serving our country and for the sacrfices you make every day,
I Pray each day God will keep you safe, and that he will bring you home, VERY, VERY, SOON!!!
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!! AWESOME JOB GUYS!! YOU are what makes are Country so Great!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (4)

November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving Day Meal Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan

Thanksgiving Day Meal Aboard Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan (HiDef!)

Marines try to make the most of Thanksgiving in Afghanistan

Afghanistan — If he were back home Thursday, Marine Lance Cpl. Chad Berry would have eaten turkey and ham at the home of one of his sets of grandparents in Tennessee. If it was his father’s side of the family, they’d go deer hunting after dinner, then come home and eat some more.

Back home, Pfc. Ysnardy Torres, 21, would be in New York City, visiting family in three boroughs, eating a lot of shredded turkey and his aunt’s flan, a type of custard dessert.

“I’d be going from house to house, getting food,” he said Thursday morning while training Afghan police recruits at the Adraskan National Training Center in western Afghanistan. “It starts in Brooklyn, to the Bronx, to Queens and then back to Brooklyn. I’d be tearing that (expletive) up.”

If he wasn’t deployed here with 14 other Marines, Lance Cpl. Gordon Sherburne would be at his Uncle Wade’s house in Mesick, Mich., chowing down with 50 other members of the Sherburne clan.

“I’d be watching the Dallas Cowboys play — that’s my wife’s team — and eating some green beans with bacon, ham and stuffing,” 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Mark McCart said of his holiday plans were he back in Fountain, Colo. “And just chill.”

Thoughts inevitably turned to home Thursday for these Marines and the thousands of other U.S. troops overseas on such a family-focused holiday. It’s a day for which it’s difficult to be away.

“It’s even harder than Christmas,” said Berry, 21, of Dunlap, Tenn.

“It (expletive) sucks,” Torres said of holidays far from home, adding that the Internet only makes him realize the good times his loved ones are having back home. “I don’t even go on my Facebook.”

Still, Marines make do. Thursday is a half-day of work here, and everyone’s off Friday, so Thanksgiving synched well with the training schedule.

The contractors in charge of the chow hall pulled out all the stops, and the Marines, Italian and Polish troops were treated to a gut-busting lunch and dinner. There was turkey, discs of a pre-formed sausage and stuffing concoction, as well as mashed potatoes, but there was also grilled lobster and steaks.

Before supper, Army Lt. Col. Mike King, who oversees the base, reiterated the story of the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving in 1621 for the non-Americans in attendance.

“Today we don’t have the venison or the wild fowl, but we do have turkey,” he said before everyone dug in.

Many of the Marines were thankful for the things most people appreciate: family, friends and good health.

Sherburne said he was thankful to be at Adraskan, because, “I’m lucky I got a good deployment.”

And though he was missing the honeyed ham at his grandparents’ house in Alabama, Lance Cpl. Bryant Mitchell, 25, also appreciated Adraskan on this day of giving thanks.

“I’m thankful to be here, actually,” he said. “Just for the experience, doing something most people don’t do.”

Wild Thing's comment........

Fantasitc! God bless our troops!!

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (7)

We're Americans

Wild Thing's comment......

Great video! God bless America and thank you to all our Veterans and our troops serving.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM

Giving Thanks In Afghanistan ~ Thank You Troops!

U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visits with Glendon E. Bentley and other members of the Lone Star Paralyzed Veterans of America Honor Guard at the World Congress and Exposition on Disabilities in Dallas, Nov. 19, 2010. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Capt. Woowon Chung dishes out stuffing and mashed potatoes at FOB Tarnek in the Dand district of Kandahar on Thursday for troops with 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York. Some of the officers rocked their Stetsons as they served the meal to the enlisted soldiers

U.S. troops in Afghanistan got a little taste of Thanksgiving festivities on Thursday as some leaders dished out the holiday feast for the deployed troops. Like Capt. Woowon Chung, who dishes out stuffing and mashed potatoes at FOB Tarnek in the Dand district of Kandahar on Thursday for troops with 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York. Some of the officers rocked their Stetsons as they served the meal to the enlisted soldiers. Meanwhile, with calls of "cup or cone" before soldiers were even through the line getting their Thanksgiving meal, 1st Sgt. Philip Harrison eagerly scooped cookies-and-cream ice cream for the soldiers of 1/71 Cav. The troops walked away with their plates piled high with yams, turkey and mashed potatoes and ice cream dripping down their hands.

Wild Thing's comment.....

No Obama today, let's pretend he does not exist for the day. Poof! OH how I wish. haha

Have a wonderful Friday everyone.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (4)

More With Our Troops In Iraq and Afghanistan

Soldiers of the 1BCT 4ID Raider Brigade take a moment to wish their families and friends a Happy Thanksgiving all the way from Afghanistan. Video provided by 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

B-roll of Thanksgiving Day celebration at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Chief Master Sgt. Dean Roberts volunteered to serve turkey and ham to the troops during the lunch hour.

The 10th Mountain Division band was also on hand to provide music....towards the end of the video

Baghdad.........US soldiers stationed in Baghdad celebrated Thanksgiving Day on Thursday with a meal in a hall of one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (2)

November 22, 2010

'Smart Weapon' Rifle Debuts On Afghanistan's Battlefields

'Smart weapon' rifle debuts on Afghanistan's battlefields

Some U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan are using a “smart weapon” rifle that the Army hopes will be a “gamechanger” on the battlefield.

About the size of a regular rifle, the XM25 Counter Defilade Targeting Engagement System has the potential to neutralize an enemy, even when the enemy is hidden behind buildings or other barriers, said Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner, project manager for the XM25 with Program Executive Office Soldier.

The weapon can be set so that bullets will explode either on impact, in front or behind an object, depending on the way the weapon is programmed, said Lehner.

A soldier can use it to target and kill an enemy hiding behind walls, in a home, or other barrier from nearly 2,300 feet away, he said.

“In the hands of a soldier trained for only a few minutes, he was able to adjust the systems, get the range of a target, launch it and hit them dead-on,” he said.

“They were hitting a steel target silhouette at 503 meters away. They didn’t even have to be that precise, but the weapon was that precise. And we found they were hitting right center mass, time after time after time.”

The weapon also makes allowances for different outside conditions.

“One of the biggest challenges our soldiers face with our current weapons, at the squad level – they have a hard time determining range with their naked eye and adjusting their aim point off of the range and the wind and atmosphere,” Lehner said.

“Whether it’s cold or hot that day it will fly different. But this fire control system on the XM, takes into consideration all of these things and gives you a crosshair of where to aim.”

The military hopes the precise nature of the weapon will mean less civilian casualties.

“It’s not going to accidentally go to the next house down and mistakenly explode,” Lehner said.

“There are times within the history of small arms and even large arms, that there’s a revolutionary step, there’s a leap ahead,” he said. “When the British premiered their first tanks in World War I the Germans didn’t even know how to defend against them.”

That kind of leap can sometimes be the thing that swings the battle, Lehner said.

“That’s what we’re hoping to do with this weapon.”

Wild Thing's comment........

God bless our troops! I want them to have anything they need, so this is great news.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (6)

U.S. Sending Tanks To Afghanistan For First Time

M1A1 Abrams tank during a March training session. The U.S. is bringing the tanks to Afghanistan.

U.S. sending tanks to Afghanistan for first time

The United States is beefing up its firepower in Afghanistan by employing heavily armored tanks in Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, a military spokesman said Friday.

The U.S. Marine Corps plans to use a company of M1A1 Abrams tanks in restive Helmand province by early spring, said Marine Maj. Gabrielle Chapin.

The M1A1 tank is the fastest and most deadly ground combat weapons system available. It will allow for more aggressive missions while mitigating risks to U.S. forces, the military said.

U.S. forces used the tanks to battle insurgents successfully in Iraq's Anbar province, Chapin said.

"They bring superior optics, maneuverability and precision firepower that will enable us to isolate insurgent forces from key population centers and provide the ability to project power into insurgent safe havens," he said.

Other coalition forces, including those from Canada, already have used tanks in Afghanistan.

The decision comes as Afghanistan tops the agenda at the NATO summit that starts Friday in Lisbon, Portugal, and amid a public dispute between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and NATO leaders over military strategy.

Wild Thing's comment........

This surprises me, I thought we had tanks there now. So this is news to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (5)

November 21, 2010

Marjah Marine Meets Miley Cyrus

A Marine dancing on a roof in Helmand Province, Afghanistan

Wild Thing's comment......

I love to see things like this with our troops. They truly are awesome and I love their spirit.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:46 AM

November 20, 2010

Army Sergeant Peter Damon

Damon poses for a photograph while bowling with his two kids. Danny (left) is now 8 years old, and his daughter, Allura (right) is now 13. Courtesy photo.

“The blast severed both my arms and killed my buddy,” said Army Sergeant Peter Damon of a horrific accident in Iraq a little over seven years ago. “At least that’s what I was told when I woke up in the hospital.”

In June of 2003, Damon left his wife and newborn son in Massachusetts to deploy to Iraq with his National Guard unit. He was doing his dream job – performing maintenance on UH-80 Black Hawk helicopters. But one day during a routine inspection of the landing gear, there was an explosion.

I remember being in the back of a humvee, racing to the Combat Support Hospital (21stCSH) in Iraq,begging Sgt Alvini not to let me die .I had lost a lot of blood and I could feel myself slipping away. I prayed to God like never before ,asking him to let me live, to get me back to my wife and kids. But I was dying.

I later learned that when I arrived at the CSH they were going to pronounce me DOA , but for the efforts of some tenacious doctor, I was resuscitated. When I awoke I was informed that my work partner and buddy ,Spc Paul J Beuche was dead. I resolved from that moment on that I would do what ever I could to recover quickly and to live my life to its fullest potential. Paul was very young,only 19, and he had his whole life ahead of him. I wasnt about to squander mine with self pity. It would dishonor him to do so.

So now I look at life from a whole new perspective, and I seek to freeze those everyday magic moments in time through painting, and if I can evoke some small emotional response in someone through art, then I have accomplished something to me that is very worthwhile.

“I don’t remember any of the details from the accident,” said Damon. “I just remember the first thing that really bummed me out was learning that I lost my arms. Strangely, my first thought was how much of a shame it was because I was just getting good at drawing.”

To pass the time in Kuwait, Damon had rekindled and interest in an old hobby – drawing -- and became quite passionate about it. But now he would have to re-learn even the most basic elements of writing from scratch.

After 15 months of recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Damon was fitted with a prosthetic on his left arm first because he still had the elbow on that arm. Unfortunately, he was a righty, which only added to his frustration.

“It was just like elementary school all over again,” said Damon, “where you had to write out a big ‘A’ then a little ‘a’ on the thick-lined paper.

“It took a while to get good, but once I started picking up the pace, I just kept going,” he said. “I realized at that point that if I could write letters, there’s no reason why I can’t still draw.”

The hospital recognized that by then Damon could pretty much take care of himself. So to make room for the influx of new amputees coming in from the battlefield, he was moved into the Malone House, separate quarters in the back of Walter Reed. It was there that drawing and painting quickly became a source of therapy.

“It made me feel like a whole person again,” he said. “It gave me a huge boost of self-confidence and helped me to realize that even though I lost my arms, I could accomplish amazing things if I set my mind to them.”

Damon’s artwork became more than just a morale-booster. It grew into a full-time career. The more he admired the works of Ray Ellis, Edward Hopper, Robert Henri, and local artist Nancy Colella, he began to realize how much talent it takes even an able-bodied artist to paint well.

As he focused day-in and day-out on his art, his works began to attract the attention of local art critics and it wasn’t long before he received his first offer to sell his work.

“One of my favorite pieces that I’m really not even sure I want to sell is called Fishing with Mom,” said Damon. “Sometimes I do ‘open-air’ art, and that day at the park was the day I taught my son how to fish. It was such a great day, that I had to sit right down on the tailgate of my truck and capture the moment.”

In 2006, Damon and his wife, Jenn, opened The Middleborough Art Gallery, where he could display and sell his artwork. Sadly, however, a downturn in the economy forced the Damons to close the doors after three years.

Recently, as an inexpensive alternative to a brick and mortar gallery, he began displaying his artwork online using a blog to interact with fans and critics.

“The blog gives me a reason to keep painting,” said Damon. “I still have pain, depression, and anxiety on occasion, and the painting gives me a reason to get up every day – it drives me to keep moving.

“Maybe I’ll do the gallery thing again some day,” he added, “but the blog is actually more interactive. People from all over the world have the opportunity to weigh in and perhaps even purchase my work.”

Many of his featured pieces have already been sold, but he has been revealing new pieces on his blog every few weeks. And while he may not be able to paint a clear picture of the moment that caused him so much pain, he is more than able to capture on canvas the things that bring him happiness.

View Damon’s gallery on his blog, titled Sgt. Damon’s Art.

Sgt Damon's website

“It gave me a huge boost of self-confidence and helped me to realize that even though I lost my arms, I could accomplish amazing things if I set my mind to them.” -Sgt. Damon

"I am an artist and a severely wounded Iraq war veteran. In October of 2003 I lost parts of both my arms while serving in Iraq as a helicopter mechanic in the military. The accident killed my buddy, SPC. Paul J Bueche 19, of Daphne AL. Since then, art has become a huge source of therapy for me, both physically and mentally. Painting has given me a new perspective on life. I've made a promise to Paul to make the most of it. This website is dedicated to him. "

Army Sergeant Peter Damon (Ret.) stands with his wife and his biggest inspiration, artist Ray Ellis, in front of Edgartown Art Gallery in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Courtesy photo

Wild Thing's comment.......

God bless Peter Damon and his family. His story is inspiring and it is an honor to post about him and his art work.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM

November 18, 2010

Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta First Living Recipient To Receive the Medal of Honor from Iraq and Afghanistan

Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta will become the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

GI to be first living Afghan war Medal of Honor winner

USA Today

Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, 25, has become the first living recipient to receive the Medal of Honor from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be given to an individual in the U.S. Army. Although there have been six other Medals of Honor awarded from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, their awards were posthumous.

Sgt. Giunta received the award for his actions in response to an ambush in Afghanistan’s dangerous Korengal Valley on Oct. 25, 2007. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in the ambush and several others were wounded.

Salvatore Giunta was working nights at Subway in Iowa when he saw a commercial on television for the Army. He decided to join. His first posting was in Zabul, Afghanistan with the 173rd and Battle Company. He had signed up for four years. When his tour was up he was stationed in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, located south of the Pech River in the Pech District of Kunar Province in northeastern Afghanistan. He was unable to leave the Army even though his tour was up because of the military’s Stop-Loss policy. Stop-Loss is a term used by the military. It is the involuntary extension of a service member’s active duty service under the enlistment contract in order to retain them beyond their initial end of term of service (ETS) date and up to their contractually agreed end of obligated service (EOS).

Sgt. Giunta was serving at the time as a team leader in Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment when his squad was ambushed by insurgents, according to an account provided by the Army. His rank was specialist at the time. His squad was involved with Operation Rock Avalanche, a multiple-company mission that ran Oct. 19-25 in the Chapa Dara, Korengal, Shuryak and Pech river valleys.

Intense enemy fire from insurgents split Giunta’s team from the rest of his squad. Giunta was knocked down when a bullet hit him in his armored chest plate. He immediately charged straight into enemy fire in order to pull a comrade back to cover. As he attempted to link his team with the rest of the squad, he saw insurgents drag a badly wounded colleague off the battlefield. Tossing hand grenades, Giunta charged the enemy, killing one insurgent and wounding another. He recovered the colleague and immediately began providing first aid. The soldier later died from his wounds.

It was Giunta’s second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He had previously been awarded the Bronze Star.

On Tuesday, November 16, President Obama formally presented Sgt. Giunta with the Medal of Honor. In brief comments after the ceremony, Giunta said that as much of an honor as the medal was, he would give it back in an instant in exchange for the lives of friends who died fighting in Afghanistan.

Wild Thing's comment........

No love greater...... God bless this soldier.

He was on "60 Minutes" last Sunday night.

Staff Sgt. Giunta please CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:47 AM | Comments (6)

November 09, 2010

Residents of Missouri Town Block Protesters From Picketing Soldier's Funeral

** There is a Video at this link with FOX news

Residents of Missouri Town Block Protesters From Picketing Soldier's Funeral

95-Year-Old NYC Man Gets Medal for WWII Rescue

Members of a small Missouri town banded together Saturday to block a controversial pastor and members of his Westboro Baptist Church from protesting the funeral of a fallen U.S. soldier, Fox4kc.com reports.

Hundreds of residents in Weston, Mo. -- as well as people as far away as California and Australia -- rallied in support of Sgt. First Class C.J. Sadell, who died from injuries suffered during a surprise attack in Afghanistan.

The residents sought to block Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., and his followers from picketing Sadell’s funeral, according to the station.

Phelps' church has been the subject of intense criticism for holding more than 44,000 pickets at funerals and other events – including the services of fallen service members.

Citing their First Amendment right to protest, Phelps' followers say they use funerals as an “available public platform” to “deliver the message that there is a consequence for sin.” Phelps is openly opposed to homosexuality and all government policies they he says supports homosexuals.

"We got everybody here early so we could take up all the parking spots," Rebecca Rooney of Weston, Mo., told Fox4kc.com. "We did that so Mr. Phelps wouldn't have a contingency that was really close."

"I'm glad they left, but I'm sad they came," she said.

Sadell, who leaves behind a wife and two sons, was stationed in the Arif Kala region of Afghanistan when his unit was ambushed on Oct. 5. Five soldiers were killed in the attack and Sadell was badly injured.

The 34-year-old died from his injuries on Oct. 24.

Wild Thing's comment..........

This is what should be done all the time. They claim to have a first amendment right to protest, well, the rest of America has a first amendment right to protest THEM.

We all need to do this when these creeps come to our towns. The Patriot Guard Riders do this and it is so good to see when the citizens of the town join in.

God rest the souls of our Fallen Hereos .

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (9)

October 20, 2010

Our Awesome and Frustrated American Troops :“They ( Obama) Won’t Let us Fight – War is War and This is No War, I Don’t Know What This is"

KAJAKI, AFGHANISTAN – Lyrics from a Misfits song, “Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?” decorate the helmet of Marine Cpl. Jonathan Eckert of Oak Lawn, IL attached to India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment while on patrol near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Zeebrugge on October 15, 2010 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

KAJAKI, AFGHANISTAN – U.S. Marine Cpl William Simpson of York Beach, ME with the Police Advisory Team attached to India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment fire n an enemy position during a firefight near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Zeebrugge on October 11, 2010 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Troops chafe at restrictive rules of engagement, talks with Taliban

Washington Examiner

Afghanistan: American Troop Morale Plummets as ROE Continue to Tighten, “They Won’t Let us Fight – War is War and This is No War, I Don’t Know What This is

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN

To the U.S. Army soldiers and Marines serving here, some things seem so obviously true that they are beyond debate. Among those perceived truths: The restrictive rules of engagement that they have to fight under have made serving in combat far more dangerous for them, while allowing the Taliban to return to a position of strength.

“If they use rockets to hit the [forward operating base] we can’t shoot back because they were within 500 meters of the village. If they shoot at us and drop their weapon in the process we can’t shoot back,” said Spc. Charles Brooks, 26, a U.S. Army medic with 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, in Zabul province.

Word had come down the morning Brooks spoke to this reporter that watch towers surrounding the base were going to be dismantled because Afghan village elders, some sympathetic to the Taliban, complained they were invading their village privacy. “We have to take down our towers because it offends them and now the Taliban can set up mortars and we can’t see them,” Brooks added, with disgust.

In June, Gen. David Petraeus, who took command here after the self-inflicted demise of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, told Congress that he was weighing a major change with rules for engaging enemy fighters in Afghanistan. That has not yet happened, troops say. Soldiers and Marines continue to be held back by what they believe to be strict rules imposed by the government of President Hamid Karzai designed with one objective: limit Afghan civilian casualties.

“I don’t think the military leaders, president or anybody really cares about what we’re going through,” said Spc. Matthew “Silver” Fuhrken, 25, from Watertown, N.Y. “I’m sick of people trying to cover up what’s really going on over here. They won’t let us do our job. I don’t care if they try to kick me out for what I’m saying — war is war and this is no war. I don’t know what this is.”

To the soldiers and Marines risking their lives in Afghanistan, restrictions on their ability to aggressively attack the Taliban have led to another enormous frustration stalking morale: the fear that the Karzai government, with the prodding of the administration of President Obama, will negotiate a peace with the Taliban that wastes all the sacrifices by the U.S. here.

Those fears intensified when news reached the enlisted ranks that the Karzai government, with the backing of senior Obama officials, was entering a new round of negotiations with the Taliban.

“If we walk away, cut a deal with the Taliban, desert the people who needed us most, then this war was pointless,” said Pvt. Jeffrey Ward, with 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, who is stationed at Forward Operating Base Bullard in southern Afghanistan.

"Everyone dies for their own reasons but it's sad to think that our friends, the troops, have given their lives for something we're not going to see through."

Other soldiers agreed. They said they feared few officials in the Pentagon understand the reality on the ground.

From the front lines, the U.S. backing of the Karzai government, widely seen as riddled with corruption by the Afghans living in local villages, has given the Taliban a position of power in villages while undercutting U.S. moral authority.

Corrupt government officials have made "it impossible for us to trust anyone," said elder Sha Barar, from the village of Sha Joy. The people of that village and many others profess fear of the Taliban, and recount tales of brutality and wanton killings by the Taliban and their sympathizers. But they don't see the Karzai government as a positive force in their lives.

Karzai said that talks need to continue with the Taliban "at a fixed address and with a more open agenda to tell us how to bring peace to Afghanistan and Pakistan."

But U.S. troops and Marines interviewed during the past month in Afghanistan question what negotiations would really mean, to both them and the Afghan people. And they almost universally believe that negotiating would be a mistake before achieving decisive gains they believe are attainable once oppressive rules of engagement are relaxed.

"What does it mean if we give in to the Taliban? They are the enemy," Brooks said. "This place is going to be a safe haven for terrorists again. The government doesn't care about the sacrifices already made. As far as the mission goes, I want to see these kids go to school and have a future but not at the expense of my friends -- not anymore."

Wild Thing's comment........

DAMN Obama striaght to hell!!!

More and more of our guys are going to die over these senseless ROE's.

All politicians who aid and abet these rules, and who support talks with the taliban, deserve to be run out of office.

The taliban wants nothing out of these talks except time. Time to regroup, resupply, and refit. How can our dumb leaders not see this???

Barak Hussaine Obama should be tried for treason....absolutel TREASON by Obama.

And to think that he is preventing our soldiers from voting is enough to make my eyes bleed.

ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE, MARINES, COAST GUARD

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (10)

October 18, 2010

95-Year-Old NYC Man Gets Medal for WWII Rescue

Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y, right, presented 95-year-old George Vujnovich, left, with the U.S. Bronze Star Medal at a ceremony in New York City on Sunday. Vujnovich is credited with leading the Halyard Mission to rescue more than 500 U.S. bomber fliers shot down over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia

This Dec. 28, 1944 photo shows OSS Capt. George Vujnovich, right, in Bari, Italy with a group of airmen he helped rescue after they were downed over Nazi-occupied Serbia. It was the largest air rescue of Americans behind enemy lines in any war

NEW YORK (Oct. 17)

The U.S. government has recognized the World War II architect of a mission to rescue more than 500 U.S. bomber fliers shot down over Nazi-occupied Serbia - the largest air rescue of Americans behind enemy lines in any war.

George Vujnovich, a 95-year-old New Yorker, is credited with leading the so-called Halyard Mission in what was then Yugoslavia.

On Sunday, he was awarded the U.S. Bronze Star Medal, presented by Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., at Manhattan's St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral. Vujnovich received a standing ovation from a crowd of several hundred church members, supporters, friends and officials.

"Better now than never," says Vujnovich, a retired salesman who lives in Queens.

He was an officer of the OSS, the precursor of today's CIA, when about 500 pilots and other airmen were downed over Serbia in the summer of 1944 while on bombing runs targeting Hitler's oil fields in Romania, according to U.S. government field station files, stored in the National Archives.

The airmen were hidden in villages by Serbian guerrilla fighter Draza Mihailovich, leader of the Chetniks, whom Yugoslav communist officials considered to be Germany's collaborators.

"This mission would not have succeeded without the great courage of Draza Mihailovich and his brave men," said Vujnovich, a Serbian-American and a Pittsburgh native who was stationed in Bari, Italy.

It was no small feat to convince American officials to allow him to work with Mihailovich on the clandestine mission, dubbed Halyard, meaning a rope used to hoist sails. By then, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had decided to follow British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's lead, abandoning support for Mihailovich in favor of the Yugoslav communists, the strongest grass-roots guerrilla force fighting the invading Nazis and Italian fascists.

Mihailovich had been a prewar military officer who launched the first Balkan resistance to the Nazis in 1941, before also turning against the communists led by Marshal Josip Broz Tito.

"Vujnovich is the one who sold the mission to U.S. officials, he pushed hard," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steven Oluic, a former West Point professor who prepared the award submission for the Department of the Army.

On Aug. 2, 1944, three OSS agents strapped with radio transmitters were airdropped near Mihailovich's headquarters to set up the operation.

Dozens of U.S. military cargo planes flew in over the months to pick up the airmen as they were downed. Serbian villagers had helped them build an airstrip by the village of Pranjani.

"We owe Vujnovich big time," says Charles L. Davis III, 91, of Church Falls, Va., a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who was rescued.

As a bombardier navigator, he was part of a crew of 10 on a B-24 Liberator plane crippled after losing three of its four engines.

The fliers parachuted into a mountainous region where local farmers brought them to their houses and barns. During the next 66 days, the Americans moved each night to a different location so as not to be captured by the occupying Germans.

Yugoslavia's postwar communist authorities convicted Mihailovich of collaborating with the Nazis in a hasty trial in 1946, and he was executed.

In 1948, U.S. President Harry Truman posthumously bestowed the Legion of Merit on the Serb for the rescue - an honor classified secret by the U.S. State Department for decades, so as not to disrupt the rather friendly U.S. policy toward Yugoslavia.

The secrecy underscores long-lasting divisions in Serbia stemming from World War II; some Serbs still believe Mihailovich was a victim of communist repression, while others view him as a traitor.

The story is told in a 2007 book titled "The Forgotten 500," by Gregory Freeman.

HONORING CAPTAIN GEORGE M. VUJNOVICH

Extension of Remarks Submitted by Rep. Dan Burton

September 28, 2010

Dan Burton Member of Congress

Madame Speaker, as co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Serbian Caucus, I rise tonight to honor an outstanding Serbian-American, Captain (Ret.) George M. Vujnovich, who was recently awarded the Bronze Star Medal, for his heroic actions during World War II.

The Bronze Star is awarded to military service personnel for bravery, acts of merit or meritorious service. When awarded for bravery, it is the fourth-highest combat award of the United States Armed Forces. Captain Vujnovich’s participation in the planning and execution of Operation Halyard – one of the most successful air force rescue missions in history; and an operation so secret that the records were only declassified in 1997 – certainly exemplifies the heroism required to receive this prestigious military honor.

Captain Vujnovich served with the Office of Strategic Services; the predecessor of the modern Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the wartime organization charged with coordinating activities behind enemy lines for the branches of the United States military. Operation Halyard evolved in wake of the Allied bombing campaign to destroy Nazi Germany's vast network of petroleum resources in occupied Eastern Europe. The most vital target of bombing was the facilities located in Ploesti, Romania, which supplied 35 percent of Germany's wartime petroleum. Beginning in April 1944, bombers of the Fifteenth Allied Air Force began a relentless campaign to blast the heavily guarded facilities in Ploesti in an attempt to halt petroleum production altogether. By August, Ploesti was virtually destroyed — but at the cost of 350 bombers lost, with their crews either killed, captured, or missing in action.

The assault on Ploesti forced hundreds of Allied airmen to bail out over Nazi-occupied eastern Serbia, an area patrolled by the Allied-friendly Chetnik guerrilla army. When the Chetnik commander, General Draza Mihailovich, realized that Allied airmen were parachuting into his territory, he ordered his troops, as well as the local peasantry, to aid the aviators by taking them to Chetnik headquarters in Pranjani, Serbia for evacuation.

General Mihailovich's attempts to alert American authorities to the situation regrettably initially failed to produce action. Fortunately, fate would have it that when Mirjana Vujnovich, a Serb employee of the Yugoslav embassy in Washington, D.C., heard of the trapped airmen, and immediately wrote to her husband, Captain Vujnovich, stationed in Bari, Italy. As an American, descending from Serb parents, Vujnovich knew the region intimately and also knew how to escape from Nazi-occupied territory: he had been a medical student in Belgrade when Yugoslavia fell to the Axis powers in 1941, and he and his wife spent months sneaking through minefields and begging for visas before they finally escaped from Nazi-occupied Europe.

Captain Vujnovich made it his personally crusade to get the airmen home. From the outset though, Operation Halyard encountered opposition from Allied leaders — from the U.S. State Department, from communist sympathizers in the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), even from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself. It was an operation that seemed condemned from the start, but Captain Vujnovich’s persevered rather than let the mission die. His persistence not to be in vain, eventually he won out. Even thought the operation endured from August 9, 1944 through December 27, 1944, within only the first two days, Operation Halyard successfully retrieved 241 American and Allied airmen. By the time the Operation was officially ended, Vujnovich's team had airlifted 512 downed Allied airmen to safety without the loss of a single life or aircraft — a truly impressive accomplishment.

Captain George Vujnovich’s recognition as a hero and valued asset to this country and the United States Air Force is long over due. Frankly, had the records of the operation not remained sealed until 1997, I feel certain Captain Vujnovich would have received this honor years ago. Nevertheless, the decades do not and cannot diminish the valor and patriotism of this extraordinary man. I ask all my colleagues to join me now to honor this Serbian-American hero, to thank him for his dedicated service to our country and to congratulate him for winning the Bronze Star. Captain Vujnovich, I salute you.

Wild Thing's comment........

Great story about a great man Major George Vujnovich. Thank you for all you did. Congratulations and God Bless You.

A long overdue award.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (4)

October 10, 2010

Valor Has No Boundaries; Three Marines Help Save Wounded Police Officer, Apprehend Suspect

Pfcs. Anthony S. Roldan, Christopher M. Smith and Ryan J. Shuey, combat engineers with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, stand at parade rest in front of 1st CEB's headquarters building at the San Mateo training area Oct. 8. The Marines were presented with 1st CEB Sapper Coins by Lt. Col. Andrew Niebel, commanding officer of 1st CEB, for their actions Oct. 6 when they assisted a police officer with the Long Beach Police Department who was violently attacked by a suspect yielding a knife. Roldan, is an 18-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., Smith is a 20-year-old from Lemoore, Calif., and Shuey is a 20-year-old from Huntingdon County, Pa.,

Valor has no boundaries; Three Marines help save wounded police officer, apprehend suspect

By Pfc. Evan Santy, 1st Marine Division

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.

While sitting on the porch waiting for a home cooked meal in Long Beach, Calif. Oct. 6, Pfc. Anthony Rolden and his two friends and brothers in arms, Pfcs. Ryan Shuey and Christopher Smith, hear a gun fire in the distance. Without hesitation the three Marines spring into action, with nothing but raw instincts and Marine Corps training leading them. They race down an alley behind the house where they find a police officer fighting for his weapon and his life.

“It’s rewarding to know he’s alright,” said Pfc. Ryan Shuey, 20, from Huntingdon County, Pa. and a combat engineer, with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division. “I’m glad we were there to potentially save his life.”

The three Marines were taking a break from the mess hall, and having a relaxing night with family and friends before their deployment to Afghanistan in the next few days. That night had different plans for the young engineers and they had to show the true valor of the title United States Marine.

“It looked like David verses Goliath,” said Pfc. Anthony Rolden, 18, from Long Beach, Calif. a combat engineer, with 1st CEB, 1st Marine Division. “It all happened so fast.”

“He was a big guy,” said Pfc. Christopher Smith, 20, from Lemoore, Calif. a combat engineer, with 1st CEB, 1st Marine Division. “I don’t think I could have taken him down myself, so I’m glad all three of us were there.”

When they heard the gun shot the Marines reacted instantly. The Marines rushed to get Rolden’s younger brothers and sisters inside the house, then making their way to the noise. What they found was beyond belief. A police officer, who had been stabbed in the ear and was fighting for his life and his fire arm with another man, and struggling to hold on.

“They saw what was going on and didn’t stand by, they jumped in and assisted,” said Jim McDonnell, Long Beach Police Department chief of police. “Had this intervention not been done, it’s anybody’s guess how it would have turned out.”

The Marines immediately proceeded in helping the officer. Using their skills in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and detainee handling; the three quickly subdued the suspect. They then proceeded to administering first aid on the officer by checking for bullet wounds and stopped the bleeding from the officer’s stab wound.

“We knew what we had to do,” said Rolden. “When we heard the gun shot we did what we were trained to do; which was to run toward the fight, not from it.”

For many people a work day is from nine to five, but for service members the job isn’t over just because you take off the uniform. For these Marines that reputation was put to the test by having to go above the call of duty by literally running into the face of danger to save the life of a fellow defender of freedom.

“This is a perfect example of Marines being Marines 24/7,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Niebel, 43, from Silver Spring, Md., battalion commander of 1st CEB, 1st Marine Division. “Even after the uniform is taken off they are still living up to Marine Corps standards.”

Wild Thing's comment.......

God bless each one of them.......Taking out the trash - foreign and domestic.

Current and former military trained Americans are our greatest assets.

And did you all see -- they're about to be deployed.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (7)

October 03, 2010

Colonel Michael Steele Captivates Audience

powerful video showing Col. Michael Steele speaking to an audience in Atlanta on the “Cost of Freedom.” Col. Steele’s audience included many wounded soldiers. Steele answers to main questions: Who is paying the cost of Freedom? What is the primary commodity with which it is purchased?

Here’s the description of the video posted at YouTube:

Powerful Speech-”Patriotism without Action is Counterfeit!”. Colonel Steele moved, inspired, challenged, and captivated the audience at a recent dinner to honor our heroes. Within the audience were many “wounded warriors” being treated in Atlanta area facilities. The speech included other stories of sacrifice and valor not included here for the sake of time. Herman Cain attended the event, as well as many political candidates, all there to honor those who risk and give their lives for us. Commenting later, on his radio program, Herman Cain said that as he reflected on this powerful speech he got so angry and sick, thinking of the political games played with our military in Washington. It is stunning to think of the slander, abuse, and neglect many Leftist politicians have perpetrated on our heroes over the years, from the John Kerry’s slander after Vietnam to the recent DADT and “Dream Act” shenanigans in the recent Defense Appropriations Bill. These “leaders” are shameless, and are not worthy to look men such as Colonel Steele in the eyes.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Fantastic!

It is just a little hard hear but I turned up the volume and it helped.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM

September 27, 2010

Adopting a Soldier: Wisconsin couple gives Soldier a new Family

Spc. Christopher Sandri, an infantryman with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, United States Division

Adopting a Soldier: Wisconsin couple gives Soldier a new Family

By Sgt. Mary S. Katzenberger

BAGHDAD

When Spc. Christopher Sandri travels home for leave this month, he plans on enjoying home-cooked meals and fishing for bass.

Sandri, an infantryman with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, said the best moments of leave, however, will be those spent with his parents, John and Dorean Sandri of Green Bay, Wis.

Chris said he feels strongly about this because until two years ago, he didn’t have parents to visit while on leave. Nor did he have parents to send him care packages while he was deployed to Anbar province from October 2007 to April 2008.

Chris said what was even more painful was standing on the parade field alone after redeploying April 2008 to Fort Stewart, Ga., while other soldiers went home with their families.

“I pretty much sucked it up and went to the barracks,” Chris said.

Chris, a Laurel, Md., native, was born Christopher Kroll on October 14, 1983, and was practically raised by his grandparents because his biological mother was unable to do so.

While Chris had maintained a strained relationship with his mother since joining the military and leaving Maryland, the relationship worsened after he left the U.S. for an assignment in Germany.

“She wasn’t happy I couldn’t contact her all the time,” Chris said. “The longer and longer I was over in Germany, the more and more she just grew away from me.”

After three years and a 6-month deployment to Afghanistan, Chris moved to Fort Stewart, Ga. It was then, over a phone call, that Chris’s biological mother ended all contact with her son.

“Her exact words that day when I called her were, ‘I have no son anymore,’” Chris said. “At the time, it didn’t bother me because we were in the middle of training; it didn’t click.”

Chris said two “rough” years later—by chance—he met his future adoptive mother, Dorean, through an online chat server.

Dorean, an executive secretary for the not-for-profit organization, Adopt a U.S. Soldier, read Chris’ profile and upon realizing he was a soldier, suggested Chris meet her husband, a Vietnam War veteran. Once Chris conversed with the man, the three adults became very close and talked frequently.

Through months of communication the Sandris heard about Chris’ Family history. Knowing Chris had nowhere to go over the holidays, the couple invited him to spend Christmas of 2008 with them in Green Bay; Chris accepted.

The visit was a meaningful experience for Chris, especially when one evening, while sitting in the garage, John Sandri asked the soldier if he would consider becoming his and Dorean’s son. The question caught Chris off guard at first, and he said he needed to think about it. It only took Chris two days to decide.

“It was like alright, I’m going to do it—I don’t have anybody else to trace back to.” Chris said. “I actually found out [part of the reason] behind it was because [John and Dorean] can’t have children.”

Chris Kroll and his soon-to-be parents submitted the necessary paperwork to the courthouse. In early 2009, the Soldier officially became known as Christopher Sandri.

Chris said since the adoption, it has been easy fitting in with the family.

“If there’s one thing I’ve got to admit about John and [Dorean], their whole family—every last one of them—is nuts,” Chris said with a laugh.

Chris said he has especially appreciated being able to talk to his adoptive father about things that have happened during his deployments. On the soldier’s last visit to the Sandri household prior to his current deployment, he said his adoptive father broke down into tears when sharing some of his memories from the Vietnam War, in which he served as a medevac pilot.

“It brought me to tears,” Chris said. “He sat down and he looked at me, and figured it’s only fair that if he spilled it all out to me then it won’t make me feel awkward if for some reason during my career I need to talk to somebody.”

Chris said Dorean always lets him know he’s wanted and that she loves him completely.

“It makes a difference knowing that if I have a hard day at work, I can get online and gripe to my parents,” he said. “My father will take it like a champ and find a way to make me laugh and my mother will be not too far behind with a promise of fresh made cookies coming in the mail.”

“All in all, John and Dorean are the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Chris said.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Wonderful story! I love to learn about all the ways people care and support our troops. So many times too the friendships become lifelong.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (4)

Obama's R.O.E. Called 'Courageous restraint' Is Putting Troops Lives At Risk

'Courageous restraint' putting troops lives at risk

Restrictive rules on firing upon the Taliban are putting soldiers' lives in danger, troops serving on the front line in Afghanistan have said.

Soldiers in Helmand claim that the policy of "courageous restraint" is forcing them to fight with "one hand tied behind our backs".

The doctrine was introduced by Gen Stanley McChrystal, the former American commander, to reduce the number of civilian casualties, which are mainly caused by aircraft bombs or artillery missiles.

However, with their own casualties mounting, troops say there is an urgent need for a change and for more flexibility in using lethal force to defend themselves.

Gen David Petraeus, who has taken over from Mr McChrystal after he was sacked last month by Barack Obama for insubordination, is said to be reviewing the policy as a result of the increase in casualties. June was the bloodiest month since fighting began in 2001.

A senior Non-Commissioned Officer, on his third tour of Afghanistan, said the rules of engagement had "gone too far one way" in favour of the insurgents.

"Our hands are tied the way we are asked to do courageous restraint. I agree with it to the extent that previously too many civilians were killed but we have got people shooting us and we are not allowed to shoot back.Outrageous restraint is a lot easier to say than to implement."

In guidance issued last August Mr McChrystal stated that "destroying a home or property jeopardises the livelihood of an entire family – and creates more insurgents" and that "large scale operations to kill or capture militants carry a significant risk of causing civilian casualties and collateral damage".

A 21-year-old Royal Marine said the policy was making troops "think twice before pulling the trigger" which "endangers them." "A couple of times I've hesitated in shooting someone when I should have done. Some lads have put themselves in danger by allowing a possible suicide bomber too close."

In one incident an insurgent fired single shots at a base for 15 minutes but was not taken out by a missile as after every shot he put down his rifle knowing he could not be hit if he was unarmed.

A junior officer commanding a small fort in Sangin said: "It's a major bugbear for the British Army, it affects us massively. Thank God we have the ANA (Afghan National Army) here because they have different rules of engagement to us and can smash the enemy." The policy has eroded confidence in opening fire to the point that officers have to remind the men that they are entitled to shoot.

"If you can PID (positively identify) an insurgent acting with hostile intent then you are cleared to engage, there's no grey area here," a troop commander told his men before they started a patrol.

Some locals in Sangin have criticised the troops for "not taking out" the Taliban who intimidate and harm them.

"We have our hands tied behind our backs when we want to take the enemy out of the equation," said a Royal Marine corporal. "This was (Gen Stanley) McChrystal's idea but he's been sacked hasn't he."

However, there have been many occasions when exercising courageous restraint has saved civilian lives.

Lt Col Paul James, commanding officer of 40 Commando, Royal Marines, last month ruled out launching an air strike on 15 locals digging in an IED (improvised explosive device).

"I chose not to strike them because that would have been 15 fathers of 15 sons who would almost certainly have been driven into the insurgents' arms.

You could also not rule out who was foe or who was curious onlooker."

Major Ed Moorhouse, a Royal Marine company commander, said: "The men will question courageous restraint but it doesn't mean you don't shoot. If you see a terrorist you ruthlessly prosecute the opportunity to shoot him and I remind them of that daily."

Wild Thing's comment........

Its insane to favor the enemy - when our troops mission should be to destroy the enemy.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (3)

September 26, 2010

Double Amputee Soldier Deploys to Afghanistan

Army Capt. Dan Luckett, 27, of Norcross, Ga........ takes a seat at Combat Outpost Ashoqeh, Afghanistan. Luckett lost his left leg and part of his right foot in a bomb blast in Iraq in 2008. The Pentagon says 41 American amputee veterans are now serving in combat zones worldwide.

Army Capt. Dan Luckett, standing at right, preps fellow soldiers at Combat Outpost Ashoqeh on operations during a Sept. 14 meeting.

Double amputee soldier deploys to Afghanistan

Marine Corps Times

ASHOQEH, Afghanistan

When a bomb exploded under Dan Luckett’s Army Humvee in Iraq two years ago — blowing off one of his legs and part of his foot — the first thing he thought was: “That’s it. You’re done. No more Army for you.”

But two years later, the 27-year-old Norcross, Ga., native is back on duty — a double-amputee fighting on the front lines of America’s Afghan surge in one of the most dangerous parts of this volatile country.

Luckett’s remarkable recovery can be attributed in part to dogged self-determination. But technological advances have been crucial: Artificial limbs today are so effective, some war-wounded like Luckett are not only able to do intensive sports like snow skiing, they can return to active duty as fully operational soldiers. The Pentagon says 41 American amputee veterans are now serving in combat zones worldwide.

Luckett was a young platoon leader on his first tour in Iraq when an explosively formed penetrator — a bomb that hurls an armor-piercing lump of molten copper — ripped through his vehicle on a Baghdad street on Mother’s Day 2008.

His Humvee cabin instantly filled with heavy gray smoke and the smell of burning diesel and molten metal. Luckett felt an excruciating pain and a “liquid” — his blood — pouring out of his legs. He looked down and saw a shocking site: his own left foot sheered off above the ankle and his right boot a bloody mangle of flesh and dust.

Still conscious, he took deep breaths and made a deliberate effort to calm down.

A voice rang out over the radio — his squad leader checking in.

“1-6, is everybody all right?” the soldier asked, referring to Luckett’s call-sign.

“Negative,” Luckett responded. “My feet are gone.”

He was evacuated by helicopter to a Baghdad emergency room, flown to Germany, and six days after the blast, he was back in the U.S.

As his plane touched down at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., he made a determined decision. He was going to rejoin the 101st Airborne Division any way he could.

For the first month at Washington’s Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Luckett was bound to a wheelchair. He hated the dependence that came with it, the way people changed their voice when they spoke to him — soft and sympathetic.

He wondered: how long is THIS going to last? Will I be dependent on others for the rest of my life? At night, he dreamed of walking on two legs.

When he woke, only the stump of his left leg was there, painfully tender and swollen.

His family wanted to know, is this going to be the same Dan? He assured them he was.

Luckett was fortunate in one sense. His wounds had been caused not by shrapnel, but the projectile itself, which made a relatively clean cut. That meant no complications — no joint or nerve damage or bone fractures.

His right foot was sheared across his metatarsals, the five long bones before the toes. Doctors fitted it with a removable carbon fiber plate that runs under the foot and fills the space where toes should be with hardened foam.

His left leg was a far bigger challenge.

In early July 2008, Luckett strapped into a harness, leaned on a set of parallel bars, and tried out his first prosthetic leg.

It felt awkward, but he was able to balance and walk.

The next day, Luckett tried the leg on crutches — and tried to walk out the door.

“They were like, ‘You gotta’ give the leg back,’ ” Luckett said of his therapists. After a brief argument, they grudgingly gave in. “They said, ‘If you’re gonna be that hard-headed about it, do it smart, don’t wear it all the time.’ ”

By February 2009, he had progressed so far, he could run a mile in eight minutes.

He rejoined his unit at Fort Campbell, Ky., and told his battalion commander he wanted to return to duty “only if I could be an asset, not a liability,” he recalled.

Months later, he passed a physical fitness test to attain the Expert Infantryman’s Badge. It required running 12 miles in under three hours with a 35-pound backpack. It was a crucial moment, Luckett said, “because I knew if I can get this badge, then there’s nothing they can say that I’m not capable of doing.”

The Army agreed, and promoted him to captain.

In May, he deployed to Afghanistan.

On his first patrol, wearing 50 pounds of gear and body armor, Luckett slipped and fell down. But when he looked around, everybody else was falling, too.

The region around his outpost at Ashoqeh, just west of the provincial capital of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, is surrounded by irrigation trenches and 4-foot-high mud walls that grapes grow over. Troops must traverse the treacherous terrain to avoid bombs on footpaths.

Capt. Brant Auge, Luckett’s company commander, said Luckett was as capable as every soldier in his company, and treated no different.

“He’s a soldier who just happens to be missing a leg,” said Auge, 30, who is from Ocean Springs, Miss. “He tries to play it down as much as possible, he doesn’t like to bring a lot of attention to it.”

On one of those early patrols, Luckett took to a knee and his pants leg rode up a little bit, revealing the prosthetic limb to a shocked group of Afghan soldiers nearby, Auge said. One gave him the nickname, the “One-legged Warrior of Ashoqeh.”

Beside his cramped bunk-bed, the 185-pound, 5-foot-11 Luckett keeps prosthetic legs for different tasks, each with a carbon fiber socket that attaches to his thigh.

One is fitted with a tennis shoe for running, another a boot. One, made of aluminum so it won’t rust, has a waterproof black Croc for showering. The most important leg though, he saves for patrols. It is made with a high-tech axle that allows him to move smoothly over uneven terrain. His squad leader painted its toenails purple.

Luckett’s prothesis is often a source of good humor — most often generated by Luckett himself.

Some joke of his advantage of having little to lose if he steps on a mine. “That’s always a big one,” he said, “but the reality is, you don’t want to step on an IED because you enjoy living and you want stay living. The fear is no different than any other soldier.”

Before heading to Afghanistan, Auge said Luckett had an as-yet-untried “master plan” to upset the insurgents.

Troops would have Luckett step on a mine and blow his fake leg off. He’d then look up at the trigger man while whipping a replacement leg over his shoulder and slipping it on.

“Then he would flip them off,” Auge said, “and keep on walking.”

Wild Thing's comment.......

America is blessed to have the most awesome warriors. Thank you Capt. Dan Luckett and you are in our thoughts and prayers, we owe you so much.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:49 AM | Comments (6)

US Marines Commercial - Devil Dogs

Wild Thing's comment.......

Love this! God bless our Marines and all those serving now in all the branches and keep them safe.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:45 AM | Comments (2)

September 19, 2010

Happy 63rd Birthday, United States Air Force

God Bless the U.S. Air Force!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:30 AM | Comments (5)

September 14, 2010

Checking In With Our Troops

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Anthony Patris reflects a scene in his sunglasses as his interpreter speaks with Afghan boys after an improvised explosive device detonated in Pinjadoo in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Sept. 6, 2010. The explosion did not injure any Marines or Afghans. Patris is a vehicle commander assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Mark Fayloga

Troops from nearly 50 lands dine on combat meals in Afghanistan — each reminding them of where they’d rather be.

You can CLICK here to click on each one to read about them.

A Taste of Home in Foil Packets and Powder

NY Times

EARLY in the war in Afghanistan, among the international troops who mingle at Bagram Air Base, a single French combat ration (cassoulet, perhaps, with deer pâté and nougat) could be traded for at least five American Meals Ready to Eat, better known as M.R.E.’s.

Recently though, the barter values have changed.

A fellow journalist who just got back from an embed with the French told me that today they look forward to visiting the Americans for a meal. American rations — hamburgers, chili, peanut butter, candy — they say, are “fun.”

Each year, among the countries with troops in Afghanistan — the current number is 47 — tens of millions of dollars are spent researching how to fit the most calories, nutrition and either comfort or fun into a small, light package. The menus and accompaniments are intended not just to nourish but also to remind the soldier of home. Some include branded comfort foods — Australians get a dark-brown spreadable yeast-paste treat called Vegemite, for example — while others get national staples like liverwurst (Germany), or lamb curry (Britain’s current culinary obsession).

Some of the contents are practical. Italians get three disposable toothbrushes per day of combat. Americans get pound cake, which military folklore says reduces the need for toilet breaks.

Other items are just, well, quirky. For nine years now, I’ve been travelling mostly with the Americans when I’m in Iraq and Afghanistan, and one item they’re known for is the Assorted Charms that are one of several hard candies randomly distributed with M.R.E.’s.

Never eat the Charms, the troops say; they’re unlucky. It’s just a superstition, of course — I’ve never met a soldier who could tell me why they were unlucky — but the G.I.’s take it seriously. I sometimes think that if I ever got separated from my unit in the field, I’d just follow a trail of discarded unopened Assorted Charms to find them again.

Among the soldiers I have known, the peanut M&Ms are the hands down favorite item (it used to be Skittles), and they’re currency. Want to swap out your shift pulling guard duty? A packet might well buy you the favor.

The soldiers like to mix and match some of the ingredients to create their own drinks and meals. Army Rangers have been taught at least as far back as the Vietnam War how to make Ranger Pudding — roughly, it’s water mixed with cocoa powder, instant coffee, melted chocolate, Tootsie Roll, sugar and coffee creamer.

“Combat espresso,” on the other hand, is brutal. The creamer, instant coffee and sugar are poured directly into one’s mouth and then washed down with water. In 2004, I survived on those things for two weeks with a Marine company during the battle for Falluja.

In combat, eating is often the only good thing about a day. When a soldier or marine sits down to warm up his M.R.E., he’s not being shot at, he’s not losing friends. It’s almost a ritual, and the very act of opening one of these packages suggests safety, however brief it may be.

Wild Thing's comment........

Interesting write up about the food swaps and from the NY Times, that surprised me too.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:44 AM | Comments (3)

September 12, 2010

Army Rebuilding a Jeep Under 4 Minutes

Wild Thing's comment.......

Amazing!

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (4)

September 11, 2010

U.S. Lifts Ban On Fast-Food Restaurants and Retail Stores at American Bases in Afghanistan

Fast food making comeback on U.S. bases in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan

The U.S. military has lifted a seven-month ban on fast-food restaurants and retail stores at American bases in Afghanistan.

The shops, ranging from Burger Kings to Oakley sunglasses stores and Military Car Sales outlets, were ordered closed in February by former U.S. commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who cited space issues. At the time, McChrystal’s senior enlisted adviser said the profusion of such shops was contributing to an “amusement park” atmosphere at some of the largest U.S. bases.

But Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill — who took over as the senior noncommissioned officer in Afghanistan this month — decided to reverse the ban after consulting with other top noncommissioned officers, he said in an interview Thursday.

“For troops to be able to go and grab a burger or a piece of chicken or whatever, I don’t really think it’s that bad,” he said.

The ban on shops and fast-food restaurants mainly affected a handful of the largest U.S. bases in Afghanistan such as Bagram Air Field that are primarily home to headquarters and support troops

In part, Hill said, the change in policy reflects an easing of the logistical challenges posed by the arrival of some 30,000 additional U.S. troops and their equipment. When the ban was announced, those troops were still on their way, straining tenuous NATO supply routes and filling bases beyond capacity.

Hill said he would leave it to individual base commanders to decide what to bring back, but cautioned that the food courts and shopping areas should be kept within reason.

“It needs to be right-sized,” he said. “We need to keep in mind that everything we bring into the country has to come through the same supply chain, whether it’s fast food or ammunition.”

The ban on shops and fast-food restaurants mainly affected a handful of the largest U.S. bases in Afghanistan such as Bagram Air Field that are primarily home to headquarters and support troops.

Most combat troops remain at smaller bases, often with only the most basic amenities, contributing to something of a quality-of-life dichotomy in Afghanistan, typified by a faux motivational poster that has made the rounds among U.S. troops. The poster shows a picture of two smiling servicemembers holding trays of fast food next to a group of dust-covered troops on patrol. Beneath, it reads: “Afghanistan: individual experiences may vary.”

Spokesman Judd Anstey said Thursday that AAFES had yet to receive official word of the policy change.

“If we receive an official request, AAFES is ready to support fast food concessions in Afghanistan,” he said.

Gen. David Petraeus, who took over command in Afghanistan in July, said he had left the decision about base amenities to Hill but said he believed the shops contributed to morale without creating resentment.

“The feedback I’ve received from the squad and platoon level, if you will, is that they don’t begrudge the occupants of big bases having Burger Kings because they actually like to go to them when they get the chance to go to the big bases,” he said.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Good news! They never should have taken them away in the first place. It isn't as though they are scattered across the country of Afghanistan, they were located at specific bases.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (4)

September 07, 2010

Push to Release Marines at Leavenworth and Lt. Colonel Allen West Talks About The Leavenworth 10

Lt. Colonel Allen West Talks About The Leavenworth 10

People gathered outside of the Leavenworth prison to bring attention to 10 former soldiers who they say should be released.

Wild Thing's comment.......

And please don't forget the Stryker Brigrade soldiers being held at McCord AFB near Seattle, Wa. They are in the same position.

For this to be happening to our warriors, our heroes is beyond horrible. It is unforgivable.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (8)

September 03, 2010

Afghan Outrage: U.S. Troops Scrounge for Blankets, Bullets

Afghan outrage: U.S. troops scrounge for blankets, bullets

'One of my soldiers went without ammo for 5 weeks'

Sangin: Afghanistan's ( of Helmand province ) poppy town that became deathtrap for British soldiers since 2001

The parents of an American soldier in Afghanistan have accused the U.S. government of leaving defenders of its freedoms without basics such as blankets, food, feminine hygiene supplies and even bullets, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

"One of my soldiers went without ammo for five weeks once they got to Afghanistan because of shortages. I can't reveal the name, because they are frightened of reprisals. If they can do what they did to a four star general like [Gen. Stanley A.] McChrystal, what would they do to a buck private?"

That comes from a woman who, with her husband, has taken it upon herself to adopt soldiers and provide them with many of the needed basics.

The woman, assigned a pseudonym of "Beth," insisted her name not be used because of the possibility of reprisals against her or the soldiers.

But she told WND she received a report that a U.S. soldier bought a $15 knife "and slept with their hand on the handle in the waist of their pants because it was all they had for the moment to protect themselves."

The woman confirmed she and her husband are involved in supplying the basic necessities for some 50 soldiers – because the military isn't.

"If the military doesn't supply what they need, they must depend on family or people like me," Beth said. "Many of these families are struggling on low wages, some parents are on disabilities and unable to help. Sending a box once a month during their deployment is not only good for their morale, but they need (to be) resupplied with many items."

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations. But one soldier told Beth the work days are 18 hours long, and they have few "real meals."

Wild Thing's comment........

This is extremely disturbing.

The election of this administration, in addition to both houses of Congress being in the hands of the Democrats, was the worst thing the Americans could have done to our military.

We have GOT to get Kenya Boy out of the WH. We have got to take our country back at all costs.

Obama is more concerned with taxing us to death, playing golf, control over all of us, and that freaking Mosque in NY.

....Thank you JohnE, U.S. Army for sending this to me.

Soldier/Generator Mechanic
Companies: 288TH Q.M. Co

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:47 AM | Comments (9)

September 02, 2010

22 US Troops Killed in Afghanistan in Four Days

22 US troops killed in Afghanistan in four days

Telegraph co.uk

Twenty two American troops have been killed in Afghanistan in four days, making it one of the bloodiest periods of the summer.

A series of bomb attacks have badly hit US troops in eastern and southern Afghanistan in the past 48 hours, contributing to the toll.

Violence is predicted to rise towards the September 18 parliamentary elections and as American troops begin operations west of Kandahar after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Deaths among the Nato-led coalition have reached 485 this year and are predicted to surpass 2009’s total of 521.

In one of the worst recent attacks five American soldiers died in Kandahar on Monday. Witnesses said their Humvee armoured vehicle was destroyed by a bomb. Three more died in a bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The coalition blames the rise in troop deaths partly on the influx of reinforcements, which is allowing commanders to target previously untouched insurgent safe havens where rebels are mounting stiff resistance.

Afghan police and civilians have suffered far higher casualties. The interior ministry has said 229 civilians and 124 policemen were killed in the month to August 22.

Mr Karzai’s frustration at the death toll led him this week to say Nato strategy must change as “fighting (Taliban) in Afghan villages has been ineffective and is not achieving anything but killing civilians".

Gen David Petraeus, senior US and Nato commander in the country, warned fighting would get “harder before it gets easier”.

Homemade bombs using old shells or homemade explosives and hidden in roads, tracks, walls, streams and buildings have become the Taliban’s favoured weapon.

Their use has sparked an arms race with foreign troops evolving tactics, or relying on more heavily armed vehicles and mine detectors to try and avoid them.

Wild Thing's comment........

Obama gave the taliban the green flag.

This is awful, every village near that Bomb/IED should be ankle high.. God Protect our troops from their two enemies ,obama and the taliban. Our troops are being restrained by Obama and his administration!

STOP these insane R.O.E.'s !!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (3)

September 01, 2010

1st Battalion 6th Marines: Marjah Afghanistan

From the person that did ithe video:

Not your normal "Mot Video" but this video will make you think twice about the men and women in the Marine Corps. Against GySgt Wallgreens request I recorded his speach in secret..... the result is this awesome video with the last words we heard before boarding helos and heading into the heart of Marjeh. Have you ever wondered how Marines get pumped up? This video will show you how true leaders inspire their Marines to do the unthinkable.

Wild Thing's comment........

God bless our Marines and all our troops!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 AM | Comments (3)

August 28, 2010

Military Dog Helps Service Member with PTSD

Video about how a joint study by several health organizations revealed 82 percent of people diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder partnered with a trained psychiatric service dog will have fewer symptoms. Provided by American Forces Network Afghanistan.

Service dogs help heal military veterans

The wounds of war are not always physical. Battle anxiety leaves many soldiers emotionally scarred with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can lead to lifelong disability if inadequately treated.

Coming to the rescue is the Paws for Purple Hearts program, with dogs trained to assist veterans with emotional and physical disabilities.

The concept of service dogs, trained to assist people with mobility or other impairments, originated in 1975 at the Bergin University of Canine Studies, Santa Rosa, Calif. The concept has now been expanded for an innovative program designed for wounded veterans.

In January the first group of dogs selected from the pilot program of Paws for Purple Hearts will report for duty at the Walter Reed Warrior Transition Unit in Washington, D.C. Veterans suffering from PTSD will train these dogs to become companions for other soldiers returning home with physical disabilities.

"The experience of losing a close friend and feeling helpless leaves a scar,'' said Rick Yount, director of Paws for Purple Hearts. "It's very important to address it and come to some type of understanding of what they could and couldn't do in the situation.''

Unconditional love

In the first part of the program, the unconditional love of the golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers in the program is part of a trauma-recovery team for incoming veterans suffering from PTSD.

Emotional affection is needed to praise the service dog, an empathic quality needed for veterans to recover. "Dogs won't let you isolate,'' Yount said, adding that they serve as grounding and help the veterans develop patience.

During a three-month training period, the service dog is taught vital skills to aid physically disabled soldiers, including the ability to retrieve items, turn on lights, open and close doors, and push wheelchairs. Once trained, the service dogs can accomplish many tasks typically performed by family members and attendants.

Second phase

In the second part of the program, the service dog moves to the next level, leaving the PTSD-afflicted trainer for a new human companion. The difficulty of saying goodbye to a new friend often brings up feelings of lost comrades, but with a significant difference: A sacrifice is being made for the good of another comrade returning from combat.

"Maybe they couldn't help their friend hit by an IED (improvised explosive device), but helping another veteran helps them to deal with the loss,'' Yount said.

Combat veterans usually have a difficult time expressing feelings about severe wartime trauma, and initial results are positive. "The vet can be more relaxed and less hypervigilant,'' he said.

According to the Army Surgeon General’s special assistant for mental health, Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, M.D., the Army is using dogs “much more” to help soldiers recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“Animals are not just cute,” Ritchie said. “They provide support.”

The observation came at a 2010 NAMI Convention symposium on “Veterans and Military Mental Health,” focusing on the needs of returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other veterans.

Ritchie’s statement was consistent with the findings of a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) report released last year, Depression: Gaps and Guideposts, which found that about 20 percent of people living with depression have used animal therapy in treatment, with 54 percent finding it “extremely” or “quite a bit” helpful.

The dogs, provided by the Psychiatric Service Dog Society, are trained to help jolt a soldier from a flashback, dial 911 on the phone, and even sense a panic attack before it starts.

The dog also provides emotional comfort, and can help a veteran with a sense of responsibility, optimism, and self-awareness.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I love animals and I can see how having a dog or a cat to be with one of our troops when they come back would help a lot. It is a special relationship that a person has with these gifts from God.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (4)

August 25, 2010

God Bless Our Marines

....."My husband, Cpl Jason Pinkston and our new son Ryder born July 19, 2010" from Allison Brooke Pinkston
..........

Wild Thing's comment.......

The photo says it all.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:47 AM

August 20, 2010

Sniper in Afghan Town

Sniper in Afghan Town Puts Marines on Edge

The Washington Journal

SANGIN, Afghanistan

Somewhere in this dusty town, concealed among the cornfields, irrigation canals and mud-walled compounds, is a man the Marines particularly want to kill.

They don't know what he looks like. But they know he is a very good shot with a long rifle, and, every day he remains alive, he is drawing Marine blood.

In the seven days since the men of Lima Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment arrived in town, the Sangin sniper has persecuted them with methodical, well-aimed shots, fired one at a time. His toll so far: two men killed—one American and one British—and one man wounded.

Two Marines have survived hits they say came from a second shooter, believed to be less proficient and careful than the first.

Sangin has for years been a hotbed of insurgent activity in volatile Helmand province, and, in its first days here, Lima Company has pressed through a belt of farmland between the Helmand River and a main road, Route 611. The Marines have been met with hidden explosives and ambushes.

But the sniper has caused the most damage—a deadly reminder that the Taliban insurgency has its share of well-trained fighters capable of frustrating the allied mission.

"He's hitting people—that's very disruptive," said 1st Sgt. John Calhoun, 41 years old, from Konawa, Okla. "But it's not interfering with what we're trying to do here."

The sniper struck first on Aug. 13, the day after Lima Company arrived. A Marine stepped out of his armored vehicle just 100 yards or so from a secure U.S.-British patrol base. He threw away some trash and exchanged a few words with another Marine. The sniper fired a single, lethal shot.

On the same day, a British army engineer—20-year-old Darren Foster from Carlisle, England—was in a guard post in front of the same patrol base. British troops have built a covered, bunkered pathway so the guards aren't exposed to enemy fire as they walk down from the hilltop base. The post is protected by bulletproof glass, except for small gaps through which the guards fire their weapons. The sniper timed his single shot and killed the engineer as he walked past the opening.

"He hit a moving target in a space this big," said Capt. Jim Nolan, Lima Company's commander, holding his hands about nine inches apart.

On Aug. 14, a U.S. tank mechanic took a round in the torso as he carried sandbags across a small bridge. The protective plate in his body armor stopped the round.

"We think it's the same guy," said Gunnery Sgt. Edward Rivera, 39, of Poway, Calif.

Other Marines believe the evidence suggests a second shooter, less accurate and armed with a smaller-caliber weapon.

Then on Sunday, the snipers hit twice. First, Lance Cpl. Derek Simpson took a round to the head.

One of the Marines' tank-like mine-clearing vehicles had slipped off of a dirt bridge, knocking the track off the sprocket wheel. The Marines hitched it to a tow-tank and pulled until the track came completely free, then set to work putting it back in place. Lance Cpl. Simpson, of Third Combat Engineer Battalion, was working on the project and talking to some other Marines when he felt a hard blow to his head.

The sniper's bullet had apparently hit the tank and ricocheted into the front right side of Lance Cpl. Simpson's helmet. It punched into the Kevlar shell, but didn't penetrate all the way.

Lance Cpl. Simpson, who was raised in Gary, Texas, can't recall if he was knocked to the ground or threw himself there to avoid another shot. Another Marine dragged him to cover. He lay on his back as a friend pulled off his helmet to reveal a bloody welt on the right side of his forehead. Two Navy corpsmen, the Marine equivalent of Army medics, decided against stitches.

"I feel blessed," he said. But he also felt guilty for leaving his comrades. "I want to be out there with everyone else," he said. "It's not fair that I'm alive and in here, and they're still out there."

Fifteen minutes after Lance Cpl. Simpson arrived at the patrol base, another Marine went down near the same spot. Again, just one shot.

The other Marines pulled him, too, behind an armored vehicle, where a corpsman treated his wounded leg. The men called frantically for an armored ambulance, but were relieved that the corpsman found the bullet had missed the femoral artery. The wound wasn't life-threatening.

Back at the patrol base, Sgt. Johnny Bailey watched a live video feed of the scene at the bridge and tried to find out which way the Marine had fallen. "That way I'll know the direction of the shot," he said.

The Marines send their own snipers out hunting. The Marine scout-snipers, who go through extensive training, are reluctant to grant that title to the insurgent gunman. They might allow him "marksman," a lesser honorific.

"He's a decent shot—not a great shot," one Marine sniper said as he headed out the patrol base to try to kill the insurgent.

He had heard the thump and crack of each of the sniper's shots. He estimates from the sound that the Sangin sniper is less than 600 yards away from his targets. Still, the Sangin sniper appears careful and clever.

During the U.S.-led offensive earlier this year in Marjah, another Helmand province hot spot, one insurgent sniper positioned himself two or three rooms deep inside a building, concealed well enough to hide the flash of his rifle's muzzle. His shots would travel room-to-room through the building, exit through a small hole in the exterior wall and hit Marines on a rooftop outpost. It took Marine snipers days to locate and kill him.

Wild Thing's comment...........

This place SANGIN, Afghanista is less than cooperative. Because that is the case then the BS and the R.O.E.'s and the “winning them over” should be declared null and void and they should lay waste to the whole dang area. They’re all the enemy in a city such as that one.

Some article titles from the past about this place:

Afghanistan: British troops to hand over northern Helmand to US

Marines to replace British troops in Sangin - Marine Corps News

I LOVE snipers — when they’re ours!!!!!! Send in two counter-sniper teams. There’s no way this sniper will survive.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:50 AM | Comments (4)

August 16, 2010

First National Guard Special Forces Soldier Successfully Jumps with Prosthetic

SSG Andre Murnane, 28, of Salisbury, Md., entered Green Beret lore this month when he became the first Army National Guard Special Forces soldier to jump out of an aircraft. Army doctors cleared him to jump in June. While several Special Forces soldiers with prosthetics have completed airborne operations, Murnane is the first National Guardsman to do so.

Faced with a long recovery and the reality that he might not ever run, surf or return to his Special Forces team, Staff Sgt. Andre Murnane made the decision last year to have his right leg amputated below the knee after it was shattered by an improvised explosive device that detonated in eastern Afghanistan.

“My dreams and ambitions didn’t end that day. It simply started a new chapter,” he said.

And a new breakthrough.

Murnane, 28, of Salisbury, Md., entered Green Beret lore this month when he became the first Army National Guard Special Forces soldier to jump out of an aircraft. Army doctors cleared him to jump in June. While several Special Forces soldiers with prosthetics have completed airborne operations, Murnane is the first National Guardsman to do so.

Murnane admitted he felt nervous about the historic jump that took place Aug. 1 in Grenada, about 90 miles north of Jackson. And he was a bit worried about the prosthetic shifting from the opening shock of the parachute and how it would hold up when he landed.

“It held just fine with new prosthetic technology and some good old fashion duct tape,” he said. “Once I was under canopy my thoughts shifted to the two runways that were on the drop zone, I barely cleared one of them by 15 or 20 meters. Just before landing I wondered what it was going to feel like, but I just kept telling myself, feet and knees together and relax.”

Last October, the communications sergeant from the Maryland-based Bravo Company of 2nd Battalion 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was out on a combat operation on a mountain when a pressure plate IED detonated while clearing an area after his team was ambushed. He was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC, where he underwent several surgeries to repair his right foot and ankle. It was there where he realized the surgeries would never completely restore his leg.

He’s taken it all in stride, though.

“Life is a journey, and the journey is the destination. You have to accept change in your life and continue to live it like you did before,” he said. “It takes some extra work, but if you train hard and stay motivated you can do anything you want to.”

Wild Thing's comment.......

WOW Fantastic!

All The Way....Good Job Staff Sergeant Andre Mumane. I love our warrirors, our country has such truly awesome men and women serving our country, and we always have.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (2)

August 14, 2010

VJ Day, Honolulu Hawaii, August 14, 1945

V-J Day (Victory over Japan day) is on August 15th in memory of the announcement of the surrender of Japan on that day in 1945 to end World War II.

VJ Day, Honolulu Hawaii, August 14, 1945 from Richard Sullivan on Vimeo.

This is footage found after sitting for 65 years. It's video taken of VJ day in Honolulu. August 14, 1945.

"65 Years Ago my Dad (Richard Sullivan ) shot this film along Kalakaua Ave. in Waikiki capturing spontaneous celebrations that broke out upon first hearing news of the Japanese surrender."

Wild Thing's comment.......

One of my Uncles was stationed in Hawaii when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened. My Aunt ( his wife) said she looked out the window and she could see one of the planes go by and the Kamikaze pilots face so close looking toward their house.

Another Aunt took a troop train from NY to SF when she joined the WAVES. She also said at every town they stopped in the townspeople were there cheering them on and providing coffee and treats.

Another of my Uncles was sitting on Okinawa waiting to go in. He took part in the Solomon, Siapan, Iwo Jima, always said he figured he wouldn't of survived Japan he'd used up all his luck.

One other of my Uncles was on a troop train when a man got on the train yelling that the "JAPS QUIT"! NOBODY paid him any mind & the party went ON & ON. But later when the train got to El Paso, another man got on the train with a copy of the EP Daily Sun newspaper stating what happened and then my Uncle said the party abruptly ended and "it was quiet as a mouse for several hours as though it was sinking in. He said everyone sat there looking out the window and no sound was heard. Then loud cheers began to fill the train.

Uncle Sven would have been in the second wave; they expected 95% casualties, that is what they pretty much were told. Till the day he passed away he celebrated August 15, 1945 and was very much in favor that they dropped the bomb.

All the men in my family served in the military in each branch, also three of my Aunts. I wish they all were alive today they would love to see this video. They would love to know each one of you on here as well.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (4)

August 10, 2010

Virginia Lawmakers Blast Gates Plan to Cut Major Military Command

ISAF Information & Resources

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced a plan to shed a major military command in Virginia as part of his effort to strip billions from the Pentagon budget, drawing heated objections from state lawmakers who call the center essential.

Gates, in a lengthy press conference Monday afternoon, outlined his plan to eliminate Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., and seek deep cuts elsewhere in the budget. He acknowledged the economic impact the closure could have for thousands of workers in the Norfolk region, but stood by his decision as a critical step in bringing defense spending under control.

"I am determined to change the way this department has done business for a long time," Gates said.

Gates estimated that the Virginia command accounts for 2,800 military and civilian positions, as well as 3,000 contractors, at an annual cost of at least $240 million. Though some employees could be reassigned elsewhere, Gates said a "substantial number" of full-time workers would have to find other positions or leave the Defense Department.

Virginia lawmakers slammed the decision, condemning the move with a steady stream of written statements while assembling for a press conference Monday afternoon in Norfolk. Aside from concerns over jobs, they argued that the command could actually help the Pentagon save money.

"I can see no rational basis for dismantling JFCOM since its sole mission is to look for efficiencies and greater cost-savings by forcing more cooperation among sometimes competing military services," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a written statement. "In the business world, you sometimes have to spend money in order to save money."

He vowed to work with the congressional delegation to retain as many jobs connected to the command as possible. Norfolk is one of 10 major U.S. military commands.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., also called the move a "step backward" and one that could hurt military capability. "I will carefully examine the justifications for this decision as well as its implications for the greater Norfolk community," he said.

Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Va., pledged to do the same, ripping the announcement as "short-sighted and without merit."

"I appreciate the department's attempt to rein in spending, but I have yet to see any substantive analysis to support the assertion that closing JFCOM will yield large savings," he said.

Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim agreed with Warner that the command could save money. He told FoxNews.com that the station is "valuable" and the congressional delegation has the "leverage" to negotiate with the Pentagon.

"I think we want to resist this," Fraim said. He said the simulations and other exercises conducted at Joint Forces Command are critical and must be performed somewhere.

The mayor said the other installations that have made Norfolk a national military hub will stay regardless of the Joint Forces Command decision.

Gates on Monday also detailed other efforts to reduce waste and duplication, including a plan to cut the Pentagon's use of outside contractors by 10 percent next year and rein in the growth of senior leadership positions. Gates called for a freeze on the number of employees working for his office, defense agencies and combatant commands for the next three years and a cut of at least 50 general and flag officer positions and 150 senior civilian executive positions over the next two years.

Gates declined to say how much money would be saved by shutting down the command, which holds more than a million square feet of real estate in Suffolk and Norfolk. Some savings will be offset by the cost of shifting some jobs and roles elsewhere, he said.

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement saying Gates' proposals "appear to efficiently find savings" in the Pentagon budget. He said he would hold a hearing when Congress returns from its August recess.

The Virginia-based command trains troops from different services to fight together.

Joint Forces Command was the largest single cut announced Monday.

Six Virginia lawmakers issued a written statement opposing the cut last month after a board of advisers first proposed the idea. The lawmakers, including Webb and Warner, called the proposal "illogical" and potentially "harmful" to military capability.

The Pentagon has already announced a target of cutting $100 billion over five years. And earlier this year Gates ordered a top-to-bottom paring of the military bureaucracy in search of at least $10 billion in annual savings needed to prevent an erosion of U.S. combat power.

Gates took aim at what he called wasteful business practices and too many generals and admirals, and noted that "overhead" costs chew up as much as 40 percent of the Pentagon's budget.

Big cuts are essential considering the recession and the likelihood that Congress no longer will give the Pentagon the sizable budget increases it has enjoyed since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Gates and other defense leaders have said.

The current defense budget, not counting the cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, is $535 billion; the administration is asking for $549 billion for 2011.

Most full combatant commands correspond to regions of the world, such as Pacific Command, but others are organized around a concept or mission rather than geography.

JFCOM lists its mission as training troops from all services to work together for specific missions. It tries to make sure equipment used by different services works together, and looks for gaps in capabilities within military services that could be filled by a specially trained joint force.

The command is headed by a four-star military officer, the highest grade currently in use. Marine Gen. James Mattis was its commander until named last month to replace Army Gen. David Petraeus as head of U.S. Central Command. His replacement will be Gen. Ray Odierno, now the war commander in Iraq. Odierno's job will be to eliminate his own office, officials said.

The plan Gates outlined is similar to one suggested last month by the Defense Business Board, a panel of company executives who advise the Pentagon. The board said Gates should cut the number of civilian employees by at least 15 percent. The panel also identified Joint Forces Command as contributing to much of the contractor bloat because it had more contractors than government employees on its payroll.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Sheesh! The only spending that this bunch of bozos can cut is in the military! ??!! The Kenyan Clown is determined to destroy our military.

Defense is constitutional mandated. It should be the last thing cut.

The ONLY federal employees facing the possibility of job cuts under this administration are Defense Department employees. And Robert Gates, ass-kissing flunky extraordinaire is right out there cutting jobs in the middle of the worst recession in decades. Cutting jobs of the only competent federal workforce there is. Closing the base will mean not just re-assigning the personnel but thousands of civilian jobs will be lost in the community.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (7)

August 09, 2010

Obama Administration’s DOJ Denying Our Troops Their Right To Vote ~ Update

Wild Thing's comment.......

This story discounting the value of overseas military votes fits the Eric Holder-geist profile of *subverting* likely non-DEMO voters.

Further confirmation that Libs, Dems, and Obama HATE the military.

I can remember too how Algore did all he could to disqualify Florida military ballots in 2000.

America's enemies are here, and they are in Washington D.C. And Obama and Holder's DOJ are blatantly leading the parade. They are the lowest of the low if they are denying our people in uniform their voting rights. Disgraceful.
Holder and Obama don’t care that the country is watching this Justice Department ignore or flat out break our laws.

To deliberately disenfranchise our troops, who are being killed and maimed while defending America, is so low that it defies description.

The military is the heart of our country and should have every single one of their votes counted!

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (4)

August 08, 2010

General Petraeus Reloads Rules of Engagement

Petraeus Issues Updated Tactical Directive: Emphasizes “Disciplined Use of Force”

The directive was issued on August 1, 2010, replacing the July 1, 2009 version.

Headquarters
International Security Assistance Force - Afghanistan
2010-08-CA-004

KABUL, Afghanistan (Aug. 4) – International Security Assistance Force Commander, General David Petraeus has issued his updated Tactical Directive, providing guidance and intent for the use of force by ISAF and USFOR-A units operating in Afghanistan.

The Tactical Directive reinforces the concept of “disciplined use of force” in our partnership with Afghan Security Forces to defeat the insurgency in Afghanistan.

The updated directive is classified; unclassified portions of the document are included below.

“This directive applies to all ISAF and US Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) forces operating under operational or tactical control ... Subordinate commanders are not authorized to further restrict this guidance without my approval.

Our counterinsurgency strategy is achieving progress in the face of tough enemies and a number of other challenges. Concentrating our efforts on protecting the population is having a significant effect. We have increased security in some key areas, and we have reduced the number of civilian casualties caused by coalition forces.

The Afghan population is, in a number of areas, increasingly supportive of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and of coalition forces. We have also seen support for the insurgency decrease in various areas as the number of insurgent-caused civilian casualties has risen dramatically. We must build on this momentum.

This effort is a contest of wills. Our enemies will do all that they can to shake our confidence and the confidence of the Afghan people. In turn, we must continue to demonstrate our resolve to the enemy. We will do so through our relentless pursuit of the Taliban and others who mean Afghanistan harm, through our compassion for the Afghan people, and through the example we provide to our Afghan partners.

We must continue – indeed, redouble – our efforts to reduce the loss of innocent civilian life to an absolute minimum. Every Afghan civilian death diminishes our cause. If we use excessive force or operate contrary to our counterinsurgency principles, tactical victories may prove to be strategic setbacks.

We must never forget that the center of gravity in this struggle is the Afghan people; it is they who will ultimately determine the future of Afghanistan ...

Prior to the use of fires, the commander approving the strike must determine that no civilians are present. If unable to assess the risk of civilian presence, fires are prohibited, except under of the following two conditions (specific conditions deleted due to operational security; however, they have to do with the risk to ISAF and Afghan forces).

(NOTE) This directive, as with the previous version, does not prevent commanders from protecting the lives of their men and women as a matter of self-defense where it is determined no other options are available to effectively counter the threat.

... Protecting the Afghan people does require killing, capturing, or turning the insurgents. Indeed, as I noted earlier, we must pursue the Taliban tenaciously. But we must fight with great discipline and tactical patience.

We must balance our pursuit of the enemy with our efforts to minimize loss of innocent civilian life, and with our obligation to protect our troops. Our forces have been striving to do that, and we will continue to do so.

In so doing, however, we must remember that it is a moral imperative both to protect Afghan civilians and to bring all assets to bear to protect our men and women in uniform and the Afghan security forces with whom we are fighting shoulder-to-shoulder when they are in a tough spot.

We must be consistent throughout the force in our application of this directive and our rules of engagement. All commanders must reinforce the right and obligation of self-defense of coalition forces, of our Afghan partners, and of others as authorized by the rules of engagement.

We must train our forces to know and understand the rules of engagement and the intent of the tactical directive. We must give our troopers the confidence to take all necessary actions when it matters most, while understanding the strategic consequences of civilian casualties. Indeed, I expect our troopers to exert their best judgment according to the situation on the ground. Beyond that, every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and Marine has my full support as we take the fight to the enemy.

... Partnering is how we operate. Some civilian casualties result from a misunderstanding or ignorance of local customs and behaviors. No individuals are more attuned to the Afghan culture than our Afghan partners. Accordingly, it is essential that all operations be partnered with an ANSF unit and that our Afghan partners be part of the planning and execution phases. Their presence will ensure greater situational awareness. It will also serve to alleviate anxiety on the part of the local population and build confidence in Afghan security forces.

I expect every operation and patrol to be partnered. If there are operational reasons why partnership is not possible for a particular operation, the CONOP approval authority must be informed ...

Partnership is an essential aspect of our counterinsurgency strategy. It is also an indispensible element of the transition of security responsibility to ANSF.

Again, we need to build on the momentum we are achieving. I expect every trooper and commander to use force judiciously, especially in situations where civilians may be present. At the same time, we must employ all assets to ensure our troopers’ safety, keeping in mind the importance of protecting the Afghan people as we do.

This is a critical challenge at a critical time; but we must and will succeed. I expect that everyone under my command, operational and tactical, will not only adhere to the letter of this directive, but – more importantly – to its intent.

Strategic and operational commanders cannot anticipate every engagement. We have no desire to undermine the judgment of tactical commanders. However, that judgment should always be guided by my intent. Take the fight to the enemy. And protect the Afghan people and help our Afghan partners defeat the insurgency.”

U.S. Army General David H. Petraeus, Commander, International Security Assistance Force, talks with troops of the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Dvision at Combat Outpost Monti, Aug. 5, 2010, in Eastern Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force Photo By Staff Sgt. Bradley Lail) (released)

Wild Thing's comment........

Victory is more important than pandering to the Taliban's supporters and appeasers. We didn't win World Wars one and two by worrying about how many of the enemy's civillians were killed.

Bin Laden famously said that people will always follow the strong horse. We are that steed. Unfortunately we seem to think that cutting off three of its legs will have no effect.

God bless our country and our awesome warriors, they are in my prayers every day.

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:49 AM | Comments (11)

Iraqi forces officially take over from U.S.

BAGHDAD, Aug. 7

UPI

Iraqi security forces officially took over control of combat operations from U.S. military forces Saturday, with the top U.S. commander promising ongoing help.

U.S. Gen. Raymond Odierno and Iraq's defense minister watched as the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division passed its responsibilities to the 6th Iraqi Army Division, CNN reported.

"We're still very committed to Iraq," Odierno said.

"I think we've come a long way, having been here through the very bad times, the progress that we made is encouraging; the fact that we're getting down to 50,000 [U.S. troops] -- how we've executed that, I think we've executed that extremely well. I think we're set up now to finish the mission here. But for me it's not final, there is still work that has to be done here by those that are to follow me."

President Barack Obama has directed that the current 64,000-strong U.S. presence be reduced to
50,000 by Sept. 1.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I suppose Obama will keep taking credit for Iraq when that is a complete lie. Actually the credit should go to our troops, and to Bush for doing the surge which made such a huge difference too.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (6)

August 07, 2010

Injured Marine Returns Home To Tell Remarkable Story

Brian Johnson/AFN Ahwatukee resident and Mountain Pointe graduate Garrett Zeigler, 23, was shot twice - once in the neck - and nearly killed in an ambush on June 12 in Afghanistan. After being treated initially in Germany, Zeigler, a Marine, returned to the U.S. July 19 and is now recovering from his wounds at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. In a recent interview with the AFN, Zeigler said he misses Dixie, his trained Labrador that he worked with in detecting road-side bombs in Afghanistan.

Injured Marine Returns Home To Tell Remarkable Story

By Erica Tiffany Special to AFN

Lance Cpl. Garrett Zeigler has returned home after sustaining injuries during a clash with the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan June 12.

Prior to the gunfight Zeigler had spent three months in a town called Laki in Helmand, Afghanistan, sniffing out Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) with his black Labrador retriever Dixie.

IEDs are embedded everywhere by the Taliban and Zeigler said that they are a towering threat to the Marines' safety. According to the CBS news video "The Hunt for Roadside Bombs" - which features Zeigler and his dog Dixie - 8,159 IEDs were detonated or found in Afghanistan last year.

IEDs are often linked in "daisy chains" to go off at the same time, making them even more dangerous.

Dixie is one of 13 explosive canines keeping soldiers safe from the homemade bombs in Afghanistan.

"Dogs work 300 to 400 yards ahead of their handler so if they find an IED they can alert the Marines before they get in the danger zone," Terry McCarthy said in the CBS news video.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives website, Dixie had to train for 10 weeks and successfully identify 20 different explosive odors in a blind test before becoming certified.

Zeigler interviewed three times before becoming Dixie's handler and has now formed an inseparable bond with the dog.

"Once your dog saves a Marine's life, everyone loves her," Zeigler said.

Zeigler spent the rest of his time eating meatball marinara MREs (Meal Ready to Eat), laying on his cot watching DVDs on a portable player and fending off ambush attacks at his forward operating base "Karma."

Zeigler was composed, comfortable and even paradoxically charming as he spoke of the day his life almost ended. Using military jargon that was almost indecipherable, Zeigler dove into an unbelievable story of patriotism and valor.

After hearing of a Taliban attack on the police scanner, Zeigler and another soldier quickly discussed what they would do if the other was hit while setting up a defensive gun position on the roof.

The Marines were hit with an L-shape ambush, and after killing six enemies with a SAW (belt-fed machine gun), Zeigler was shot twice, one bullet landing millimeters away from his carotid artery.

Not being able to use his right arm because his humerus was fractured, Zeigler picked up his M4 rifle with his left arm and continued fighting while blood flowed down his flak jacket.

The other soldier picked him up and fled from the roof while still taking fire. Zeigler has nominated him for a Bronze Star, a medal awarded for heroic or meritorious achievement or service.

"Your life is all about the guy next to you, so you have to bond. You have to have a unit cohesion or it will all fall apart," Zeigler said.

Zeigler, with Dixie by his side, was evacuated by medical transport to Germany.

He returned to the states on July 19 and estimates that he has had 30 to 40 doctor appointments over the last month.

Zeigler is currently stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego where he will soon start physical therapy.

A Purple Heart ceremony will be hosted in his honor once he is off convalescent leave.

Dixie and the rest of his Marine unit are scheduled to return in November. "I'm going through withdrawals because my dog is still over there," Zeigler said.

Many of Zeigler's stories about the war involve Taliban manipulation and genocide on its own people to spread hatred of America. He said that most of the people in Afghanistan are merely trying to feed their families, and they join sides with whoever provides for them.

"What makes this war so hard is that you don't know who your enemy is because the Taliban wears no uniform. You could have a farmer right next to a member of the Taliban and you wouldn't even know," Zeigler said, adding that he believes there is no negotiating with the Taliban and that the United States should remain in the war to prevent another attack like 9/11.

His mother, on the other hand, feels differently.

"We have told the leadership in Afghanistan that we are pulling out in 2011, and I hope we are true to that time frame as we have had so many ... casualties in this war," Karen Gladstone said.

The 23-year-old Mountain Point High School alumnus is positive about his future, but reminders of his time in Afghanistan will forever cover his upper body. The Marine-core emblem along with a skull and rifles are tattooed on his arm next to the words "U.S. Marines Anti-Terrorist Operations" and he has healing scars on his jaw and shoulder at the points where the bullets entered and exited.

"I'm going to build a bridge and move on. I'm not going to dwell on it for the rest of my life," Zeigler said.

"The night we talked to Garrett he was happy and jovial. He looks great and is well on his way to recovery. Semper Fi to Garrett, Dixie and all their comrades and family," family friend Pat King said.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Great story and I am so glad he will be OK and also that he will be able to be with Dixie again too.

Prayers for his healing and steady and recovery.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (4)

August 03, 2010

Heroism in Ambush May Yield Top Valor Awards

From left to right: Gunnery Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, Cpl. Dakota Meyer and Hospitalman 3rd Class James Layton

Heroism in ambush may yield top valor awards

By Dan Lamothe

With no air or artillery support, the Marines of Embedded Training Team 2-8 were trapped deep in a kill zone in eastern Afghanistan. Their radios worked only sporadically, and dozens of insurgents fired on them repeatedly from three sides.

“We’re surrounded!” Gunnery Sgt. Edwin Johnson yelled into his radio in the early-morning hours of Sept. 8, 2009. “They’re moving in on us!”

At least twice, a two-man team attempted to rescue their buddies, using an armored vehicle mounted with a .50-caliber machine gun to fight their way toward them. They were forced back each time by a hail of bullets, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. An enemy bullet hit the vehicle’s gun turret, piercing then-Cpl. Dakota Meyer’s elbow with shrapnel. He shook it off, refusing to tell the staff sergeant with him because he didn’t want to make the situation worse, according to U.S. Army documents outlining a military investigation of the ambush.

What he did next will live on in Marine Corps lore — and, some say, should earn him consideration for the Medal of Honor.

After helicopter pilots called on to respond said fighting was too fierce for them to land, Meyer, then 21, charged into the kill zone on foot to find his friends. Under heavy fire, he reached a trench where the pilots had spotted the Marines, by then considered missing.

He found Johnson, 31; Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, 30; 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, 25; Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James Layton, 22; and an Afghan soldier they were training — all dead and bloody from gunshot wounds. They were spread out in the ditch, their weapons and radios stolen.

“I checked them all for a pulse. There [sic] bodies were already stiff,” Meyer said in a sworn statement he was asked to provide military investigators. “I found SSgt Kenefick facedown in the trench w/ his GPS in his hand. His face appeared as if he was screaming. He had been shot in the head.”

Rather than give up, Meyer, of Greensburg, Ky., fought to bring his buddies back home. Bleeding from his shrapnel wound and still under fire, he carried their bodies back to a Humvee with the help of Afghan troops, and escorted them to nearby Forward Operating Base Joyce, about a mile to the northeast of Ganjgal.

Meyer’s five-page, handwritten statement to investigators is part of a 300-plus page report compiled by Combined Joint Task Force 82, then based at Bagram Air Base, in the days following the ambush. The military has declined repeatedly to release the full report, but Marine Corps Times obtained a declassified version that not only outlines heroism on the battlefield by numerous troops, but raises new questions about the mission’s failure, the Army officers in charge and why repeated, frantic pleas for air and artillery support from troops on the ground were ignored.

Meyer’s name was redacted from the report, but parents of the fallen Marines said he is responsible for retrieving their sons from the battlefield. Reached for comment July 15, Meyer declined to discuss the battle, and said he has avoided reading media coverage of it.

Then an infantry rifleman with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, he worked closely with Layton, Lt. Johnson and Kenefick, who was posthumously promoted to gunnery sergeant, in a four-man training team based at FOB Monti in Kunar province. He considered them close friends, he said. He left the Corps in June, after his four-year active-duty commitment expired.

“The main thing that we need to get from that day is that those guys died heroes, and they are greatly missed,” he said. “This isn’t about me. If anything comes out of it for me, it’s for those guys.”

A Medal of Honor?

The Marines weren’t the only ones killed that day. Some of the Afghan soldiers present fought alongside U.S. forces bravely, but nearly a dozen of them were cut down by gunfire, many after failing to heed the instruction of U.S. forces to keep down, according to witness statements. A 10-man squad working with the pinned down Marine trainers was initially identified as missing, but it was later determined that it was due to a scattering of Afghan forces after their leadership took heavy losses.

Thirteen U.S. military trainers, 60 Afghan soldiers and 20 Afghan border police officers were outside the wire that day to meet with village elders, according to a report by a McClatchy News journalist traveling with the unit when it was ambushed. At least eight Afghan troops and an Afghan interpreter were killed while fighting about 150 insurgents, and a U.S. soldier, Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook, died Oct. 7 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington from wounds sustained in the attack.

Army officials announced in February that “negligent” leadership at the battalion level contributed “directly to the loss of life which ensued” by refusing repeated pleas for artillery support from U.S. forces on the ground and failing to notify higher commands that they had troops in trouble. Three unidentified officers — likely captains or majors — were recommended for letters of reprimand, potential career killers, but no additional punishment is expected.

Two investigations were conducted, with the first headed by an Army major in the first few days after the ambush and the second, focusing primarily on command post failure, overseen by Army Col. Richard Hooker and Marine Col. James Werth in November, said Marine Lt. Col. Joseph Kloppel, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces Central Command, out of Tampa, Fla.

In February, the military released a five-page summary report of its investigation, void of many details, including which units were involved. With first-person statements from more than 35 U.S. troops, the full report covers much more ground, and describes in grisly detail chaos on the battlefield and in the operations center, based at FOB Joyce and overseen by Task Force Chosin, an Army unit comprising soldiers from 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, out of Fort Drum, N.Y.

The battalion, then commanded by Army Lt. Col. Mark O’Donnell, was not disclosed in the summary report. It said an acting battalion commander was in charge at the time of the attack.

The full report describes in great detail Meyer’s heroism and that of several other U.S. troops trapped in the middle of a violent maelstrom.

Investigating officers said at least two service members in the field that day “stand out as extraordinary examples of heroism worthy of the highest recognition.” The names of the troops cited for bravery were redacted from the report, and it is unclear if Meyer or another service member may be under consideration for the Medal of Honor or another high-level award.

Susan Price, Kenefick’s mother, said Marine officials have told her it is likely her son and the other casualties will receive at least a Bronze Star with V device for their bravery under fire. No Marine has received an award for valor related to the battle yet, and the process has been stalled while the Corps researches possible high-level awards, Price said she believes. She can handle that: Meyer deserves consideration for the nation’s highest honor, she said.

“He risked his life to bring back the bodies of our heroes,” she said. “In my heart of hearts, I believe he deserves it. He had to have said, ‘I have to go in and get them, and whatever happens, happens.’ ”

Another possible contender for a high-level award could be Layton. He rushed to the lieutenant’s side to provide medical treatment to a gunshot wound in the right shoulder, putting himself in harm’s way in the process, according to several witness statements. Layton was shot in the face with an AK47 burst, while Gunnery Sgt. Johnson was hit in the right side, face and chest, Meyer said in his statement.

“His arms were up as if he had seen the enemy there,” Meyer said of the gunny. The body armor and gear for the five troops was “spread out through the trench,” although it is believed they all kept their protective equipment on, suggesting the enemy removed it. Investigators also determined it is unlikely they were executed at close range.

Doug Sterner, a Vietnam veteran consulted frequently by Congress as an expert on combat valor issues, said Meyer’s actions sound worthy of Medal of Honor consideration, while Layton’s sounds worthy of consideration for the Navy Cross or Silver Star, the nation’s second- and third-highest awards for valor.

“I would think this action is certainly something where his commander should consider submitting him for the Medal of Honor,” he said of Meyer’s actions. Sterner said he is hopeful they will consider him for it despite the fact that when he found his buddies, they were already dead.

“To me, that’s a moot point,” Sterner said. “We don’t leave anybody behind, and we go to extreme lengths to recover their remains.”

Neither the commandant’s office nor the Marine Corps Awards Branch comments on possible combat awards, spokespersons for each said. MARCENT is reviewing Meyer’s actions for possible awards, Kloppel said. A recommendation will eventually be made to Marine Corps headquarters, which can either authorize an award or push it up to a higher command — which would be necessary for the Medal of Honor or the Navy Cross.

‘They knew we were coming’

The full report reveals a variety of other details not previously disclosed by the military in its five-page summary — including actions that potentially contributed directly to U.S. deaths.

One example: In the five-page summary released early this year, investigating officers said the mission called for a meeting with Ganjgal village elders. That’s true, but the situation was far more complicated than acknowledged publicly.

In fact, the mission in Ganjgal was a follow-up to another operation in the region, and included not only meeting with village elders, but clearing the area of the enemy, according to witness statements. On Sept. 3, a joint force composed of Afghan National Army soldiers, Afghan border police, and U.S. embedded trainers and mentoring teams conducted a mission in Dam Dara village, about a mile from Ganjgal. The troops were met “with a cordial response” from the villagers, but ambushed by a three- to five-man insurgent team wielding small arms on a ridge south of Ganjgal while leaving the area.

Following the attack, tribal elders in Ganjgal met with Afghan troops and renounced the Taliban. The elders invited the Afghan troops to return to discuss renovation plans for a mosque and conduct a census of military-age males. Afghan forces began planning their return to Ganjgal for Sept. 7, but decided to delay it a day due to “competing mission requirements” for the border police, the investigative report says.

No designated air support was available for the Ganjgal mission on Sept. 8, but Afghan military leadership, in conjunction with U.S. trainers, decided artillery support would be sufficient, especially because they were promised that helicopter gunships designated for another Sept. 8 operation in the nearby Shuryak Valley by a sister Army battalion — Task Force Lethal, comprising soldiers in Kunar province with 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th BCT, 4th ID, out of Fort Carson, Colo. — could be redirected to assist Chosin in Ganjgal, if necessary.

Before the mission, military leadership learned that Taliban leaders met in Ganjgal on Sept. 7 to plan an ambush of U.S. forces. Twenty fighters were in Ganjgal that day, with at least 20 more expected to come.

Despite the potential danger, U.S. and Afghan forces didn’t wave off on the mission the following day. Leadership decided that delaying the mission “would be perceived as stifling” the Afghan troops’ initiative. In a witness statement, an intelligence and operations officer for the Marine training team said they didn’t want to delay the mission out of concern for the village elders’ lives.

In retrospect, it backfired.

“The mission was definitely compromised,” an Army staff sergeant and scout squad leader on the battlefield with Task Force Chosin said in a sworn statement. “The elders/police could have easily tipped the enemy off. They knew what day we were coming. All I know is that they were already in position and waiting and they had a ton of ammo.”

The incident has been used as an example for officers in Afghanistan on how things can go wrong. It also has resulted in tightened requirements meant to ensure leadership stays involved in an operation from pre-mission planning through execution — a downfall in Ganjgal, where senior battalion leadership was not fully involved.

Army and Marine officials said investigations into what went wrong are now complete. It is unclear if the Army officers cited in the five U.S. deaths ever received the letters of reprimand.

Wild Thing's comment..........

What really burns me is a piece of garbage like Kerry gets himself a Silver Star, no less, for doing nothing. Yet these real heroes still have not been awarded anything yet, while they try to determine what awards to hand out.

I also found this to go with this write up, it is from the same author as above and a blog for notes from those that were there:

More comments from grunts in the infamous Ganjgal ambush

Marine Times
Posted by Dan Lamothe

Today, Marine Corps Times published online my story outlining the heroism of Cpl. Dakota Meyer, a rifleman and scout sniper who found himself in the middle of horrific ambush in eastern Afghanistan last year that ultimately claimed the life of five U.S. troops.

To get that story, I relied heavily on more than 300 pages of sworn witness statements and other documents compiled by Combined Joint Task Force 82, which conducted the investigation in Afghanistan in the days following the Sept. 8, 2009, attack in Ganjgal, a remote village in Kunar province. Even though the documents were already redacted when I received them from an outside source, the military has repeatedly declined to release them despite a Freedom of Information Act request that has been pending for months.

The statements of Meyer and a few other troops made it into the story, but given the gravity of the situation, it seemed relevant to share additional comments from some of the other troops who survived here. All names were redacted from the documents I obtained. The statements here are published with acronyms spelled out in brackets on first reference for our civilian readers. I’ve left spelling and punctuation as it was in the reports.

From an Army sergeant sniper with 10th Mountain Division who watched the ambush from an observation position above the valley:

"… Multiple requests for air [support] were made and it kept getting pushed back. We were told multiple times through an hour that air will be there in [redacted] min. Fire missions were repeatedly called up by ground troops and ourselves and many were denied… Repeatedly assets were requested for support but no asset urgency was shown."

From an Army staff sergeant scout squad leader with 10th Mountain Division, on how officers back at the tactical operations center responded to repeated requests for support from artillery, helicopters or a ground quick reaction force:

"They ask for indirect [fire] and in return get 20 questions. The people in the TOC need to let the [redacted] do his thing and trust what he is asking for. Also when [redacted] asked for help to retrieve bodies nobody helped. They called [redacted]. Why should you have to call [redacted] in a situation like that. It should be just go. There was U.S. out there. It doesn’t matter if its [redacted] or Marine. … Also, they wanted a plan of action to find the missing Marines. Well, they were looking for them. That’s all you can do. All in all just butt out and the information will get passed up when it does. So many times [redacted] asked crazy questions. The fight was long and heavy and I assure anyone, he was doing everything he could. My feeling is that the Marines and [redacted], [Afghan National Army], [Afghan Border Police] were left out to dry. It’s a horrible feeling but that’s how I feel about it. QRF? Air? Nothing but endless questions."

From an intelligence officer with the Marine training team, on the carnage he saw:

"I don’t think [personal protective equipment] really matter around there because everybody was getting shot. It had to be at least an hour since they were missing, since we lost them on the radio… Everything was soaked, my book was soaked in blood. Like my notepad that I was writing stuff on everything would fallout of my pockets. I had magazines in my cargo pocket, like empty magazines. I had to grab magazines from the [major] so I could get more ammo."

Compare the details in those remarks to the five-page summary report released in February by the International Security Assistance Force on behalf of Combined Joint Task Force 82 in February. A bit sanitized, perhaps?

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (6)

Disgrace: DOJ Fails to Protect Military Voting Rights

In 2008, some 17,000 servicemen and servicewomen mailed home completed ballots that were never counted. The DOJ barely lifted a finger to prevent or prosecute this travesty. What will happen in 2010?

In the 2008 presidential election, 17,000 soldiers, sailors, and Marines mailed home completed ballots that were never counted.

Usually these ballots didn’t get home in time, mostly because they weren’t sent overseas early enough. One cause of this catastrophe is the Keystone Cops routine the Department of Justice Voting Section uses to enforce federal laws protecting the rights of military voters. Unfortunately, all signs point to a comic sequel in the upcoming November elections.

Congress tried to fix the problem last year by mandating that all ballots must be sent overseas at least 45 days before the election. But Military Voter Protection Project Director M. Eric Eversole has accused Justice Department officials of encouraging states to seek an exemption to the law. The law indeed grants states the right to ask the Pentagon to opt out of the law. Even worse, Eversole says the Department is telegraphing to states that it doesn’t want to pursue litigation to enforce the law.

Some voting rights are more important than others, it seems. Where have we heard this before?

Exemptions to the 45-day mailing mandate were supposed to be rare, and granted only for the most extreme emergencies. States had plenty of time to amend their laws to comply with the new 45-day window. Many states did nothing. Instead of aggressively enforcing the new protections, Justice has told states that the waiver provisions are ambiguous and encouraged waivers in numerous ways.

Senator John Cornyn, upon learning of the DOJ’s wobbly view of the new law, made it clear to the Pentagon in a recent meeting with Undersecretary Clifford Stanley that the Pentagon — which has the power to grant waivers — calls the shots. Cornyn’s message was the Pentagon should ignore any milquetoast attitudes emanating out of the Voting Section at Justice. Expect Senator Cornyn’s office to watch this issue like a hawk, which thankfully he is when it comes to military voting.

But Senator Cornyn has more reasons to worry than he knows. The investigative methods used by Justice in military voting matters are wholly inadequate. And even when the bureaucracy stumbles across violations, the Voting Section is timorous, and reluctant to aggressively litigate disenfranchisement of military voting rights.

One need only look at 2008 for proof. That year the Justice Department set up no telephone hotline for military voters to complain if they didn’t receive their ballot in time. No email address for the armed services was in use either. No outreach via military email, such as the daily “Early Bird,” took place. In fact, on the DOJ webpage devoted to military voting, all complaints are referred to the Pentagon. Naturally, after being detoured to the Pentagon, the aggrieved solider will learn the Pentagon has no enforcement power at all! Justice does.

DOJ should set up a well-publicized telephone hotline and email inbox to funnel complaints directly to litigation attorneys familiar with overseas voting. One Justice Voting Section attorney formerly served in Iraq and as a naval voting assistance officer. Others attorneys there are vets, or in the reserves. When someone in uniform from Iraq or Korea or Germany calls DOJ for help getting their ballot in time, the phones should ring on the desks of these specific military veterans at the Voting Section. It is a disgrace that DOJ refers them to the Pentagon, a bureaucracy without enforcement teeth.

But the problems at DOJ are even worse. Despite the fact we know that 17,000 uniformed personnel had their votes essentially thrown away in 2008, the DOJ didn’t bring a single case during the entire election season. Not one. Obviously there were problems with compliance with federal law. Seventeen thousand wasted votes scream that something is wrong. But apparently the DOJ didn’t have the imagination or investigative acumen to detect problems before the catastrophe had come to pass.

Bureaucracies tend to atrophy. Doing things the way you always do leads to 17,000 soldiers, sailors, and Marines losing their voice.

In 2008, the McCain campaign learned that the Commonwealth of Virginia was sending ballots out far too late for them to ever be successfully returned before the election. The campaign responded by immediately commencing a lawsuit.

Think about that: the very day before a historic election, a presidential campaign — with the distracting whirlwind of activity and bustle — was able to do what the bureaucrats at DOJ are paid to do, and didn’t: figure out Virginia was breaking federal law and file a lawsuit.

An affidavit of Voting Section attorney Lema Bashir in the case tells you all you need to know about how ineffective the DOJ investigative methods are during election season. It can be read here.

I must note that Ms. Bashir is not at fault, and she is a dedicated and committed lawyer. She didn’t develop this inept investigative methodology; her superiors did. It is the same plan used every two years at DOJ. In 2008 we know it cost our nation about 17,000 wasted military votes. There is no way to calculate how many thousands of military votes were wasted in previous elections because of the investigative shortcomings.

“On September 30, 2008,” Bashir notes, “I spoke with Vickie Williams” at the Virginia State Board of Elections. Williams was in charge of monitoring the mailing of military ballots. You’ll note this conversation occurred only 35 days before the election.

Until Congress stepped in last year, the statute set no mailing deadline, and DOJ was only requiring ballots to be mailed 30 days in advance. The Military Postal Service Agency had recommended 60 days, but bureaucrats inside DOJ were stuck in their ways and refused to budge from the 30-day tradition despite calls from all quarters to do so. In a rebuke to the bureaucrats, the new law now requires 45 days.

And what was the extent of the DOJ’s efforts to figure out if the thousands of Virginians serving overseas had their ballots mailed in time? On September 30, “Ms. Williams assured me that all of Virginia’s localities had sent absentee ballots to all UOCAVA voters who had requested an absentee ballot up until that date. She told me that she would send a follow-up email to [the Pentagon] with the specific dates when each locality had mailed such ballots,” the affidavit states.

Ms. Williams assured that all was well. Except it wasn’t. Actually, many ballots in Virginia were mailed overseas just a couple of weeks before the election. There was no chance they would ever be returned in time to be counted.

On Halloween 2008, the DOJ learned they had gotten a trick courtesy of the Virginia State Board of Elections when Ms. Williams called back with some bad news. She told the DOJ that her system never really could “provide the information requested” such as “the specific dates when each locality in Virginia had mailed such ballots.” Nobody actually knew what was going on — not Virginia, and obviously not the Justice Department either. The election was just four days away and the witches brew of electoral catastrophe was boiling.

One wonders what was happening from September 30 until October 31. Will the DOJ use this same broken system again in 2010? I’d suggest the DOJ look outside the bureaucracy, to the private sector, where experts on systems management exist that can fix this mess and prevent it from happening again. Turning inward to the bureaucracy for answers is likely to yield the same sorry results. But I’ll bet virtually nothing changes because a bureaucrat’s first instinct is to deny that a problem exists.

On November 3, the day before the election, the McCain campaign — unable to convince the DOJ it needed to act, and fast — filed a lawsuit to protect military voters. And not until November 14, 2008, did the DOJ do what it should have done weeks before — file papers in court to protect Virginia voters serving overseas in the military. Eventually the United States took the place of the McCain campaign and litigated the case.

Remember, this same mess played out all over the country, but the whip-smart investigative methods of the DOJ never could detect it. Seventeen thousand trashed military ballots prove it.

Amazingly, the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) is continuing to advocate positions in the ongoing (yes, ongoing) litigation which are hostile to military voting rights. Those responsible for these disgraceful positions should be removed, or Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli should be allowed to assume management of the defense. Cuccinelli does not suffer fools gladly, particularly ones seeking to make it harder for soldiers and sailors to vote. No doubt he would settle the case immediately and agree to protect our servicemembers fully.

But the single Bashir affidavit, filed in the single military voting case arising out of the 2008 election where 17,000 military votes were trashed, tells you everything you need to know.

While our soldiers patrol dangerous frontiers in Korea and south Asia, looking hard for any signs of danger, the DOJ has a very different approach when it comes to detecting compliance by states with federal law. Airmen glued to radar screens and sailors listening hard to the sounds from towed sonar arrays have a right to expect better from bureaucrats in Washington. They put their lives on the line for us. The DOJ should do more than take the word of Vickie Williams at the Virginia SBE that all is well, all is quiet, no problems to report. And the DOJ should respond with overwhelming force when signs appear that states aren’t ready to comply with the new federal 45-day mailing mandate. Requests for waivers from the 45-day mandate should be denied. In fact, requests for waivers should trigger a DOJ investigation.

We owe these heroes no less.

Holder puts felons over soldiers--The Justice Department obstructs military voting rights

Missing U.S. sailor's remains found in Afghanistan

Obama Justice Department outrages never cease. The politically charged gang led by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is more interested in helping felons vote than in helping the military to vote. Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, has put a legislative hold on the already troubled nomination of James M. Cole to be deputy attorney general until the attorney general ensures full protection for voting rights of our military (and associated civilian personnel) stationed abroad. The senator is right to raise a ruckus.

Mr. Cornyn co-authored a 2009 law mandating that states mail absentee ballots to military voters at least 45 days before the election. Yet, as former Justice Department lawyer Eric Eversole first reported in The Washington Times last week, the department seems to be encouraging states to apply for waivers so they won't have to follow that law. More than 17,000 Americans serving overseas were denied the vote in 2008 - but, presumably because military personnel are thought to lean conservative, the liberal Obama administration is in no hurry to correct the situation.

The Justice Department is so unenthusiastic about military voting that its website still lists the old requirement for a shorter 30-day military voting window, rather than the current law mandating 45 days. On the other hand, the Justice Department has no legislative mandate whatsoever to involve itself with helping felons to vote, but its website devotes a large section - 2,314 words - to advising felons how to regain voting privileges.

Wild Thing's comment.......

What is especially revolting about this is that in some states (Minnesota), it was proven that a number of felons voted in 2008. So felons get to vote (and illegals, if Libs had their way), but men and women putting their lives on the line protecting us are disenfranchised.

Never forget the concerted effort by the Democrats in Florida in 2000 to throw out military absentee ballots—that nearly caused Gore to win the election.

It’s just one thing after another with this bunch. All they care about is controlling everyone and everything and they literally do no care how many lives or nations are destroyed in order to get absolute power.

Holder hates American soldiers but loves communist terrorists (FALN, Weather Underground/May19th Communist Organization).

Urge anyone you know that is stationed overseas or who will be gone during this voting season to go to this website:

http://www.fvap.gov

It’s fairly good at explaining the process, though it assumes you’ll receive the state absentee ballot in time to mail it back, so it requires some thinking ahead (ie, register for the absentee ballot, then send in the FWAB in a timely manner).

This is a national disgrace! Especially in view of the DOJ’s herculean efforts to bestow unearned rights to illegal aliens!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (2)

July 28, 2010

Defense Officials Identified Two Sailors who Went Missing

Defense officials identified two Sailors who went missing after a 23 July incident in Afghanistan. Petty Officer Second Class Justin McNeley died following the incident. Petty Officer Third Class Jarod Newlove is still missing.

The remains of one of two U.S. sailors who went missing in Afghanistan last week have been found in the east of the country, the NATO-led force said on Tuesday, and troops were still searching for the second man.

The two men, serving with the U.S. Navy, went missing on Friday after failing to return in a vehicle they had taken from their compound in Kabul, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Taliban said they were holding prisoner one of the two sailors who had strayed into territory controlled by the insurgents just south of the capital, and that the other had been killed.

For the first time on Tuesday, ISAF confirmed that one of the sailors was dead.

“Afghan and coalition forces recovered the remains of a missing ISAF service member Sunday in eastern Afghanistan after an extensive search,” the alliance said in a statement.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I hate this, I hate that any of our troops would have this happen to them.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (2)

1/6 & 3/6 Marines in Afghanistan

1/6 & 3/6 Marines in Afghanistan ~ Part 1

1/6 & 3/6 Marines in Afghanistan ~ Part 2

Wild Thing's comment.......

Love these! God bless our troops!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:46 AM | Comments (3)

July 26, 2010

Chopper Pilot - Army Helicopter Pilot Training Film

Department of Defense

CHOPPER PILOT
PIN 30196

TRAINING OF HELICOPTER PILOTS: PREFLIGHT AND FLIGHT TRAINING PROVIDED BY THE WARRANT OFFICER CANDIDATE PROGRAM AT FT WOLTERS, TEXAS; AND ADVANCED TRAINING AT THE ARMY AVIATION CENTER, FT RUCKER, ALABAMA.

Wild Thing's comment........

If you get a chance the comments at YouTube are worth reading as well. A lot of sharing of experiences being done by some of our Heroes.

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (2)

July 25, 2010

Taliban Says It Captured 2 U.S. Troops in Afghanistan

U.S. Troops Missing in Kabul

Washington Post Foreign Service

KABUL -- Two U.S. service members went missing after driving off their base in Kabul on Friday, and the Taliban later claimed to have captured them in eastern Afghanistan, NATO officials said Saturday, the same day five U.S. troops were killed in the south.

Coalition forces launched a manhunt by ground and air for the two missing troops but did not immediately release information about their identities or what is known of their whereabouts. The Associated Press reported that the two were Navy personnel, citing a NATO official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"Every available asset is being brought to bear" to find them, said Lt. Col. Joseph T. Breasseale, a NATO spokesman in Kabul.

Afghan officials in Logar province, which borders Kabul to the south, said the two service members were driving an armored sport-utility vehicle when they were captured in Matinai, a village in the Charkh district. A spokesman for Logar's governor, Din Mohammad Darwish, said the area is "totally under control of the enemy."

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, called Afghan reporters in Logar on Saturday and told them that the militant movement had captured the two Americans and killed one of them, according to an Afghan reporter and the governor's spokesman. NATO officials said they could not confirm the statements of the Afghan officials or the Taliban.

The announcement of the two service members' disappearance came on a difficult day for NATO forces, as five U.S. troops were killed in bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan, the volatile region where the Taliban is strongest. Four of the troops died in one bomb blast, and one died in a separate attack, NATO officials said.

The deaths pushed NATO's death toll in July to 75 troops, including 56 Americans. Last month was the deadliest of the war for NATO troops, with more than 100 killed.

President Obama has sent 30,000 new U.S. troops to Afghanistan, and commanders attribute the growing violence to the push into Taliban strongholds where the coalition previously had a minimal presence. Others say that the Taliban has grown stronger by the year and that it now controls wide swaths of the country.

Kidnappings of U.S. troops in Afghanistan are rare. One American soldier, Spec. Bowe Bergdahl, from Idaho, has been held captive since June 2009.

More details here:

2 US Navy service members missing in eastern Afghanistan

Samer Gul, district chief of Charkh district in Logar province, said that a four-wheel drive armored vehicle was seen Friday night by a guard working for the district chief’s office. The guard tried to flag down the vehicle, carrying a driver and a passenger, but it kept going, Gul said.

“They stopped in the main bazaar of Charkh district. The Taliban saw them in the bazaar,” Gul said. “They didn’t touch them in the bazaar, but notified other Taliban that a four-wheel vehicle was coming their way.”

The second group of Taliban tried to stop the vehicle, but when it didn’t, insurgents opened fire and the two occupants in the vehicle shot back, he said.

NATO said a search is under way for the missing service members. According to Gul, one may have been killed and the other taken hostage by the Taliban.

“Maybe they wanted to go to Paktia province or to the American base, but they came down the wrong road toward Charkh,” Gul said. “They didn’t pay any attention to the police. Otherwise we could have kept them from going into an insecure area and now this unfortunate incident has happened.”

Military officials could not confirm the district chief’s account.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This is awful. Prayers for these men that they are still alive and somehow can get free.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (3)

July 22, 2010

Face of Defense: Marine Miraculously Survives Enemy Bomb Blast

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Matt Garst absorbed the direct blast of an improvised explosive device in Shorsurak, Afghanistan, June 23, 2010. Fortunately for Garst, the bomb’s explosives didn’t completely detonate. After spending a day to rest and attend to some aches and pains, Garst continued his mission.

Withheld Evidence Could Free Soldier Convicted of Iraqi Insurgent Murder

SOUTHERN SHORSURAK, Afghanistan,

July 21, 2010

Marine Corps Cpl. Matt Garst continues to do his job here, thanks to an enemy-emplaced roadside bomb that malfunctioned.

Few people survive stepping on an improvised explosive device. Even fewer walk away the same day after directly absorbing the force of the blast, but on June 23, Garst did just that.

A squad leader with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Garst was leading his troops that day on a patrol in Southern Shorsurak, Afghanistan, to establish a vehicle checkpoint in support of Operation New Dawn.

The group was four miles from Lima Company’s newly established observation post when they approached an abandoned compound close to where they needed to set up their checkpoint. The compound would serve well as an operating base — a place for the squad to set up communications and rotate Marines in and out of. But first, it had to be secured.

As they swept the area with a metal detector, the buried IED registered no metallic signature – it was too deep under the soil. Two men walked over it without it detonating.

At 6 feet 2 inches tall and 260 pounds with all his gear on, Garst is easily the largest man in his squad by 30 or 40 pounds — just enough extra weight to trigger the IED buried deep in hard-packed soil.

Lance Cpl. Edgar Jones, a combat engineer with the squad, found a pressure plate inside the compound and hollered to Garst, asking what he should do with it. Garst turned around to answer and he stepped on the bomb.

“I can just barely remember the boom,” Garst recalled. “I remember the start of a loud noise and then I blacked out.”

Since Garst's encounter with the IED, his tale has spread through the rest of the battalion, and as often happens in combat units, the story mutates and becomes more and more extraordinary.

What really happened even eludes Garst. When he came to, he was standing on his feet holding his weapon, turning to see the remnants of the blast and wondering why his squad had a look on their faces as if they’d seen a ghost.

Marines in Lima Company think Garst is the luckiest guy in the battalion, and while that may seem a fair assessment, it actually was the enemy’s shoddy work that left Garst alive and relatively uninjured. The three-liters of homemade explosive had only partially detonated.

Marines who witnessed the event from inside the compound caught glimpses of Garst’s feet flailing through the air just above the other side of the building’s eight-foot-high walls. The explosion knocked him at least fifteen feet away, where he landed on his limp head and shoulders before immediately standing back up.

Not quite sure of what had just happened, Garst turned back toward the blast, now nothing but a column of dirt and smoke rising toward the sun.

Garst said he’d immediately realized that he’d encountered an IED.

“Then I thought, ‘Well I’m standing. That’s good,’” he recalled.

Garst then directed his troops to establish a security perimeter while letting them know that he was OK. Garst also radioed back to base, calling for an explosive ordnance disposal team and a quick-reaction force.

“I called them and said, ‘Hey, I just got blown up. Get ready,’” Garst recalled. “The guy thought I was joking at first. ‘You got blown up? You’re not calling me. Get out of here!’”

Once the area was cleared, Garst led his squad the four miles back to their observation post — just hours after he’d been buffeted by the IED blast.

“I wasn’t going to let anybody else take my squad back after they’d been there for me,” he said. “That’s my job.”

Garst awakened the next day with a pounding headache, he recalled, and felt as sore as he’d ever been in his life.

“Just getting up from trying to sleep was painful,” he said.

But he saw no reason being sore should slow him down. After a day of rest, Garst was back out on patrol, showing his Marines and the enemy that just like his resolve, he is unbreakable.

Wild Thing's Comment.......

Wow what a story. Thank God he is OK.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (2)

July 19, 2010

Unions Holding Up Cash for the Troops

( Bill will also nationalize our first responders, policemen, and firemen )

CFP

Last week the Washington Times had a story that should enrage every true American. The Democrat Congress is allowing Big Labor’s needs to come before the needs of our troops. The supplemental budget that Congress is considering is supposed to be about funding the troops and their efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Democrats are more interested in how many payoffs for Big Labor they can stuff into the thing then in funding the troops.

Like most supplementals, this bill began with a singular purpose: paying war expenses. It since has been larded with billions in wasteful projects and programs designed to attract the vote of the left-of-center members with no fondness for the military. Among the House-approved giveaways are a $10 billion bailout for big-spending local governments, loan guarantees worth $9 billion for purported renewable energy, $3 billion for black farmers and American Indians who sued the government and $1 billion for summertime “youth activities.”

There is also language to nationalize our first responders, policemen, and firemen.

This outrageous action would force all police and firefighter’s work rules under federal control and prevent all local governments from being able to make their own local rules and regulations for their own police and fire departments. This bill would essentially cause all state and local governments to have to deal with Washington-based union regulations when setting budgets, hiring and firing, and writing work rules for first responders.

These new rules would wildly inflate state and local budgets and eliminate all local control. Voters would be unable to affect their own police and firefighters, local politicians would be looking to Washington to guide them, and union leaders would see their power and personal wealth skyrocket.

And all of this is being stuffed into the bill to fund our troops. Obviously Democrats care more about unions than they do our troops. Even terrorism seems to be less important to Democrats than the needs of union thugs. It is an outrage.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Unions are so anti-American that it is sickening.

Damn these people and anyone, that would hold anything back from our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (6)

July 14, 2010

Update On Army Ranger 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna and The “Leavenworth 10"

On March 20th, 2009, Army Ranger 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing Ali Mansur, a known Al Qaeda operative while serving in Iraq.

Past article in case anyone is not aware of what happened. ~ Wild Thing

14 Jan 2010

Vicki Behenna, a federal prosecutor appeared at a clemency hearing in Washington on Dec. 7, seeking to have her son freed or have his sentence reduced.

There is something seriously wrong with the execution of this nation's code of military justice — it is being used against the very people it is meant to protect.

Case in point: the imprisonment of a heroic Army officer for killing a murderous Iraqi insurgent who had killed two of his men in a cowardly attack that wounded two others.

This case is reminiscent of the disgraceful prosecution of officers and enlisted United States Marines for having killed 24 Iraqis, among them armed terrorists, in a confrontation in Haditha which resulted in all charges being dropped in eight of the cases.

Only two defendants remain under the gun wielded by the fanatics of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Bush Secretary of the Navy and only Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, already cleared of serious charges but punished anyway and Sgt. Frank Wuterich remain under the federal guns.

Last March, Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna was socked with a 25-year prison sentence later reduced to 20 years for having allegedly murdered a known al-Qaida operative Ali Mansur, who was operating an al-Qaida cell inside Behenna's area of operations.

It was alleged that Mansur organized an attack on Behenna’s platoon in April 2008 which left two of Behenna's soldiers dead and another two wounded.

Mansur was first taken into custody and then later ordered released and Behenna was instructed to escort him to his home.

En route there Behenna questioned Mansur, seeking to obtain information about his terrorist confederates and the identity of those financially backing them.

Up until then there is no dispute about the facts of the matter. It was what happened then that created the controversy. During this interrogation, Behenna said that Mansur suddenly lunged at him, and he shot him in self-defense.

The government, however charged Behenna with premeditated murder. Shockingly, in the trial that followed, expert testimony that would have fully exonerated Behenna was withheld from the court.

The prosecution insisted that Behenna stripped Mansur naked, seated him on a rock and executed him.

One of the government’s expert witnesses, a highly respected Forensic expert, Dr. Herbert Leon MacDonell, Director of the Laboratory of Forensic Science in Corning, N.Y, insisted Behenna was innocent and he could prove it.

His testimony would have proven that the angle of the gun shots and the blood spatter were consistent with self-defense not premeditated murder.

But after telling prosecutors what the forensic evidence showed — that Behenna was guiltless — this expert witness was sent packing.

Dr. MacDonnell told Behenna's lawyer Jack Zimmerman, who had successfully represented one of the Haditha Marines, that he fully agreed with Behenna's account of what happened, essentially destroying the government’s case he had been called to support.

Incredibly, the key witness in the case was not called to testify in the case and was sent home.

Before he retrieved his coat from the prosecution room he told the three prosecutors that, "The explanation that Lt. Behenna just testified to was the exact same scenario I told you yesterday. Lt Behenna is telling the truth."

Behenna, he said, was not guilty, dropping a bombshell on the government's case.

Despite the fact that prosecutors must disclose any exculpatory evidence they have to the defense, they denied having any such evidence despite having been told by their own expert witness that Behenna’s explanation was the only logical explanation.

Prosecutors withholding of this evidence allowed them to argue that Behenna executed Mansur while seated when the forensic experts, including MacDonnell, agree that Mansur was standing with his arms outstretched when shot.

In a sworn affidavit, dated April 21, MacDonnell explained how knowledge he acquired while waiting to testify in the case could have changed dramatically its outcome.

"When I heard Lt. Behenna describe what happened, I did not say other witnesses were lying, or that my conclusion was based on my opinion of the lieutenant’s credibility. My expert opinion was based on the fact that the lieutenant’s description as to how the shooting occurred fit the physical evidence."

Lt. Behenna was convicted of unpremeditated murder and assault by a military panel of seven officers, none of whom had ever seen a minute of combat or ever heard a word of MacDonald's suppressed testimony.

He was sentenced and now remains confined at the U.S. Army garrison in central of Kansas, largely due to the fact the evidence that would have proved he was not guilty was never allowed to be heard during the court-martial.

What happened here was a gross miscarriage of justice — a frightening example of government prosecutors running amok as they had in the shameful Haditha cases. The government's blatant suppression of evidence that proved Behenna's innocence must not go unpunished and Behenna must be freed.

His mother Vicki Behenna is a widely acclaimed assistant United States attorney who helped prosecute Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and his father, Scott Behenna, a retired special agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, who now works with the FBI as an FBI intelligence analyst, charge that prosecutors appear to have committed a Brady Act violation by failing to disclose such information to defense lawyers as MacDonell's crucial sworn affidavit that proves that 1st Lt. Behenna is not guilty.

UPDATE on the latest on Michael's appeal.

Michael’s appellate brief was filed on December 22, 2009 and the military’s response brief was due January 21, 2010. The military asked for and was granted a three-month extension to April 21, 2010.

Then sometime in early April the military filed for and received yet another three-month extension making their response brief not due until July 22, 2010!

But most amazing of all was that the extension was granted without notice being provided to Michael’s attorneys to argue against it. From the start of this hell we have tried to put our trust in the military justice system. But time and time again this ‘justice’ system has failed this young man who defended our liberties in the face of a ruthless enemy. First it was the withholding of evidence in Michael’s trial and now this. The government will have had seven months to respond to Michael’s appellate brief when it should have taken only seven weeks. It appears to us that the Army is deliberately doing everything it can to delay Michael’s appeal process. And for what end you ask? We may never know, just as we may never know what was really behind the Army prosecuting Michael in the first place. But in the face of these delay tactics we have become even more convinced of the strength of Michael’s appeal (which the military is struggling to counter.)

As Thomas Paine wrote, 'Tyranny is not easily conquered, but our consolation is that the harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.'

Despite everything Michael is faring well. He draws strength from the many letters he receives and your continued correspondence will help him leave Leavenworth the way he arrived – with his head held high. Michael ‘celebrates’ his 27th birthday behind bars on May 18th. This will be his second birthday in Leavenworth Prison and is yet another reminder of how long he has been away from family and friends.

Please consider sending Michael a birthday card to let him know he is not forgotten and to encourage him to keep the faith. You can send your cards and letters to:

Letters from you are the only real way to convey to Michael that we care and are fighting on his behalf to right this injustice. He has no access to the internet so he will not see the comments posted on this website and he can not receive email. Thank you for taking the time to let Michael know that you appreciate him putting his life on the line in Iraq for our freedom and that you are now fighting for him!

Send your letters to:

Michael Behenna #87503

1300 N. Warehouse Road

Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-2304

Bless each of you for supporting all of our troops,

Sincerely,

Scott and Vicki Behenna Proud Parents of 1LT Michael Behenna

www.defendmichael.com

From their website: ( there is also a breakdown with dates of what has happened at the website)

MILITARY PROSECUTORS WITHHOLD EVIDENCE; ARMY RANGER GOES TO PRISON FOR 25 YEARS (recently reduced to 15 years) FOR SHOOTING AL QAEDA OPERATIVE

On March 20th, 2009, Army Ranger 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing Ali Mansur, a known Al Qaeda operative while serving in Iraq. Mansur was known to be a member of an Al Qaeda cell operating in the lieutenant’s area of operation and was suspected to have organized an attack on Lt. Behenna’s platoon in April 2008 which killed two U.S. soldiers and injured two more. Army intelligence ordered the release of Mansur and Lt. Behenna was ordered to return the terrorist to his home.

During the return of Mansur, Lt. Behenna again questioned the Al Qaeda member for information about other members of the terrorist cell, and financial supporters. During this interrogation, Mansur attacked Lt. Behenna, who killed the terrorist in self-defense. The government subsequently prosecuted Lt. Behenna for premeditated murder.

Not only is this a miscarriage of justice on the behalf of Lt. Behenna, who was acting to prevent further loss of life in his platoon, it is demoralizing to the U.S. troops who continue to fight on behalf of the freedom and security of our nation. Whether it is U.S. border patrol agents, members of the armed forces, or FBI agents, no individual who is serving on the frontlines in the War on Terror should be so blatantly mistreated.

July 10, 2010 UPDATE

To all Lt Michael Behenna supporters,the Freedom Ride for the Leavenworth 10 is on

The Ride is on!!! FREEDOM RIDE FOR THE LEAVENWORTH 10 is set for September 4, 2010 in Leavenworth, Kansas. Motorcycles and vehicles of all kinds are welcome. A new website has been created to keep you updated on this important and exciting event as well as to tell the stories of each of the Leavenworth 10 soldiers (www.L10freedomride.com.) We already have a commitment from Congressional candidate Lt. Colonel Allen West (Florida) to speak, in addition to the families of the Leavenworth 10. We have received many responses from the media and people who want to participate in this event so we know it is going to be very successful.

The intent of the Freedom Ride is to bring awareness to how our soldiers are being imprisoned for killing the enemy during a time of war which one news commentator compared to ‘giving speeding tickets at a NASCAR race’. These soldiers, serving multiple deployments, are provided complex and ever changing Rules of Engagement and then have to deal with untenable “Catch and Release” policies against an enemy the US military General’s have yet to figure out how to defeat. An enemy that these same General’s have recently decided to release back to the battlefield on a ‘pledge’ that they won’t rejoin the Taliban. This while our soldiers who took actions to protect themselves and their fellow soldiers are imprisoned from 10 to 40 years in Leavenworth and receive no clemency whatsoever.

The FREEDOM RIDE will originate in many states across this nation and culminate in Leavenworth on the morning of September 4th. We will assemble south of Leavenworth on HWY 73 and move in a procession north through the city of Leavenworth and then past the Leavenworth Base and Disciplinary Barracks where our soldiers are being held. We know that traveling long distances on a holiday weekend to participate in this event is not without its challenges; but I want you to know how much this ride means to these soldiers who are imprisoned at Leavenworth. By your show of support each of these soldiers will feel some hope in the knowledge that they have not been forgotten and that you have their back. They have become casualties of war by their own government. We need to show them that ‘we the people’ are fighting to get them exonerated. If you are not able to attend the Freedom Ride then please consider making a donation at www.L10freedomride.com to help underwrite this important event.

As you think about this Independence Day consider that these 10 soldiers love the United States of America and chose to volunteer their service to this country. They put themselves in harm’s way to protect the freedoms we all cherish. Despite the fact that our military has construed their activities to be that of a criminal please know that each of them took action in a war zone because they thought it was the right thing to do and that their actions were not for personal gain. The military’s second-guessing of their actions does not erase the many years of honorable and distinguished service of these soldiers. Please remember each of these 10 soldiers and all our military on this FREEDOM holiday.

It’s Time to Stand Up For the Leavenworth 10!!!

Scott and Vicki Behenna

Defendmichael.com

Wild Thing's comment.......

Lt Colonel Allen West will be speaking at the L10 Freedom Ride 2010.

The Leavenworth 10, a group of soldiers/Marines incarcerated at Ft. Leavenworth for killing members of Al-Qaeda or Iraqi insurgents. These decorated and committed soldiers/Marines who honorably served their country—achieving a significant number of combat medals over multiple deployments—are now serving sentences ranging between 10 and 40 years. They and their families have fallen victim to the untenable Rules of Engagement, demoralizing “Catch and Release” policies, and climate of political correctness that govern our troops’ actions while trying to survive a combat zone.

While these soldiers/Marines have been judged very harshly by the military, our military leadership is currently releasing imprisoned enemy combatants back to the battlefield. We request the same mercy for these troops, many of whom have been denied clemency time and again. The Leavenworth 10 do not pose any threat and deserve to be returned to their families.

OMG read about these men at the site below!

These soldiers are the “Leavenworth 10”.

1LT Michael Behenna

SGT Evan Vela Carnahan

PFC Corey Clagett

Msg John E Hatley

SPC William B Hunsaker

SGT Michael Leahy

SFC Joseph Mayo

SGT Michael P Williams

SGT Larry Hutchins

SSG Raymond Girouard

Details on who they are and what they have been convicted of doing can be read here:

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:48 AM | Comments (5)

God Bless Sgt. James ‘Eddie’ Wright for Protecting Our Country!!!

GLENN: We have an amazing Marine Corps sergeant with us, Eddie Wright. He's retired and he is here with Cody, his fiancé, and we want to tell you his story here in a second but first I want to put the camera on him and — what a greedy — how many medals do you need?

PAT: I mean, that's more than you need right there.

GLENN: Can you turn his microphone on, please?

PAT: Eddie, that's more — what about redistribution of medals? There are people cowering somewhere in a corner that don't have any, they don't have any medals.

GLENN: How many medals do you need?

PAT: Wow.

SGT. WRIGHT: Well, I don't need any.

GLENN: How many do you have? Tell me what they are. There's the bronze star, I recognize that, the Purple Heart. Then I'm lost on my medals.

SGT. WRIGHT: And some of these are — well, the one next to the Purple Heart is the good conduct. I barely squeaked by with that one.

GLENN: Yeah. Good conduct, that just means you didn't screw up anything, right?

SGT. WRIGHT: Well, I didn't get caught, yes, sir.

GLENN: Right, okay. I mean, everybody gets that. That's like the — that's like the — that's like the participation award, isn't it?

SGT. WRIGHT: Well, yes, sir. I mean, you know, you earn them all, but —

GLENN: Right.

PAT: Now, what is a bronze star with V device? Because I understand you have a bronze star with V device? Is that right? Or —

SGT. WRIGHT: Yes, sir, yes, sir.

PAT: What does that mean?

SGT. WRIGHT: Well, I got that April 7, 2004, for doing my job. That was the day that we were ambushed and that's the day that I lost my hands and, you know, we were all just doing what we do and trying to stay alive. And the Marine Corps showed their appreciation and gave that to me.

GLENN: How did you lose your hands?

SGT. WRIGHT: We were working in Fallujah. I was serving as the assistant team leader with the first recon battalion and we came under heavy enemy fire. We were ambushed by small arms, heavy machine guns, mortars and rockets, and in the course of the ambush, I was struck by a rocket propelled grenade which instantly blew off my hands.

GLENN: Jeez. Do you ever regret it? Do you ever regret signing up?

SGT. WRIGHT: No, I don't regret it at all. In fact —

GLENN: May I? May I predict? You're kind of pissed because you want to go back and be with your buddies.

SGT. WRIGHT: Yes, sir, that's a common theme. I really — you know, one of the things that motivated me in my recovery was the fact that I wanted to return back and serve again, and I did get that chance and I did, did get that chance to serve again, and my last year in the Marine Corps before I retired, I was able to instruct at the martial arts center of excellence at the basic school in Quantico, Virginia which is, you know, quite an experience for me.

GLENN: There was never a time, never a time that you thought, "I don't have hands. What am I going to do?" I mean, was there a time where you were quite honestly pissed off or, why me?

SGT. WRIGHT: No, I don't think so. I don't think I let myself get complacent or — you know, we don't really have an attitude, we don't foster the attitude of "I can't" or "I quit." And when you have an obstacle in front of you, you just keep putting one foot in front of the other and focus on what you can.

GLENN: America, let me tell you something. This is exactly, exactly why we're doing 8/28. Here's a guy with incredible honor. Here's a guy who has sacrificed more than I will ever sacrifice. Here is a guy who has an American attitude of, "What? We just do it." This is why our country is struggling right now. Because there's not enough of us that are just like, "Do the damn job," and it's an honor to do the job. I am deeply humbled by not only you but all of the brothers that you serve with. It is remarkable what you guys accomplish, and we can never thank you enough, although I do believe you have far too many medals. It's a showoff kind of thing. It's really — all right. Now, you're here for a reason. You are in New York for a reason and I want to get to some happy news here. There's two pieces of happiness. First, with you is Meredith. Meredith, how do you say your last name? I'm sorry.

ILER: It's actually Iler.

GLENN: Iler, okay. So Meredith, you are with helpingahero.org?

ILER: Yes.

GLENN: And tell me about Helping a Hero.

ILER: Helpingahero.org is actually a national 501(c)(3) and we build homes for specially adapted specially adapted homes for our wounded heroes who have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

GLENN: So in other words, like the cabinets, you don't have to — you can just hit them and they open, they pop up?

VOICE: Correct. Eddie was actually our very first double arm amputee and so to date we've done paraplegic, quadriplegic, a triple amputee who's missing both legs and an arm, a blind hero, another hero who's blind in one eye and is an amputee. So we have all kinds of challenges that we've been tackling over the last few years, and this was a wonderful challenge to look at ways we could improve Eddie's life, and you are right. The pop out cabinets were a great thing, but the two things that I think are even bigger highlights is Toto donated an automatic toilet that, once again, someone with no hands, it does everything for you. And then we also —

GLENN: This is — hold on just a second. Hold on just a second because I think there's —

PAT: I don't know that we need to delve into that.

GLENN: Okay, all right.

ILER: I was trying to be diplomatic, Glenn.

GLENN: How's that working out for you, Eddie? Is that working out well?

SGT. WRIGHT: Well, I'll let you know when I try it out.

GLENN: Okay, all right. And how are you — how do you raise funds or what do you do?

ILER: Well, you know, it's great. People who are listening to your show can go to helpingahero.org and make a donation this morning. My cellphone has already been going off a ton with people making online donations. And it's real exciting because we've had lots of families, lots of individual donors who are stepped up over the last few years. We haven't really delved into the large corporate support like a lot of other 501(c)(3)s. And the other thing that's unique about Helping a Hero is we don't have any paid staff.

GLENN: That's good.

ILER: I even pay my assistant personally and then, you know, she spends about 60% of her time on Helping a Hero, as do I.

GLENN: That's great.

PAT: And so what you guys do is donate homes to badly injured veterans. And has it — is it 20 so far that you've —

ILER: We've completed 20 and we've awarded 26.

PAT: Wow.

ILER: And then we actually will give away another 15 on November 12th and we'll accept applications through August 31st for other severely wounded heroes that might be listening to this show or people who know those who need adaptive housing.

PAT: And so Eddie was one of the recipients yesterday at a ceremony in Conroe, Texas, which is probably one of the northernmost suburbs of Houston, and at this ceremony something pretty special happened. What was that?

SGT. WRIGHT: Yes, sir.

GLENN: This is so cool.

SGT. WRIGHT: As soon as I got done saying thank you to all the sponsors and the Montgomery County community and the families that helped out, I had the opportunity to do something to make the day even more special and more meaningful, and I proposed to my girlfriend Cody Fife.

PAT: And did she politely decline?

GLENN: She was like, I don't know, man.

SGT. WRIGHT: She did not.

GLENN: It's the medals. I mean, you wear them to bed. You sound like you are walking around with keys all the time. Did you hear him move a second ago?

PAT: Sounds like he's got spurs.

GLENN: You can hear the medals clink and you're like, okay.

PAT: Got spurs on his chest.

GLENN: So Cody —

PAT: Sorry to wreck the story, go ahead. What did you say to him?

GLENN: We don't mean to cheapen the story at all but that's what they pay us very well to do. So Cody, did you know it was coming?

FIFE: I did not. And by the way, the medals, they don't bother me too much. I did not — I was very surprised, very surprised.

PAT: So no inkling at all that it was coming?

FIFE: No. I mean, you know, when you're a girl and in love, you always hope. I was hoping it would happen soon but I didn't know.

GLENN: Did he ask your father?

FIFE: He did.

GLENN: Good.

FIFE: He did.

GLENN: You can marry that man then.

FIFE: Yeah, he asked my father.

GLENN: Dad said — what did dad say?

FIFE: What did Dad say?

SGT. WRIGHT: He said — he said — well —

PAT: You better treat her right or I'll be coming for you?

SGT. WRIGHT: Well, no, he didn't go that far.

GLENN: Here's what my —

SGT. WRIGHT: He approved and in a roundabout way he said hell yes.

GLENN: That's great.

SGT. WRIGHT: Pardon my French.

GLENN: It's not French technically. They keep saying that. I know, it's not. May be Spanish but it's not French. My father in law was like, oh, jeez, oh, dear God. That's what my father in law said.

PAT: (Laughing).

GLENN: But anyway, thank you so much.

SGT. WRIGHT: You're welcome.

GLENN: Sincerely thank you for your service. Thank you for everything you've done. We've asked you a few minutes ago if you will join at 8/28 and stand with Marcus Luttrell and Greg Stube, a good friend of mine and Sarah Palin and I at the opening of 8/28, and we'd love to have you there.

SGT. WRIGHT: It would be an honor, sir. Thank you very much.

GLENN: Thank you. Thank you for your service. Congratulations, Cody. And Meredith, you are just, you are doing great, great work. Great work. And thank you for your service to our —

PAT: helpingahero.org.

GLENN: Yeah. Thank you for everything that you do.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Thank you Sgt. James ‘Eddie’ Wright !!!

Wow! Our country is so blessed and we WILL get our country back. We have to and we have to because men and women like James Eddie Wright, all our troops and our Veterans don't deserve an America that obama wants. They deserve an America that our Founding Fathers, our Constitution and freedom loving Americans all want.

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:45 AM | Comments (2)

July 12, 2010

US Forces Fighting The Taliban

By Paul McNamara, Defence Correspondent

THE red cross-hairs of the sniper’s scope rest upon the Taliban gunman’s head.

Over the intercepted radio transmissions the interpreter translates every word the sniper sees across a river 450m away.

“The Ghost Patrol haven’t seen me,” he tells his insurgent comrades.

“I’ve got my gun, I’m coming to join you now.”

At the last minute Sgt Jonathan Holmes lowers his sight to the Taliban’s leg.

“HAVE I GOT CLEARANCE TO SHOOT?” he screams to his commanding officer, Lt Eric Fitzgerald.

“AM I CLEAR?” he repeats.

With a quick nod, the humid plum orchard we are crouched in behind a three foot wall, sweltering in 50 degree heat, turns silent.

Suddenly, three shots ring out and the Afghan gunman is on the ground.

Minutes later he’s picked up by a different team of NATO troops to be interrogated and given medical assistance.

A year ago he would be dead by now, but US forces are being forced to change their tactics to win over a hostile local population.

The News of the World is on patrol with the troops of America’s elite 82nd Airborne deep inside Afghanistan’s deadliest region – the Arghandab district of Kandahar.

Their, and our, lives are in the hands of one Brit, Major General Nick Carter.

He's the commander of all troops in Southern Afghanistan, and the military mastermind behind "the biggest offensive of the Afghan war so far".

And this week our reporting staff joined the troops on the ground to see how preparation for the imminent mission to secure Kandahar - the birthplace of the Taliban - is going.

But on the ground it is hard to believe security is close at hand in this region.

While dozens of Taliban fighters are being killed every day, reinforcements are constantly trickling in to replace them.

So, can the war be won before President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron lose patience and start to pull their troops out?

If victory is possible, it will be won by men like those from Delta Company, the 2nd Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry regiment.

Taliban commanders have dubbed them 'The Ghost Patrol' because they've killed so many insurgents without ever being seen.

Sgt Holmes has personally killed 20 Taliban - the furthest from 950m, and he once killed four in the space of ten minutes.

Today, Holmes explains why his tally is not even higher: "He wasn't shooting at me, he was just carrying his gun.

"But given half the chance he'd have turned it on all of us pretty damn quick," he adds explaining why he maimed the gunman.

This is the doctrine introduced by the now-disgraced ISAF commander General Stanley McChrystal - 'courageous restraint'.

In essence, no force until there is proof beyond any doubt the target is an insurgent.

And no lethal force unless it is unavoidable.

Holmes is quietly furious.

"All I know is this whole war would be a lot easier if they wore uniforms.

"But they don't so I'll soldier according to the rules before me, and they'll carry on with no rules whatsoever."

More of his comrades have been killed here in the Arghandab than anywhere else in Afghanistan, sometimes in firefights, but most often by IEDs.

Patrolling in this heat wearing 70lbs of equipment, making sure you cast your eye over every square inch of land for tell-tale signs of a homemade bomb is exhausting.

On average every man loses up to 4lbs in sweat on each patrol.

We walk through a mix of dusty dirt track roads through Afghan villages talking to local elders, yomping slowly through the fertile fruit orchards of plums and pomegranates, and jumping over six foot walls.

You never return by the same route you came - it's far too tempting for would-be bomb makers.

The background noise is a constant hum of gun fire and homemade bombs going off.

In the two days before we arrived in the Arghandab two more soldiers were killed here.

That evening Lieutenant Colonel Guy Jones explains why this area is so important to Kandahar.

But he is constantly stopped mid sentence by status reports of yet another one of his men blown up by an IED.

"This is a very important thoroughfare into Kandahar for trade, so the Taliban are fighting fiercely to maintain their grip," he said.

Again another update - his soldier is out of theatre, but the surgeons are not hopeful.

How many times had he heard that since arriving here a year ago?

"Too many times."

The soldier died the next morning, leaving behind a widow and four fatherless children.

Over the coming months the death count here is set to rise.

Maj Gen Nick Carter, is realistic about the difficulties he faces over the coming months, but optimistic some security can be brought to Afghanistan's most lawless and Taliban loyal province.

But a couple of days on the ground in the Arghandab however highlights just how monumental the challenge he faces is.

Exact percentages of secure villages are not available, but walking around with Delta Company it's evident for every one secure there are multiples under the control of the insurgents.

"Today was easy," explains sharp-shooter Holmes.

"But there are plenty of places around here it's a lot more difficult.

"Just a couple of miles north are a whole load of villages completely under Taliban control and we don't really have any presence there.

"Four village elders in the villages we do have a strong presence have been executed in the past couple of weeks.

"And last week a child suicide bomber killed 40 dignitaries at the wedding of an ANP officer a few villages over."

How long does Holmes think peace around here will take?

"That's way beyond the thinking of a sniper," he says.

"But the only thing I do know is that nothing happens quickly in this country."

The very next morning a huge bang wakes everyone just before dawn.

A Taliban member has blown himself up trying to set a mine. It's just 400m from our base.

Over the past six months the troops have constantly found IEDs, and even captured a homemade mortar.

"It was surprisingly accurate," said Sgt Holmes, 25.

"Like everything about the Taliban, it's very simply made, but tough as anything and capable of real damage."

It looks like a ten-year-old's home-made telescope; a black metal tube welded to a tri-pod, the front end attached to a car jack to elevate for perfect aiming.

Just two weeks ago the hugely successful and pro-West district governor Haji Abdul Jabbar was assassinated with an IED.

And Kandahar has problems that are much bigger than just harbouring the Taliban.

Before he can even attempt to eradicate insurgents, he has to address warlord-owned militias terrorising the local population with protection rackets.

Their cast iron grip on the country's south is so tight that even NATO forces have to pay to guarantee safe passage of military supplies from Pakistan.

And staggeringly, many of the hired thugs are former Afghan National Police officers that UK money has helped train.

Maj Gen Carter said: "The ANP and militias are big problems that need to be solved.

"A lot of our supplies come by land - such as food, fuel, basic military supplies.

"For safe passage we have to pay local 'private security firms' - militias, who owe their allegiances to local warlords and power brokers."

Many of the rent-a-thugs running the protection rackets have been trained by NATO forces.

He said: "The private security firms poach many of the good ANP and ANA soldiers we've trained over the last two to three years."

Militias pay Afghan employees $500 (£342) a month, well above the rate for Afghan soldiers or police of around $250 (£171) per month.

These militias are one of the first things Carter wants to address.

He said: "They thrive of the fact it's an insecure environment and if they can keep the environment unstable then that's good for business - they're creating their own demand."

He said: "We recruited police officers locally, assigned locally, if we were lucky they were eventually trained and they were deployed back into where they were initially assigned.

"The problem with this level of insurgency is that clan, neighbour, tribe is likely to get after them to make them work more in support of clan tribe, rather than the general population."

The system has just changed, but it will be some time before the ANP is able to ably police its own land.

Kandahar is a very different beast to rural Helmand - to put it in context, the village outskirts have the same problems as Helmand, while the city centre is more hostile than the darkest days in Northern Ireland.

But securing Afghanistan's second city is the key to bringing our troops home.

Maj Gen Carter added: "Speak to any Afghan and they'll tell you if you have a peaceful Kandahar, you will have a peaceful Afghanistan."

Wild Thing's comment.......

God bless our warriors and keep them safe.

Side note:

"Sgt. Holmes is a very brave soldier, his Dad fought in Vietnam as a Special Forces soldier. God Bless Sgt. Holmes and his family and a special thanks for Sgt. Holmes' sacrifice to our country, and his sacrifice to us for keeping this country safe from those who are bent on the destruction of our way of life."

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:54 AM | Comments (1)

July 10, 2010

Barack Hussein Obama The Worst CIC In History of USA

Today we have a commander-in-chief who would prefer not to talk about actually winning:

“I’m always worried about using the word ‘victory,’ because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur.”

In order to avoid the potential for some kind of awkward “victory,” our soldiers and Marines are literally unable to shoot when every element of common sense and the entire history of warfare tell them to shoot:

Troops: Strict war rules slow Marjah offensive
By Alfred de Montesquiou and Deb Riechmann – The Army Times
Monday Feb 15, 2010 15:08:51 EST

MARJAH, Afghanistan — Some American and Afghan troops say they’re fighting the latest offensive in Afghanistan with a handicap — strict rules that routinely force them to hold their fire.

Although details of the new guidelines are classified to keep insurgents from reading them, U.S. troops say the Taliban are keenly aware of the restrictions.

“I understand the reason behind it, but it’s so hard to fight a war like this,” said Marine Lance Cpl. Travis Anderson, 20, of Altoona, Iowa. “They’re using our rules of engagement against us,” he said, adding that his platoon had repeatedly seen men drop their guns into ditches and walk away to blend in with civilians.

If a man emerges from a Taliban hideout after shooting erupts, U.S. troops say they cannot fire at him if he is not seen carrying a weapon — or if they did not personally watch him drop one.

What this means, some contend, is that a militant can fire at them, then set aside his weapon and walk freely out of a compound, possibly toward a weapons cache in another location. It was unclear how often this has happened. In another example, Marines pinned down by a barrage of insurgent bullets say they can’t count on quick air support because it takes time to positively identify shooters.

“This is difficult,” Lance Cpl. Michael Andrejczuk, 20, of Knoxville, Tenn., said Monday. “We are trained like when we see something, we obliterate it. But here, we have to see them and when we do, they don’t have guns.”

That mindset doesn’t just apply to our fighting men on the ground, who are put in a position in which they can’t defend themselves if their enemy flouts Obama’s miserable rules of engagement. The pilots flying overhead and the artillerymen on surrounding positions are prevented from supporting our soldiers if they get pinned down, too:

Family calls U.S. military goals ‘fuzzy’Parents of soldier killed last week criticize firepower restrictions
By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
First published in print: Thursday, June 24, 2010

QUEENSBURY — The parents of a Lake George soldier killed in Afghanistan attacked the Obama administration Wednesday for “flower children leadership,” and said they would work to change U.S. rules of military engagement in the nine-year conflict.

Hours before holding a wake for their 27-year-old son in Glens Falls, Bill and Beverly Osborn heavily criticized a military policy implemented last year that places some restrictions on when American troops can use firepower in Afghanistan. The new rules were set when Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal assumed command of the Afghanistan effort, and have reportedly made it harder for troops to call in for or initiate air power, artillery and mortars against the Taliban.

The counterinsurgency policy is intended to reduce civilian casualties and win the allegiance of Afghans, McChrystal had said. But echoing criticisms from the Vietnam era, Bill Osborn said Wednesday that it’s tied the hands of service members on the ground.

“We send our young men and women to spill their blood and we won’t let them do their job,” he said from his Queensbury home. “Winning hearts and minds is wonderful, but first we have to defeat the enemy."

Obama doubled the American body count from Bush in 2009, and is now on pace to double his own total (which means four times the Bush 2008 Americans KIA).

We just suffered the highest number of American causalities for a single month in the history of the war. Mind you, EVERY month becomes the new “deadliest month” under Obama.

America firebombed Tokyo and Dresden in World War II. We didn’t make sure that every single person who could possibly get killed during an attack was a 100%-confirmed “militant” before we sent a wave of death at our enemies. If we’d resorted to that form of liberal moral stupidity, we would have lost – and the only question would have been how many of us would have ended up speaking German, and how many of us would have ended up speaking Japanese.

Thank God we didn’t have Obama leading us back then.

But our rules of engagement still weren’t getting enough American soldiers killed, so Team Obama came up with a better idea: how about ordering soldiers to go into battle with unloaded weapons? That’s right. Soldiers are now told to wait until they actually start falling down on the ground dead before they can actually be allowed to fumble a round into the chamber.

Fighting a War without Bullets?
by Chris Carter
Human Events

05/25/2010

Commanders have ordered a U.S. military unit in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons, according to a source in Afghanistan.

American soldiers in at least one unit have been ordered to conduct patrols without a round chambered in their weapons, an anonymous source stationed at a forward operating base in Afghanistan said in an interview. The source was unsure where the order originated or how many other units were affected.

When a weapon has a loaded magazine, but the safety is on and no round is chambered, the military refers to this condition as “amber status.” Weapons on “red status” are ready to fire—they have a round in the chamber and the safety is off.

The source stated that he had been stationed at the base for only a month, but the amber weapons order was in place since before he arrived. A NATO spokesman could not confirm the information, stating that levels of force are classified.

In other words, our guys can’t prepare their weapons to actually fire until they are already under attack.

Imagine sending our police into a building filled with armed gang members like that.

And you want to know how to win a medal in Obama’s army? Don’t do anything. Certainly don’t actually shoot at the enemy.

Hold fire, earn a medal
By William H. McMichael – Staff writer

Navy Times

Wednesday May 12, 2010 15:51:31 EDT

U.S. troops in Afghanistan could soon be awarded a medal for not doing something, a precedent-setting award that would be given for “courageous restraint” for holding fire to save civilian lives.

The proposal is now circulating in the Kabul headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force, a command spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

“The idea is consistent with our approach,” explained Air Force Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis. “Our young men and women display remarkable courage every day, including situations where they refrain from using lethal force, even at risk to themselves, in order to prevent possible harm to civilians. In some situations our forces face in Afghanistan, that restraint is an act of discipline and courage not much different than those seen in combat actions.”

Soldiers are often recognized for non-combat achievement with decorations such as their service’s commendation medal. But most of the highest U.S. military decorations are for valor in combat. A medal to recognize a conscious effort to avoid a combat action would be unique.

It used to be that the hero was the guy who took on the enemy. Now it’s the guy who crawls into the fetal position and walks away from a battle with an unfired weapon.

And then there is Obama’s timetable for a cut-and-run had nothing whatsoever about satisfying military issues and everything about satisfying political ones within Obama’s radical leftwing base. The military wasn’t even consulted, according to General David Petraeus:

McCain: “General, at any time during the deliberations that the military shared with the President when he went through the decision-making process, was there a recommendation from you or anyone in the military that we set a date of July 2011?”

Petraeus: “Uh, there was not.”

McCain: “There was not – by any military person that you know of?”

Petraeus: “Not that I’m aware of.”

Nobody knows what the hell is going on over there. Are we going to stay and fight? Or cut and run? Most of the Obama administration is saying that we are most definitely going to cut and run in July 2011. Take Vice President Biden, who says, “In July of 2011 you’re going to see a whole lot of people moving out. Bet on it.” All Obama will say is that “We didn’t say we’d be switching off the lights and closing the door behind us.” which isn’t really saying anything.

All the money is on a pullout, as Obama cuts and runs. The Afghan people know that, know that the Taliban will soon be their landlords, and aren’t about to risk any kind of meaningful alliance with America that would be necessary to actually winning over there.

Do you remember FDR telling Churchill, “I’ll give you a year, and then we’re running with our tail between our legs where it belongs”???

If it’s a war worth fighting, it is a war worth sticking around to fight.

We will win when we allow our fighting men to fight. And not until then.

If you wonder whether Afghanistan is going to become like Vietnam, stop wondering: it already has. Because we’re fighting Afghanistan the same way we fought Vietnam – with the mindset of putting our troops in danger while simultaneously preventing them from securing victory.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (4)

July 09, 2010

Marine Killed While Rescuing Hurt Comrade

FORT COLLINS, Colo.

When Stacia Harris worried about her husband fighting in Afghanistan, he would remind her that the Marines never leave anyone behind. So she's not surprised he made the ultimate sacrifice.

Cpl. Larry Harris Jr., 24, was killed while carrying a wounded comrade to safety.

"He wouldn't have been OK without his junior Marines coming home," Stacia Harris told AOL News in a telephone interview today from her parents' home in the Denver suburb of Parker.

Two squads were on patrol July 1 in the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand, a Taliban stronghold, when Lance Cpl. Jake Henry was shot in the leg. Harris, a squad leader, was carrying Henry to safety when he tripped a roadside bomb, taking the brunt of it, said Ralph Montgomery, Harris' father-in-law.

"Larry threw my brother out of the way" during the explosion, Lacie Poley said in a phone interview from Casper, Wyo. She said others in the squad had told them of Harris' quick action.

Henry, 21, is in Germany undergoing a sixth surgery tonight to repair the gunshot wound to his leg and shrapnel injuries to his leg, hand and back, Poley said.

For Stacia Harris, her husband's act of heroism was part of his character. In addition to the Purple Heart he was awarded posthumously, he had also received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal -- for helping civilians involved in a serious car accident near Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he had been based.

"He always put someone else before himself," she recalled.

His deployment to Afghanistan was Harris' second tour, having previously served in Iraq. Had he not re-enlisted he would have been home two months ago.

"He loved that he was in the infantry. He loved that he was on the front line," his widow said. "He loved, loved, loved the Marine Corps."

Harris had also received a Combat Action Ribbon, a National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal and the sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

Speaking via his sister's cell phone from the hospital in Germany, Henry said that Harris had high expectations for his squad, but taught him to be a better Marine.

"He was a really, really good friend; a great brother, a mentor, and I really miss him," an emotional Henry said via his sister. "He was a great guy all around."

Henry is scheduled to be transferred to Bethesda, Md., this week for more treatment, before being allowed to return to Wyoming. He is expected to make a full recovery, Poley said.

When Stacia Harris felt unsettled about her husband's service, he would tell her, "If it's God's will, I'll be home, and if it's my purpose to give my life for my country, it's going to be OK and you'll be fine," she recalled.

Harris, who played high school football and ran track and field, also loved to dance, especially to Michael Jackson. He and some friends had a hip-hop group, 2 Real 4 Da Mind, that performed in Boulder, where he attended high school.

But mostly, friends and family remembered him as someone who was confident and determined and made those around him laugh.

"He was so full of life and light and always the center of attention. Everyone was always fighting over who got to sit by Larry," his widow recalled.

For Stacia Harris, a 22-year-old Yale graduate, the future is uncertain. The couple, who had known each other since middle school, wed in March. Harris was deployed April 22.

Although Harris had several more months in Afghanistan, he would talk with his wife of their plans when he returned. They were going to move to California to be near Camp Pendleton.

Stacia Harris last spoke with her husband in the week before his death.

"He called me to let me know he had decided what his first meal would be when he got home," she said. "He wanted steak and mashed potatoes and asparagus. And he said, 'We can even have a bottle of wine if you want. I think we'll have a reason to celebrate.' "

Harris was the 10th Marine from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force to be killed in Afghanistan in the past two months.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Prayers for his family. Our country is fortunate to be blessed with warriors like this. I pray too that they know how much they are appreciated.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (6)

July 03, 2010

RNC Chairman Michael Steele Opposing the Troops in Afghanistan

Michael Steele speaking at an RNC fundraising event in Noank, Connecticut, where he actually said that the War in Afghanistan is a “War of Obama’s choosing.”

The audio is difficult to hear, so here is a transcript of the key portion of what Steele said:

Transcript via YouTube posting of video:

“The [General] McChrystal incident, to me, was very comical. I think it’s a reflection of the frustration that a lot of our military leaders has with this Administration and their prosecution of the war in Afghanistan. Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This was not something that the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in. It was one of those areas of the total board of foreign policy [that was at least?] that we would be in the background sort of shaping the changes that were necessary in Afghanistan as opposed to directly engaging troops. But it was the President who was trying to be cute by half by flipping a script demonizing Iraq, while saying the battle really should in Afghanistan. Well, if he is such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Alright, because everyone who has tried over a thousand years of history has failed, and there are reasons for that. There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan…”

Bill Kristol has pointed out that what Steele says here is absolutely false, and he has called on Steele to resign in the wake of this:

The Weekly Standard: Needless to say, the war in Afghanistan was not “a war of Obama’s choosing.” It has been prosecuted by the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama. Republicans have consistently supported the effort. Indeed, as the DNC Communications Director (of all people) has said, your statement “puts [you] at odds with about 100 percent of the Republican Party.” .

Obama can be criticized for a lot of things, but the War in Afghanistan is not a “war of Obama’s choosing.” We moved into Afghanistan just months after the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed 3,000 of our citizens. We did it to go after Al-Qaeda for planning and carrying out the attacks, and The Taliban for harboring and assisting them. That is exactly what we should have done, and we now need to finish the job. The last thing our men and women in uniform need is a leader of the Republican Party who is publicly saying we cannot win there, and questioning the necessity of their mission there. It is time for Michael Steele to resign.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Steele should be landing easy shots on the Dems. Not this crap!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (7)

July 01, 2010

Oliver North, US Troops Veterans Day ~ A Must See Video!

Wild Thing's comment........

WOW this is such an awesome video. I love it and have watched it twice in a row with tears in my eyes. I am so proud of our troops I could burst. We are so blessed to have such people serving our country now and in the past. Truly blessed and so very grateful with all our hearts.

With all my heart I wish I could thank each person that has served and is serving now in person.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (1)

Gen. David Petraeus To Senate Hearing: "Training Afghans During Insurgency Like “Building Advanced Aircraft While in Flight”

Gen. David Petraeus told a Senate Hearing yesterday that “it will be years” before Afghan Forces can fully take over the fight against The Taliban in Afghanistan.

Petraeus provided a striking analogy for what we are trying to do in Afghanistan:

“Indeed, trying to train and equip host nation forces in the midst of an insurgency is akin to building an advanced aircraft while it is in flight, while it is being designed, and while it is being shot at.”

Family of Fallen Soldier Petitions Top General for War Policy Changes (Petraeus Responds ASAP)

Details of the fallen soldier's parents' exchange with Gen. Petraeus here.

The father of a slain local soldier has taken public a message about the war's rules of engagement.

William Osborn, the father of Spc. Benjamin Osborn, who was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 15, sent a letter to Gen. David Petraeus on Sunday asking him to change rules which he said tie soldiers' hands.

"Our son, SPC 4 Benjamin D. Osborn, volunteered to man the one heavy gun his unit had mounted on top of an MRAP vehicle," the e-mail states. "Finally, ordered to fire, Ben was able to get off 10 rounds before falling silent."

Four minutes after Osborn sent the e-mail, Petraeus responded with condolences for the parents and asked them to listen to remarks he'll make at a Senate confirmation hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, where he planned to address the issue.

SNIPET

On Monday morning, William Osborn appeared on the Fox News cable channel to deliver the same message and said troops need to be empowered to use force when they deem it necessary.

The current rules of engagement call for firing only after being fired upon, Osborn said, and that rule is what led to the death of his son.

SNIPET

Cyndie Wade, a friend of the Osborn family who said a contact she knows helped Osborn get on the national cable network, sent an e-mail to NBC on Monday and said she is working to get the parents to appear on MSNBC and the Today Show.

"For whatever reason, my feelings seem to have caught on with some people," Osborn said. "It's too late for my son, but if this could help the men and women out there now, this is Ben's legacy. It's about Ben and the men that he fought with over there. They just deserve a lot better than what they're getting."

E-mail by Mr. & Mrs. Osborne to Gen. Petraeus:

Our son, SPC 4 Benjamin D. Osborn was killed in action June 15, 2010 in Kunar Province Afghanistan, on a mission. On that day, his unit of 20 was ambushed, coming under heavy fire from a Taliban force of between 70 to 100 strong. Due to the "Rules of Engagement," our soldiers could not return fire to protect themselves until ordered to do so.

Our son, SPC 4 Benjamin D. Osborn volunteered to man the one heavy gun his unit had mounted on top of an MRAP vehicle. Finally, ordered to fire, Ben was able to get off 10 rounds before falling silent.

This illustrates to us that there is a very basic flaw in our "Rules of Engagement." We believe that it led to the demise of our son, SPC 4 Benjamin D. Osborn and other warriors like him. We have the greatest fighting force in the world with the most technologically advanced weapons known to man. We spend enormous resources to teach, train and prepare our fighting men and women for battle; then send them out with one hand tied behind their backs.

It appears that our current administration is anti-military because of the limits placed on field personnel. The "Rules of Engagement" are such that we allow our enemies one break after another: we can not fire unless fired upon, if enemy combatants are around civilians we must retreat, before we can enter buildings we must consult with Afghan National Security Forces. Such "Rules of Engagement" allow these terrorists to escape to come back stronger and fight another day.

SNIPET

Immediate reply by Gen. David Petraeus:

SNIPET

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Osborn, please accept my condolences on the loss of your son.

And please listen to my opening statement at the confirmation hearing on Tuesday morning at 0930. I will address the ROE issue. I will note that commanders have a moral imperative to ensure that we provide every possible element of support to our troopers when they get into a tight spot. And I will ensure that we meet that imperative if I am confirmed to command ISAF in Afghanistan.

Sincerely, and with sympathy

- General Dave Petraeus

Petraeus Confirmed By Senate as Commander in Afghanistan, 99-0

The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to confirm Gen. David Petraeus as the commander of American forces in Afghanistan.

Petraeus — heralded for his time as commander of operations in Iraq — leaves his post as the head of U.S. Central Command and is expected to be in Kabul as soon as Friday.

You got to love a Heavy bomber that can out-run a concorde. ~ Wild Thing

Petraeus Gives Shout-Out to B-1B Lancer Fleet

Defense Tech

Last week, we wrote that the Air Force Council, the blue suiters board of directors that advises the air chief, was considering deep cuts to force structure to meet aggressive savings targets laid out by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. One option they are reportedly considering is early retirement of all 66 B-1B Lancer bombers, last delivered in the late 1980s.

Yesterday, the Lancer fleet got a hearty shout-out from new installed Afghan commander Gen. David Petraeus. “It is a great platform,” he told senators at his confirmation hearing. “It carries a heck of a lot of bombs… and it has very good intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.”

It can loiter for long periods of time in a combat-air patrol, using its Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod which contains a laser designator, 3rd Gen. FLIR and digital cameras that function well both day and night to search out insurgent movements or IED emplacers. “It is almost like having another unmanned aerial vehicle in terms of full motion video and so forth,” he said.

“So it’s not just a case of a very, very capable bomber just boring holes in the sky waiting to open the bomb-bay doors, it is also the case of a platform that’s very capable even as it is just flying around in circles.”

Wild Thing's comment........

Petraeus talking about ROEs now. Says he will “look very hard” at the complaints from troopers. Says he has talked with Karzai and other Afghan leaders on the past few days about need to bring full fight to the enemy. Says we still need to minimize civilian casualties and collateral damage. That’s about all he said on that.

99-0. Robert Byrd had a prior engagement and did not vote.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (1)

June 28, 2010

General Faces Unease Among His Own Troops, Too

A soldier shielded himself from dust as an Army helicopter took off after picking up wounded Afghan National Army soldiers near Kandahar, Afghanistan

General Faces Unease Among His Own Troops, Too

By C. J. CHIVERS

Riding shotgun in an armored vehicle as it passed through the heat and confusion of southern Afghanistan this month, an Army sergeant spoke into his headset, summarizing a sentiment often heard in the field this year.

“I wish we had generals who remembered what it was like when they were down in a platoon,” he said to a reporter in the back. “Either they never have been in real fighting, or they forgot what it’s like.”

The sergeant was speaking of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and the circle of counterinsurgents who since last year have been running the Afghan war, and who have, as a matter of both policy and practice, made it much more difficult for troops to use airstrikes and artillery in the fight against the Taliban.

No matter the outcome of his meeting on Wednesday in Washington over caustic comments he and his staff made about President Obama and his national security team, the general, or his successor, faces problems from a constituency as important as his bosses and that no commander wants to lose: his own troops.

As levels of violence in Afghanistan climb, there is a palpable and building sense of unease among troops surrounding one of the most confounding questions about how to wage the war: when and how lethal force should be used.

Since last year, the counterinsurgency doctrine championed by those now leading the campaign has assumed an almost unchallenged supremacy in the ranks of the American military’s career officers. The doctrine, which has been supported by both the Bush and Obama administrations, rests on core assumptions, including that using lethal force against an insurgency intermingled with a civilian population is often counterproductive.

Since General McChrystal assumed command, he has been a central face and salesman of this idea, and he has applied it to warfare in a tangible way: by further tightening rules guiding the use of Western firepower — airstrikes and guided rocket attacks, artillery barrages and even mortar fire — to support troops on the ground.

“Winning hearts and minds in COIN is a coldblooded thing,” General McChrystal was quoted as telling an upset American soldier in the Rolling Stone profile that has landed him in trouble. “The Russians killed 1 million Afghans, and that didn’t work.” COIN is the often used abbreviation for counterinsurgency.

The rules have shifted risks from Afghan civilians to Western combatants. They have earned praise in many circles, hailed as a much needed corrective to looser practices that since 2001 killed or maimed many Afghan civilians and undermined support for the American-led war.

But the new rules have also come with costs, including a perception now frequently heard among troops that the effort to limit risks to civilians has swung too far, and endangers the lives of Afghan and Western soldiers caught in firefights with insurgents who need not observe any rules at all.

Young officers and enlisted soldiers and Marines, typically speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs, speak of “being handcuffed,” of not being trusted by their bosses and of being asked to battle a canny and vicious insurgency “in a fair fight.”

Some rules meant to enshrine counterinsurgency principles into daily practices, they say, do not merely transfer risks away from civilians. They transfer risks away from the Taliban.

Before the rules were tightened, one Army major who had commanded an infantry company said, “firefights in Afghanistan had a half-life.” By this he meant that skirmishes often were brief, lasting roughly a half-hour. The Taliban would ambush patrols and typically break contact and slip away as patrol leaders organized and escalated Western firepower in response.

Now, with fire support often restricted, or even idled, Taliban fighters seem noticeably less worried about an American response, many soldiers and Marines say. Firefights often drag on, sometimes lasting hours, and costing lives. The United States’ material advantages are not robustly applied; troops are engaged in rifle-on-rifle fights on their enemy’s turf.

One Marine infantry lieutenant, during fighting in Marja this year, said he had all but stopped seeking air support while engaged in firefights. He spent too much time on the radio trying to justify its need, he said, and the aircraft never arrived or they arrived too late or the pilots were reluctant to drop their ordnance.

“I’m better off just trying to fight my fight, and maneuver the squads, and not waste the time or focus trying to get air,” he said.

Several infantrymen have also said that the rules are so restrictive that pilots are often not allowed to attack fixed targets — say, a building or tree line from which troops are taking fire — unless they can personally see the insurgents doing the firing.

This has led to situations many soldiers describe as absurd, including decisions by patrol leaders to have fellow soldiers move briefly out into the open to draw fire once aircraft arrive, so the pilots might be cleared to participate in the fight.

Moments like those bring into sharp relief the grand puzzle faced by any outside general trying to wage war in Afghanistan. An American counterinsurgency campaign seeks support from at least two publics — the Afghan and the American. Efforts to satisfy one can undermine support in the other.

The restrictions on using fire support are part of a larger bundle of instructions, known as rules of engagement, that guide decisions on how troops can interact with Afghans, and how they can fight. The rules have shifted frequently over the years, becoming tighter and tighter.

Each change, often at the urging of the government of President Hamid Karzai, has shown the delicacy of the balance.

NATO needs the Afghan government’s support. But restrictions that are popular in Kabul have often alienated soldiers and Marines whose lives are at stake, including rules that limit when Western troops can enter Afghan homes. Such rules, soldiers and Marines say, concede advantages to insurgents, making it easier for them to hide, to fight, to meet and to store their weapons or assemble their makeshift bombs.

It is an axiom of military service that troops gripe; venting is part of barracks and battlefield life. Troops complain about food, equipment, lack of sleep, delays in their transportation and the weather where they work.

Complaints about how they are allowed to fight are another matter and can be read as a sign of deeper disaffection and strains within the military over policy choices. One Army colonel, in a conversation this month, said the discomfort and anger about the rules had reached a high pitch.

“The troops hate it,” he said. “Right now we’re losing the tactical-level fight in the chase for a strategic victory. How long can that be sustained?”

Whatever the fate of General McChrystal, the Pentagon’s Afghan conundrum remains. No one wants to advocate loosening rules that might see more civilians killed. But no one wants to explain whether the restrictions are increasing the number of coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base, and seeding disillusionment among those sent to fight.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This article is from the NY Times, and it is about Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and our troops.

I hope and pray there will be some big changes in the R.O.E.'s!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (4)

June 27, 2010

Petraeus to Modify Afghanistan Rules of Engagement, Source Says

FOX news

A military source close to Gen. David Petraeus told Fox News that one of the first things the general will do when he takes over in Afghanistan is to modify the rules of engagement to make it easier for U.S. troops to engage in combat with the enemy, though a Petraeus spokesman pushed back on the claim.

Troops on the ground and some military commanders have said the strict rules -- aimed at preventing civilian casualties -- have effectively forced the troops to fight with one hand tied behind their backs.

The military source who has talked with Petraeus said the general will make those changes. Other sources were not so sure, but said they wouldn't be surprised to see that happen once Petraeus takes command.

The rules, put in place by outgoing Gen. Stanley McChrystal, are classified but generally aim to limit civilian casualties by prohibiting troops from firing unless they're shot at -- or from launching bomb or artillery attacks when civilians are near the target.

Petraeus spokesman Col. Erik Gunhus disputed the claim that those rules will be revised, telling Fox News it's too soon to tell whether Petraeus would change the current rules. But he said it is one of many issues the general will take under consideration during his assessment after he's confirmed and after he takes over command in Afghanistan.

Retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales Jr., a Fox News military analyst, said there's no question Petraeus will have to make the changes.

"First of all, to reinforce his commitment to take care of the troops and secondly, because he realizes as does virtually everyone in Afghanistan that these rules are getting soldiers killed," he said.

Any adjustment to the rules of engagement does not mean the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan will change. President Obama stressed Wednesday -- after he accepted McChrystal's resignation in the wake of a magazine article in which he and his staff were critical of the administration -- that the change-up does not represent a shift in war policy.

Rather, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that Petraeus, currently head of U.S. Central Command and the former U.S. commander in Iraq, will have the flexibility to reconsider "the campaign plan and the approach."

At the same news conference at the Pentagon, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said Petraeus will be able to make tactical changes. But he said that does not necessarily mean changes will be made and echoed the president's insistence that the strategy stays as he prepared for a visit to the war zone.

"My message will be clear: Nothing changes about our strategy, nothing changes about the mission," Mullen said.

The issue is likely to be front and center in Senate confirmation hearings for Petraeus next week.

Wild Thing's comment........

I don't think obama will allow normal ROE's. Obama wants terrorists read rights. He is responsible imo for the added deaths of our troops. The current ROE’s are one of the reasons why more of our troops have been killed.

Current ROE are ridiculous and make it impossible to actually win a war. If we are going to fight, we should fight to win. Kill the enemy, wherever they are. If they hold their weapons caches and safehouses in churches and hospitals then they must be destroyed.

By putting the gloves of “no attack zones” on our soldiers we virtually guarantee the war will never end. If we’re not going to fight to win, we should not fight. All that accomplishes is to get our troops killed.

We must always remember that the CINC is a Marxist Muslim who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about our national security and achieving victory in Afghanistan. He won’t even allow his adminstration to use terms like Radical Islam or the War on Terror. He is ONE OF THEM.

What has happened to us as a nation since WWII? We no longer fight to pacify the enemy, we don't even fight to win, but rather we bend over backwards to win their 'hearts & minds'!! IMHO that is a losing strategy and nothing more than a death wish on our part. Even worse, we're trying to win hearts and minds that CANNOT be won. Islam simply is not compatible with western ideals and values, and it never will be.

Of course there always is this:
Orchides Forum Trahite
Cordes Et Mentes Veniant

Praying it is changed for the better and not the worse.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (5)

June 26, 2010

General David Petraeus Honoring Purple Heart Veterans

NEW WINDSOR

Gen. David Petraeus returned to his native Hudson Valley on Friday to honor roughly 130 veterans who were wounded in battles dating back to the 1940s.

His visit comes only days before congressional hearings at which Petraeus will be confirmed to lead an increasingly violent war in Afghanistan.

Petraeus, a son of Cornwall, delivered the keynote speech Thursday afternoon at a tribute to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor. About 1,200 people — and a cavalcade of national media — filled the ballroom at Anthony's Pier 9 catering hall for the tribute.

The most honored guests were the Purple Heart recipients spanning seven decades, all of them wounded in wartime. They were joined by Gold Star mothers and families who had lost relatives in battle. Petraeus assured all of the veterans and military families that their service and sacrifice was for a grateful nation.

"Thank you for what you did to earn the badge of honor that is sought by none but respected by all," he said. "The depth of our gratitude is inexpressible."

Veterans and friends of Petraeus returned the appreciation. They gave Petraeus his father's Bible, which had been kept at the Cornwall Presbyterian Church. And his classmates presented a stained glass window depicting the Purple Heart medal, which will hang in the museum in Petraeus' honor.

The ceremony also honored the four men known as the "Genesis Group," who steered the dream of having a Purple Heart museum in New Windsor. They included:

*Joseph R. Farina, a Newburgh native and World War II veteran who gained fame for bringing his love of bowling to the country of Australia

* Lt. Gen. James D. Hughes, a West Point alumnus and decorated fighter pilot who served as military assistant to President Richard Nixon. Hughes is a New Windsor resident

* State Sen. Bill Larkin, R-C-Cornwall-on-Hudson, who served in the U.S. Army for 23 years before starting his ongoing 30-year run as a state lawmaker

* Everett Smith, a veteran of the Army National Guard, who founded the Sentinel, a twice-weekly newspaper in Orange County, and became vice president of the Purple Heart Hall of Honor.

The crowd also lauded Daniel Sheehan, a 14-year-old from Texas. For his project to become an Eagle Scout, Sheehan tracked down 55 Purple Heart recipients who were not registered in the Hall of Honor. The teenager got the idea after his grandfather, Andy Komonchak of Bloomingburg, brought him to the hall in 2007.

"I was overwhelmed," Sheehan told the crowd. "It made me think that every Purple Heart recipient has a story to tell."

That includes veterans like Andy Barone of Monroe, whose knuckle was torn off by shrapnel in France during World War II. Or Jose Baez of the Bronx, who earned two Purple Hearts in Vietnam, including one for a bullet that ripped through his cheek while he was carrying a pregnant Vietnamese woman.

"To see a top general come out here — he knows what we went through," Baez said of Petraeus. "It means so much for him just to come and be with us."

And Petraeus, a 40-year military man, made it clear that he was honored, too. He shook hands with every Purple Heart recipient and Gold Star family in attendance, offering each an honorary medal. And on the eve of his next mission in Afghanistan, Petraeus spoke words that described himself as much as any other man or woman in the room.

" Today's troopers stand on the shoulders of those who came before them and because of your service, they stand very tall indeed," he said. . "Whatever the endeavor, whatever the mission, our troopers have always said, 'Send me.'"

Wild Thing's comment........

I have the utmost respect for General Petraeus and I can’t think of another person better equipped to honor those who have lost so much while giving their all to defend this nation.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (3)

June 25, 2010

'You sit and ask yourself: What are we doing here?' by Andy McCarthy

'You sit and ask yourself: What are we doing here?'

by Andy McCarthy

Why would General Stanley McChrystal give that kind of access to a lefty rock-n-roll magazine? Maybe because he's a kindred spirit who felt the need to assure Rolling Stone's Michael Hastings that he voted for Obama — even against McCain, a military legend who shares McChrystal's transnational progressive outlook.

"Now it can be told," elaborates Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic "The story about [McChrystal] voting for Obama is not contrived. He is a political liberal. He is a social liberal. He banned Fox News from the television sets in his headquarters. Yes, really."

Yes, really. The revealing Rolling Stone profile also tells us that the general "banned alcohol on base [and] kicked out Burger King and other symbols of American excess." (Recall the very similar Obama edict that American forces not fly the Stars and Stripes at their base during their humanitarian mission in Haiti — a self-loathing trend that has also taken hold on college campuses.) Even McChrystal's undoing here — ironically, by Rolling Stone, not Fox News — is, as VDH suggested yesterday, attributable to a disturbing contempt for authority and decorum that McChrystal and his top aides made little effort to conceal from Hastings. (Byron has more on that, here.)

I got in some hot water here last year for arguing that Gen. McChrystal, for all his undeniable valor, is a progressive big-thinker who has been conducting a sociology experiment in Islamic nation-building. It's a flawed experiment that assumes Afghan Muslims will side with us — i.e., the Westerners their clerical authorities tell them are infidel invaders and occupiers — against their fellow Afghan Muslims.

Nothing in the ensuing months changes my mind. To the contrary, what I've seen lately indicates that, while our troops are imperiled under strait-jacketing rules of engagement imposed by Gen. McChrystal to avoid offending Afghans, Christian missionaries have been suspended for preaching (proselytism for any belief-system other than Islam is illegal in Afghanistan).

I've seen Asia News's report that Afghan converts to Christianity have been sentenced to death for apostasy. All this, moreover, is happening under the new constitution we helped write, which (as the State Department bragged in 2004) enshrines sharia as Afghanistan's fundamental law. That is, the Afghan Muslim population our troops are fighting and dying to protect has institutionalized the persecution of other populations (when the said Muslims are not otherwise busy killing each other).

In the Examiner, Byron points to Rolling Stone's account of a frustrated American soldier, lamenting the death of a fellow soldier killed because of the rules of engagement. "You sit and ask yourself," says the soldier, "What are we doing here?" I don't know, but whatever it is, it is not what Americans thought they were sending our military to Afghanistan to do.

From Rush Limbaugh:

"In some people's opinion, look at what's happened here is in order to save his bacon, Obama's had to go get a "Bush general his party hates in order to save his bacon in the war in the Afghanistan, and despite Obama being the commander-in-chief, it's really Petraeus now 'cause he holds all the cards 'cause he is the safety valve."

"Even more about McChrystal: now it can be told. The story about him voting for Obama is not contrived. He is a political liberal. He is a social liberal," and he is a wacko environmentalist liberal. "He banned Fox News from the television sets in his headquarters." He has banned fast food, Burger King and all that from his headquarters and from people in his command.

this explains why he trusted some reporter from Rolling Stone. If this guy is as far left as he is -- and, by the way, if this is true (and I happen to believe it now), if this is the case, you can't say that Obama got rid of McChrystal for politics. They're two peas in a pod here. The guy voted for Obama. So whatever PR somebody wants to attach to it. Obama just got rid of a like-minded soul except for the fact that McChrystal likes to pull the trigger and kill the bad guys and Obama doesn't. McChrystal likes to win. Obama doesn't. But now Obama has been maneuvered into a position where the only option is to win, because that's what you go get Petraeus for. That's why you get rid of McChrystal. So now Obama's really screwed himself and the left-wing base because he'd made it clear he's hired Bush's most hated general -- the successful architect of Iraq, of the surge, counterinsurgency strategy -- and charged him with winning. What do you do bet that July 11th withdrawal date gets moved now?

I cannot emphasize this enough. McChrystal and Obama, policy-wise, were on the same page. They were in total agreement on policy. In this Rolling Stone piece whatever McChrystal and his aides said was aimed at the folks who opposed Obama's policy, and who were they? Vice President Bite Me, John Kerry (who served in Vietnam), Jim Jones his national security guy, Richard Holbrooke, and this guy Eikenberry. But those guys are kept on in the national security team, and the general -- who was on the same page with Obama policy-wise, other than the number of troops on the ground. McChrystal didn't get the boots he wanted and he doesn't like the time frame, but in terms of everything else they were pretty much on the same page. So he goes. If Obama really wanted to get rid of the division, getting rid of the general was the wrong guy to get rid of.

Get rid of the clowns in his own national security team. Vice President Bite Me, Holbrooke, and Eikenberry especially. That's where the rift is, or was.

Rush had read this article and others and in case you would like to read it too, CLICK HERE for the link.

The Night Beat: Obama Borrows the Military Back

Wild Thing's comment........

Pretty rich irony, isn’t it? Obama fired a progressive General who voted for him, and replaced him with Bush’s General. I peeked in over at DU to see how they were reacting to all of this and they are not happy about it.

So it appears that Obama was forced to sack someone who emulated his liberalism. This is just bizarre.

There is also this:
From The Washington Examiner

But the bigger problem with McChrystal’s leadership has always been the general’s devotion to unreasonably restrictive rules of engagement that are resulting in the unnecessary deaths of American and coalition forces. We have had many, many accounts of the rules endangering Americans, and the Rolling Stone article provides more evidence. In the story, a soldier at Combat Outpost JFM who had earlier met with McChrystal was killed in a house that American officers had asked permission to destroy. From the article:

The night before the general is scheduled to visit Sgt. Arroyo’s platoon for the memorial, I arrive at Combat Outpost JFM to speak with the soldiers he had gone on patrol with. JFM is a small encampment, ringed by high blast walls and guard towers. Almost all of the soldiers here have been on repeated combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and have seen some of the worst fighting of both wars. But they are especially angered by Ingram’s death. His commanders had repeatedly requested permission to tear down the house where Ingram was killed, noting that it was often used as a combat position by the Taliban. But due to McChrystal’s new restrictions to avoid upsetting civilians, the request had been denied. “These were abandoned houses,” fumes Staff Sgt. Kennith Hicks. “Nobody was coming back to live in them.”

One soldier shows me the list of new regulations the platoon was given. “Patrol only in areas that you are reasonably certain that you will not have to defend yourselves with lethal force,” the laminated card reads. For a soldier who has traveled halfway around the world to fight, that’s like telling a cop he should only patrol in areas where he knows he won’t have to make arrests. “Does that make any f–king sense?” Pfc. Jared Pautsch. “We should just drop a f–king bomb on this place. You sit and ask yourself: What are we doing here?”

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (4)

June 23, 2010

Obama Replaces McChrystal with Petraeus - Complete Video

This is the complete video of President Barack Obama’s announcement today, June 23, 2010, that he has relieved Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his duties by “accepting his resignation,” and has replaced him with Gen. David Petraeus. Petraeus will now assume direction of the U.S. War effort in Afghanistan. Despite saying this was not about “personal insult” as a result of McChrystal’s quoted comments in a “Rolling Stone” magazine, it is hard to come to any other conclusion since Obama praised McChrystal as “one of America’s finest soldiers.”

Petraeus moves to take over the Afghan war effort from his post as head of the Central Command, where he has been in charge of all U.S. forces in the Middle East. He previously commanded U.S. forces in Iraq and was credited with implementing a strategy that turned the tide against insurgents and sectarian groups in that war.

Statement By Gen. Stanley McChrystal

This morning the President accepted my resignation as Commander of U.S. and NATO Coalition Forces in Afghanistan.

I strongly support the President's strategy in Afghanistan and am deeply committed to our coalition forces, our partner nations, and the Afghan people. It was out of respect for this commitment — and a desire to see the mission succeed — that I tendered my resignation.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 PM | Comments (5)

Furious Obama Summons Gen. Stanley McChrystal to D.C

Furious President Obama summons Gen. Stanley McChrystal to D.C.

Politico

Obama declared Gen. Stanley McChrystal guilty of “poor judgment” Tuesday but said he won’t make a decision on the commander’s fate until he talks with him first.

McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, was summoned to Washington today for a face-to-face meeting with the president....

“Gen. McChrystal is on his way here, and I am going to meet with him. Secretary Gates will meet with him as well,” Obama said Tuesday evening. “I think it's clear that the article in which he and his team appeared showed poor judgment, but I also want to talk to him directly before I make any final decisions."

Asked earlier in the day whether McChrystal’s job is on the line, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that “everything is on the table.”

McChrystal apologized for the article Tuesday morning.

“It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened,” McChrystal said. “Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard. I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war, and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome.”

But the apology wasn’t enough to counter a flood of criticism from Washington – including harsh words from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

McChrystal has been instructed to fly from Kabul to Washington to attend Obama’s regular monthly security team meeting .

A top military official in Afghanistan told The Associated Press that McChrystal hasn't been told whether he will be allowed to keep his job. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions between Washington and the general's office in Kabul.

McChrystal spent Tuesday calling several of those mentioned in the article to apologize, officials said, including Gates and Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy to Pakistan.

General Stanley McChrystal tenders his resignation

Times Online co.uk

A senior Capitol Hill source tells me that General Stanley McChrystal had tendered his resignation to President Barack Obama and that the White House is actively discussing a replacement who could be quickly confirmed by the Senate.

The source said that among the names being touted as possible successors are General James Mattis, the outgoing head of the US Joint Forces Command and due to retire after being passed over as US Marine Corps commander, and Lieutenant General William Caldwell, commander of Nato’s Training Mission in Afghanistan.

Of course, offering to resign is not the same as actually resigning and it remains to be seen whether Mr Obama will accept the resignation.

McCain, Graham and Lieberman back Obama over McChrystal

LA Times

Three key senators on Tuesday joined the Washington chorus questioning the judgment of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, adding that his fate is in the hands of President Obama.

The statement by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham is important because it gives the Obama administration political cover if the president decides to fire McChrystal. The three senators are longtime backers of the military.

“We have the highest respect for General McChrystal and honor his brave service and sacrifice to our nation,” the trio said in prepared statement. “General McChrystal’s comments, as reported in Rolling Stone, are inappropriate and inconsistent with the traditional relationship between commander-in-chief and the military. The decision concerning General McChrystal’s future is a decision to be made by the president of the United States.”

From the Al Sharpton Show - General McChrystal 'A Cancer' That Must Be Stopped

Wild Thing's comment........

I wish Obama would quit, along with the entire Obama administration.

Just a side note first before my rant....... I was surprised to see the Gen voted for Obama.

OK I have to do this so sorry about the bad language.

We are sending our most precious lives to fight this war against Islam. Our troops since Obama was elected have been stuck with the most evil CIC our country has ever had. The R.O.E.'s they have had to try and live with are death sentences to our troops and victory for the enemy. Mirandizing the enemy is another thing that is over the top in how to lose a war.
Add in to all of this ANY General, anyone in the upper command that is not bent on winning, and goes after the enemy with a force that would put the fear of God around the world should get out no matter what IMO. Obama has stated in the past he does not care about victory. That shocked every one of us as it should. But even worse to know our troops also know Obama said such a thing, Obama should have been hung ala Abe Lincolns quote about treason and what it meant to him.

When from the top ( the CIC ) down there is so little regard for those doing the actual fighting then our troops are not only fighting the terrorists but also those in charge.

I have been ticked for a long time, from day one with Obama even during the campaign at his hate for our military. Bush may not have been perfect, but one could feel his love for our troops and they for him. They KNEW he cared about them!!

All I know is I want a Chesty or a Patton in charge, I want Obama kicked the hell out of office along with Pelosi and the rest of anyone either side of the isle that does not put America first, America's security first and will say OUT LOUD the enemy is ISLAM. Not radical Islam, not some kind of watered down version of terrorism, but ISLAM. And like N.J. Gov. Chris Christie said to the moron teachers, if you don't like it then get out. Well if the freaking Muslims don't like it then they should get the hell out of their Islam and stop being a part of something that is a death cult.

IMO this crap with Gen. Stanley McChrystal is more then the article in Rolling Stone, it is every death of one of our troops. It is all I said above with Obama as CIC, the R.O.E.'s and on and on. It is the insane way this war has gone from being called a war to touchie feelie renaming it by the F * ing MUSLIM OBAMA.

YES YOU FREAK Barack HUSSEIN Obama!

I realize Obama is their CIC and there is a thing about not speaking up, not speaking badly about the Commander and Generals etc. BUT and here is the BUT of it for me.

Wouldn't it have been awesome IF even ONE of the Generals had told Obama to go suck an egg when he handed down his R.O.E.'s???? Just an FU Obama no way will I put MY men in that kind of idiotic harms way so you can kiss up to your Muslim brothers. Go F yourself CIC Obama. We WILL fight this war and we will do it the ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE, MARINES and COAST GUARD WAY. Not get out of our way and we will let you know when we are done and have WON.

You see what I don't get is when do the lives of our troops, and the WAY a war is fought take more power then obeying the CIC and not speaking ill of those higher ups.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (6)

June 19, 2010

Give U.S. Troops Time To Win, Generals Say

Maj. Gen. Anthony Jackson, commander of Marine Corps Installations West.

Give U.S. troops time to win, generals say

Questions mount over Afghanistan

The San Diego Union-Tribune

As skepticism mounts over President Barack Obama’s plan to quell the insurgency in Afghanistan and begin withdrawing combat forces next summer, military leaders from San Diego to Kabul are urging Americans to give the troops enough time to prevail.

Marines are used to long odds, and the fight in Iraq once seemed unwinnable before U.S. forces — including thousands of troops from Camp Pendleton — helped pacify Anbar province, Maj. Gen. Anthony Jackson said Wednesday during a meeting of the San Diego Military Advisory Council.

“We are not there to tame Afghanistan. That is for the Afghan people to do. We are there to ensure that our homeland is not attacked again and that the Afghan people have the opportunity to make choices not based on terror,” Jackson said.

Jackson noted that Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the British and the Russians didn’t last long in Afghanistan. Now, again, it appears that time is on the side of the insurgents.

“They have 100 years, the Taliban does — in their mind — to win. We’ve been given a timeline for our combat troops: a year. Don’t believe it,” Jackson said. “I think I can say that fairly, you don’t accomplish those things in a year.”

Congress appears to be losing patience six months after Obama called for a surge of 30,000 more troops, many of them Camp Pendleton Marines sent to the Taliban stronghold of southern Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told a Senate panel, “I think that we are regaining the initiative.”

But some legislators cast doubt on Gates’ view that U.S. forces are “making headway” in Afghanistan. Several Senate Democrats expressed frustration over the military campaign there. They included Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who questioned whether it would ever be possible for the Afghan government to rein in tribal leaders, and Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who said, “We’ve committed so many lives, so much money here, and we’ve neglected so many things inside the borders of the United States.”

Obama has directed that combat troops start pulling out from Afghanistan by July 2011. A growing chorus of people inside and outside the military say that timeline could prove unrealistic.

In a separate hearing Wednesday, Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, said he might recommend a push-back in the timeline if security in Afghanistan has not improved significantly by next summer.

“I did believe there was value in sending a message of urgency — July 2011 — as well as the message the president was sending of commitment: the additional, substantial numbers of forces,” Petraeus testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“But it is important that July 2011 be seen for what it is: the date when a process begins, based on conditions, not the date when the U.S. heads for the exits. We’re doing all that is humanly possible to achieve those conditions.”

Jackson commands Marine Corps Installations West, which includes Camp Pendleton, Twentynine Palms and other Western bases where Marines train for advanced combat operations.

He drew a parallel between the counterinsurgency fight in Afghanistan and Marine efforts to pacify the western region of Iraq, where the insurgency had been most violent.

“You lose good people in those wild places. But the Marines were tenacious. They stuck to their mission,” Jackson said.

With help from soldiers, aviators and Navy Seabees, the Marine Corps became the “20th tribe” in Iraq and eventually the strongest tribe, he said.

All the other generals living in his Fallbrook neighborhood are serving in Afghanistan now because the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force took control of Marine operations there this spring.

Nearly 10,000 troops from the force, which is based at Camp Pendleton, are fighting in Helmand province, where poppy fields supply much of the world’s opium and Taliban funding. Five Marines from that contingent died there during combat last week.

Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, the head Marine in Afghanistan, also assumed command this week of NATO forces in the southwestern provinces of Helmand and Nimruz.

Efforts to clear the area around Marjah, in Helmand province, after a major Marine operation there in February have been more difficult than expected, the head of international forces in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, conceded recently. Plans to sweep the Taliban out of their spiritual birthplace in neighboring Kandahar province this summer also have been delayed.

Last week, Brig. Gen Joseph L. Osterman, head of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Division in Afghanistan, dispatched a battalion of reconnaissance Marines to help in Marjah.

“This operation is designed to drive the insurgent forces even further from the populated area of Marjah, pursuing the enemy in the process and making it increasingly difficult to affect Marjah from exterior areas that serve as insurgent havens,” Osterman said from Afghanistan.

The United States gained major ground during the early years of the war but has lost the momentum, said Eli Berman, a research director for the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.

“Now that the insurgency is entrenched, it is very, very difficult to get it out,” said Berman, who has traveled to Afghanistan twice.

Because of the country’s mountainous geography, weak central government and widespread corruption, among other reasons, the task of winning over the people there is much more daunting than it was in Iraq, he added.

“It is very difficult in the Afghan context to convince the local population that a viable government is possible,” Berman said.

“At the same time that the international force is fighting the insurgency, they also have to develop the government and the economy. In Iraq, you could concentrate most of the effort on fighting the insurgency, but in Afghanistan, you have to try to do all three.”

The way it looks now, the time frame to begin troop withdrawals in a year seems “totally unrealistic,” said Kabul-based Candace Rondeaux, senior Afghanistan analyst for the International Crisis Group.

“It will be a huge turning point” if the current schedule holds, Rondeaux said. “It will plunge (Afghanistan) into civil war.”

NEVER FOGET what THIS ASSHOLE Obama said !!!....

Wild Thing's comment........

Dang it I can't stand Obama, he is soooo dangerous to our troops. He gives them the worst R.O.E.'S and then is not even supportive of them. He has said he does not want Victory and the list goes on and on of the things he has said and done against them.

Our troops want to win, they are warriors and they are sooo good at what they do.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 08:49 AM | Comments (2)

June 16, 2010

US General David Petraeus Collapses at Senate Hearing on Afghanistan

He was in the midst of being questioned by John McCain, who was telling him he was an American hero.

CNBC

U.S. General David Petraeus, who briefly collapsed during a Senate hearing on the war in Afghanistan Tuesday morning, is alert and doing well, according to reports.

Petraeus, 57, had finished telling Sen. John McCain that he believes the planned 2011 drawdown of U.S. troops remains on track, and McCain was responding when the room fell silent and aides began crowding around the four-star general.

Petraeus, who oversees the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as head of U.S. Central Command, briefly put his head on the table, then rose, appearing dazed. He stood under his own power and was escorted from the room.

Sen. Carl Levin, the chairman, suspended the hearing until Wednesday out of concern for Petraeus' health.

Petraeus himself returned to the room briefly and told the senators he "was feeling a little bit light-headed there."

"It wasn't Sen. McCain's question," the general added.

"I just got dehydrated," Petraeus said.

In his lengthy appearances before the Senate and House armed services committees in September 2007 to testify on Iraq, he was reported to have endured great back pain and got through it with the help of Motrin.

Petraeus is the commander of U.S. Central Command. He was testifying on the war in Afghanistan.

As the most popular and widely known general of his generation, Petraeus is approaching a new juncture in a career that catapulted him to fame when President George W. Bush sent him to Baghdad in early 2007 to carry out a long-shot "surge" strategy that arguably rescued Iraq from collapse.

The general has had a high-profile career, and many believe he is the leading candidate to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He commanded all forces in Iraq under President George W. Bush.

Wild Thing's comment........

Prayers for General Petraeus !!! I really hope he’s OK! I cannot imagine the amount of flight time and time zones this guy has accrued over the past few years, not to mention a lifetime.Plus everythign else he has done and still does.

This true hero testifying answering questions by those progressives would make anyone sick!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (3)

June 15, 2010

Calif. Marine Released In Iraqi War Crimes Case

Calif. Marine released in Iraqi war crimes case

Beetle Bailey celebrates 60 years

SAN DIEGO

A Camp Pendleton Marine convicted in a major Iraqi war crimes case was released Monday and will remain free while his case is being reviewed after a military appeals court ruled he had an unfair trial.
Monday's decision by a military judge at Camp Pendleton marked another major blow for the government's prosecution of U.S. troops accused of killing unarmed Iraqis.

Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III has served four years in prison for the killing of a 52-year-old Iraqi man by his squad.

"I'm going to be the best Marine I can be today," an elated Hutchins told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview after being released. "Today is really a surreal experience. I think we had a good judge. ... It's hard to describe exactly what I'm feeling. I'm happy."

Prosecutors could not be immediately reached for comment after the hearing Monday evening.

Attorneys for the government say Hutchins led a squad of seven troops who killed the man in the Iraqi village of Hamdania in 2006, and then planted a shovel and AK-47 to make it appear he was an insurgent.

The U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington ruled Hutchins was not given a fair trial because his lead defense lawyer left the case shortly before his 2007 trial.

The Navy is appealing and the case is now in the hands of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which can either affirm or overturn the Washington court's ruling.

Hutchins, 26, says he was not with his squad at the time. He was sentenced to 11 years. The others in his squad served less than 18 months.

His defense attorney, Capt. Babu Kaza argued that the married father of a 5-year-old girl is not a flight risk or a threat to society. The couple prayed with a rosary Monday at the hearing.

Hutchins said he called his family immediately afterward to tell them he will see them soon. He was preparing to call his daughter, Kylie, next.

"I'm going to tell her she's my little princess, of course," said Hutchins, who went to a Taco Bell outside Camp Pendleton after being released.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces is expected to hear arguments from both sides in the case this fall and could take until next year to make a decision.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told the Marine Corps Times last year that he believes Hutchins was the ringleader in the premeditated murder plot and attempted cover-up, and that he should complete the full sentence. Hutchins was initially sentenced to 14 years but that was later reduced to 11.

Hutchins said his squad told him they had killed an insurgent leader, and he did not learn of the mistake until after the investigation.

Hutchins told a Naval Clemency and Parole Board in January that he wants to live with his parents in Plymouth, Mass., and help them pay off their mortgage since they refinanced their home several times to cover his legal expenses.

He also said he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and would like to help others suffering from PTSD.

"I am forever diminished by the death and violence I witnessed in Iraq, and forever consumed with regret over what I brought about with my hands," Hutchins wrote to the board. "I do not find forgiveness as I lay in bed at night, nor would I accept it if it could somehow be offered. I am responsible for the loss of a human life on the night of April 26th, 2006."

Wild Thing's comment........

Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III was part of the Pendleton 8.. All the rest got released from prison.

They almost did the same thing to Ilario Pantano, now running as the GOP challenger in NC’s 7th. That is how I met Pantano, his mom atarted a website to support him and many of us joined it and wrote emails to her son.He wrote me back a wonderful email.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:49 AM | Comments (3)

June 14, 2010

Happy 235th Birthday US Army!!

Travis Sauls presents a video montage of still images for the U.S. Army's 235th Birthday celebration.

Two hundred and thirty-five years ago, the United States Army was established to defend our Nation. From the Revolutionary War to the current operations taking place around the world, our Soldiers remain Army Strong with a deep commitment to our core values and beliefs. This 235th birthday commemorates America’s Army – Soldiers, Families and Civilians – who are achieving a level of excellence that is truly Army Strong. Being Army Strong goes beyond physical endurance and mental preparedness. It encompasses an indomitable spirit, and high ethical and moral values. These are not only desirable traits in a person, but in a Nation that wishes to live up to the ideals and vision of its founders. We are “America’s Army: The Strength of the Nation."

Army Birthday shout-outs from Afghanistan
Various Soldiers deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, wish the Army a happy 235th birthday.

NASCAR fans get ready to race this Sunday - Ryan Newman will drive the #ArmyBirthday car to celebrate our 235 years.

The U.S. Army turns 235 years-old, June 14. The day before the official birthday of the military's largest branch, Ryan Newman will be driving the No. 39 U.S. Army Birthday Chevrolet at Michigan International Speedway. The hood and rear bumper (TV panel) of the Army car will read 235 Years Strong in recognition of the birthday.

The world’s most recognizable Private and funny pages icon Beetle Bailey salutes 60 years of military mirth and mayhem with a seven-month long celebration honoring the comic strip’s diamond anniversary. Beginning this month, a series of Beetle Bailey tributes and events will take place in the United States and internationally commemorating the milestone. The centerpiece of Beetle Bailey’s 60th anniversary includes:

* “Beetle Bailey 1965: Daily & Sunday Strips” – a special monthly Sunday strip series recreating great moments in American military history in humorously unique Beetle style

* two retrospective art exhibits

* a commemorative USPS Postage Stamp

* and the new book, “Beetle Bailey 1965: Daily & Sunday Strips”

Wild Thing's comment........

HUGE thank you to all that have served in the US Army and are serving now. Happy Birthday U.S.Army!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:54 AM | Comments (5)

June 10, 2010

Army Fires Top Two Administrators Over Mismanagement of Arlington Cemetery

Arlington National's superintendent, John Metzler, (r) and his deputy, Thurman Higgenbotham (l), have lost their jobs over alleged mismanagment of the gravesites. (Pentagon/Arlington National)

Army Fires Top Two Administrators Over Mismanagement of Arlington Cemetery

Army Secretary John McHugh has fired the top two officials overseeing Arlington National Cemetery over allegations of mismanagement, including burying a service member's body on top of another, Fox News has confirmed.

McHugh will announce Thursday that he is replacing Arlington National's superintendent, John Metzler, and his deputy, Thurman Higgenbotham, who had reportedly illegally hacked into the computer files of a former Arlington employee.

In November, McHugh ordered an investigation into the allegations.

"A thorough investigation and transparency in its results can help correct whatever may be wrong and ensure America's confidence in the operation of its most hallowed ground," McHugh said at the time. "We will take appropriate action as the facts dictate."

Metzler announced this week he is retiring July 2 after working for the government for 42 years, the last 19 at Arlington. He said those issues weren't as bad as had been reported.

But Army officials told NBC News that both he and Higgenbotham are being forced to step down.

The 62-year-old's father also was superintendent at the cemetery outside the nation's capital.

Metzler says the high point of his career was expanding the cemetery for veterans and their families so it could continue to take new burials until 2060.

But according to NBC News, which first reported the firings, both Metzler and Higgenbotham had come under heavy fire for keeping records of the hundreds of thousands buried at Arlington National in paper files instead of creating a computer database of gravesites, NBC reported.

Officials told NBC News that over the past couple of years, some of the 300,000 graves at Arlington were improperly marked and in some cases bodies were buried in the wrong graves.

In 2008, a master sergeant was buried on top of a staff sergeant already in the grave, but the error wasn't discovered until the widow of the first service member buried there complained to authorities that someone else's headstone had been placed on her husband's grave, NBC News reported.

Officials say McHugh also will announce today that he is creating a new position to oversee operations at Arlington National.

Wild Thing's comment........

Dear God this is horrible!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 PM | Comments (6)

May 24, 2010

US Troops Afghanistan Ordered to Patrol With Their Weapons Unloaded

Fighting a War without Bullets?

Human Events

by Chris Carter

05/23/2010

Commanders have ordered a U.S. military unit in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons, according to a source in Afghanistan.

American soldiers in at least one unit have been ordered to conduct patrols without a round chambered in their weapons, an anonymous source stationed at a forward operating base in Afghanistan said in an interview. The source was unsure where the order originated or how many other units were affected.

When a weapon has a loaded magazine, but the safety is on and no round is chambered, the military refers to this condition as “amber status.” Weapons on “red status” are ready to fire—they have a round in the chamber and the safety is off.

The source stated that he had been stationed at the base for only a month, but the amber weapons order was in place since before he arrived. A NATO spokesman could not confirm the information, stating that levels of force are classified.

“Our overall aim is to defeat the insurgency which means we must gain and then maintain the support of the Afghan population,” said Lieutenant Commander Iain Baxter, a spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a statement to HUMAN EVENTS. “This must be the objective of every action taken by ISAF service members, and it calls for responses that de-escalate situations where the use of deadly force may not be necessary. In doing this, leaders at all levels make enormous efforts to ensure that troops balance their own protection with the protection of the Afghan population.”

“The idea that any combat unit would conduct any operation, including patrolling and even manning a security post—in which direct action may or may not take place—and not having weapons loaded, borders on being criminally negligent in my opinion,” says Lt. Col. W. Thomas Smith Jr., a recognized expert on terrorism and military issues. “This is nothing more than infusing politically correct restrictions into already overly restrictive rules of engagement. And this PC nonsense is going to get people killed.”

According to Smith, "American soldiers are highly skilled in the use of 'loaded' weapons, and so should be trusted to operate with 'loaded' weapons. If someone overseeing decisions on ROE [rules of engagement] thinks not, then ratchet up training. But don't put a man on the street and force him to go through multiple prompts when a gunfight breaks out. Remember, the situation can go from quiet to kinetic in half the time it takes to breathe."

In an ambush situation, just how long does it take to engage a target when your weapon isn't already loaded?

“Too long,” states Sandy Daniel, military veteran and deputy director of the Victory Institute. “The first couple of seconds in an ambush are critical, and when that block of time is used to load a weapon instead of firing, you are losing the time you need to stay alive. Patrolling without a chambered round is suicide.”

Smith adds, "Let's not forget the catastrophic result of not having weapons loaded on Oct. 23, 1983, when a U.S. Marine sentry barely managed to load his weapon and get off one or two hasty, ineffective shots at the speeding bomb-ladened truck that crashed into the Battalion Landing Team headquarters in Beirut. The truck breached the building, the explosives were detonated, and 241 Americans perished in the largest—at that time—non-nuclear blast in history."

Based on discussions with veterans of previous conflicts spanning back to the Vietnam War, ordering troops to conduct patrols or to man a security post with weapons on amber status is actually quite common. In Vietnam, troops were typically ordered to patrol with weapons on amber, however the order was rarely followed or enforced. Troops operating at the Korean Demilitarized Zone, in Bosnia, and during the Gulf War had similar orders. In some cases, troops were instructed to remove magazines from the weapon completely, storing them in pouches. Worse yet, troops were only issued a handful of bullets in which to defend themselves in case of enemy contact.

The ROE our troops in Afghanistan follow, commonly known as the “Karzai 12,” are classified.But this :

1. When on the post, mobile or foot patrol, keep loaded magazine in weapon, bolt closed, weapon on safe, no round in the chamber.

2. Do not chamber a round unless told to do so by a commissioned officer unless you must act in immediate self-defense where deadly force is authorized.

Marines were ordered to know these rules—which they carried on them at all times—as well as they knew their name, rank, and Social Security number. As Smith points out, we can see just how ineffective these rules were, and how deadly they were to U.S. forces. Had our leaders allowed Marines to carry loaded weapons, perhaps the 241 Marines, sailors, and soldiers killed in the Beirut attack would still be alive today.

Even if this order did originate from a company commander, this travesty is still the responsibility of the leadership that handed down such restrictive rules of engagement. NATO commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal's emphasis on protecting noncombatants is such that commanders are willing to jeopardize their troops in such a manner as ordering them into battle with unloaded weapons.

Hopefully, our military won't experience another preventable mass casualty incident like the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. But with our leaders repeating the failures of the past by not permitting our troops to carry loaded weapons, it seems we have become our own worst enemy.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Commanders have ordered a U.S. military unit in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons, according to a source in Afghanistan.

Forget learning the lessons of 9/11, we obviously haven't learned the lessons of the USS Cole yet, or the Marine Base, or so many other attacks on our military and Americans.

“Our overall aim is to defeat the insurgency which means we must gain and then maintain the support of the Afghan population,”

And the idea is to let them know we are walking around targets is really going to win their hearts and minds.

Here’s a news flash. You are never going to defeat the insurgency pussy footing around trying to win friends with the Afghan population. The enemy has one tactic, and that’s to terrify. The only way to stop them is to kill them dead.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (9)

May 14, 2010

A Rare Daytime Assault, Operation Apache Roadhouse By from 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

A rare daytime assault Soldiers from 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division raided a small home to capture and detain a known suspect. Capt. Mark Pemberton Commander, A Co., 1/23 Infantry comments on the operation. Produced by Sgt. 1st Class JD Phippen.

Wild Thing's comment.........

God bless our troops, they are fighting two wars, one against the terrorists and the other having to put up with the anti-America CIC Obama.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM | Comments (2)

April 24, 2010

Second Navy SEAL Cleared

Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe was cleared today of charges of dereliction today in Iraq.

A U.S. military judge has cleared a Navy SEAL of wrongdoing in the alleged beating of a prisoner suspected of masterminding the grisly 2004 killings of four American contractors in Iraq.

The military says the judge found insufficient evidence to convict Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe on charges of dereliction of duty.

Keefe — one of three SEALS charged in the case — was not accused of assaulting Ahmed Hashim Abed but of failing to prevent the abuse.

The case has drawn fire from at least 20 members of Congress and other Americans who see it as coddling terrorists to overcompensate for the notorious Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Thank You Lord, again! I wish they would just drop all charges unilaterally.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (4)

April 10, 2010

U.S. Military Goes Hungry In Afghanistan

U.S. military goes hungry in Afghanistan

Digital Journal

The United States Military is in the midst of a troop surge in Afghanistan, but the surge has caused the ratio of resources to troops to widen. Many American Forward Operating Bases are experiencing food and water shortages.

Sgt. Hill, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, has been in Afghanistan only a few months as part of the new troop surge into the country. The troops are mainly focused on training and promoting the Afghanistan army and police force. The training is the United States' attempt to "teach a man to fish," in the security department of the ever turbulent country, a country which is still undecided if it wants to break free from Taliban influence. With these larger issues at hand the need for proper amounts of food and water have fallen by the wayside.

Initially it was expected that resources for surging troops would be low, as many bases were unprepared for the push ordered by the Obama administration. The surge, it is argued, was far too swift and did not give the military time to lay the proper infrastructure and provide housing and other amenities for the troops. The reality of the lack of preparation has been felt by Sgt. Hill and other troops currently in Afghanistan.

Over weeks of correspondence Sgt. Hill has informed Digital Journal of the conditions the logistics of just being able to eat. General McChrystal announced that fast food places like Burger King and Pizza Hut were going to be shut down and moved to make more room for essentials the troops will need for war.

As reported on Digital Journal:

"Supplying non-essential luxuries to big bases like Bagram and Kandahar makes it harder to get essential items to combat outposts and forward operating bases, where troops fighting every day need to be resupplied with ammunition, food and water."

By closing up the outlets, the FRAGO’s design is intended to free up storage space, provide secure areas for equipment, and reduce flight and convoy traffic across the country.

This action may have made matters worse for soldiers who are on missions during designated chow hall times.
At Camp Mike Spann some soldiers have been forced to skip up to three meals a day, and are forbidden to eat Meals Ready to Eat (MRE's) unless they are on an evening mission to save on the lack of available rations. The Chow Hall at Camp Mike Spann is not open 24 hours and civilian and military workers are not happy if anyone attempts to even serve themselves prepackaged bowls of cereal when the cafeteria is not open.

The infrastructure has not been freed up a significant amount to allow for the proper shipping of food and beverages, Sgt. Hill says. At Camp Mike Spann, in particular, there have been times when they have run out of drinks and other food items. There is no potable water available so troops rely on bottled water for hydration.

The Camp chow hall is now closed for lunch and only serving breakfast and dinner to be able to stretch out the available food since another troop wave hit. Today Sgt. Hill casually mentioned the situation behind being able to get food. To be able to speak with me, he has to wait up to a half an hour in a line for 10 minutes on the computer.

Sgt Hill: The chow hall just now opened. While I'm here and the line is already (an hour and a half long). Guess I am not eating again..

Digital Journal: Wow. Somebody should do something about that. Maybe call congress?

Sgt. Hill: Nah. Conservatives think we should just suck it up because we are in a war zone, and Liberals want us all to die anyway. Nobody gives a F***.

Camp Mike Spann is not the only place dealing with a shortage of food and water. An article in Stars and Stripes brought to attention the hardships of one Marine Encampment. At Marine Combat Outpost Contu ,"there are no beds, no showers, no toilets and no electricity. Chickens and ducks roam the bare dirt yard amid scraps of trash and rotting animal dung. Fleas, flies and filth are the grunts’ constant companions." They doubt they will see permanent living crates or even cots. They sleep with flees and chiggers and have very little food available to them. They say living like pioneers in the 1800s has given them a new appreciation for things like a bath or a shower and clean clothes.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Under Obama, feed Haiti but starve our Troops?!!!

There is no excuse for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Damn Obama to HELL! Obama is more focused on the corpses than the corps and our Amry, Navy and Air Force.

Someone does need to be fired, and his name is Obama. This problem goes straight to the top. The war planners, SECDEF, and of course the President.

This has been my biggest fear since the madman took office. He loathes the military...our troops are nothing but a photo op to this POS Muslim America hating commie Obama.

Let's not forget this too. The money diverted from the military went to this:

U.S. troop funds diverted to pet projectsStudy finds $2.6 billion taken from guns and ammunition

Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.

Among the 778 such projects, known as earmarks, packed into the bill: $25 million for a new World War II museum at the University of New Orleans and $20 million to launch an educational institute named after the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat.

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, called the transfer of funds from Pentagon operations and maintenance "a disgrace."

Mr. Coburn mounted a rear-guard action on the Senate floor to try to restore some of the money to its original purpose. One proposed amendment restored $100 million to the accounts by correcting the economic projections used in the bill to estimate future costs. That passed, but other amendments to prevent the use of O&M money to fund earmarks were soundly defeated.

Mr. Wheeler, who conducted the study, "Air Force and Navy combat pilots training to deploy are getting about half of the flying hours they got at the end of the Vietnam War," he wrote in his analysis. "Army tank crews get less in tank training today than they did during the low-readiness Clinton years."

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (13)

April 07, 2010

Karzai Stands By Vote Fraud Claims Against West and Threatens To Join Taliban

Afghan President Hamid Karzai delivers a speech at the Election Commission office in Kabul, Afghanistan

Karzai stands by vote fraud claims against West

President Hamid Karzai said on Monday he stood behind accusations that the West was responsible for election fraud in Afghanistan, despite having incurred the White House's anger over the comments.
His remarks appeared to intensify the quarrel, by directly blaming Washington for what he has described as "massive fraud" aimed at weakening him and his government.

"What I said about the election was all true, I won't repeat it, but it was all true," Karzai told Britain's BBC television.

"That the U.S. carried out the fraud?" the BBC correspondent asked.

"That's exactly what happened; I mentioned the elements who did it," Karzai said. He added: "We have partnership, we want to continue this alliance and partnership with the United States and the rest of the world, in the interest of both of us. But this has to be understood by all that Afghanistan is a sovereign country."

Karzai levelled the accusations that the West was behind election fraud in a speech on Thursday, prompting the White House to demand an explanation and the U.S. State Department to call the claims "preposterous".

In his speech on Thursday, Karzai said foreigners had bribed and threatened election workers to carry out fraud in last year's presidential election. He singled out the former deputy head of the U.N. mission in Kabul -- American diplomat Peter Galbraith -- as well as the French head of a European Union monitoring team.

While he did not single out the United States explicitly in his comments last week, he said: "The votes of the Afghan nation were in the control of an embassy."

White House Slams Karzai for Latest Anti-American Outburst

The Obama administration once again is troubled and frustrated by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who reportedly is threatening to align with the Taliban while accusing the United States of meddling in his country's affairs.

Obama's top spokesman suggested the trouble with Karzai could endanger U.S. military operations in the country. He was reacting to comments Karzai made Saturday during a private meeting with Afghan lawmakers. They came after Karzai and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to patch things up Friday following a similar outburst earlier in the week in which he accused Western governments of sabotaging his election.

"I said it was troubling on Friday. Obviously, it didn't get any better," Gibbs said.

Lawmakers: Afghan leader threatens to join Taliban

snydercase@matthewsnyder.org

Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened over the weekend to quit the political process and join the Taliban if he continued to come under outside pressure to reform, several members of parliament said Monday.

Karzai made the unusual statement at a closed-door meeting Saturday with selected lawmakers—just days after kicking up a diplomatic controversy with remarks alleging foreigners were behind fraud in last year's disputed elections.

Lawmakers dismissed the latest comment as hyperbole, but it will add to the impression the president—who relies on tens of thousands of U.S. and NATO forces to fight the insurgency and prop up his government—is growing increasingly erratic and unable to exert authority without attacking his foreign backers.

"He said that 'if I come under foreign pressure, I might join the Taliban'," said Farooq Marenai, who represents the eastern province of Nangarhar.

"He said rebelling would change to resistance," Marenai said—apparently suggesting that the militant movement would then be redefined as one of resistance against a foreign occupation rather than a rebellion against an elected government.

White House Refuses to Say If Karzai is U.S. Ally

Political Punch

by Jack Tapper

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs today continued his criticism of the comments by Afghan President Hamid Karzai -- and when pressed, Gibbs refused to say if Karzai was an ally of the U.S.

Speaking to Afghan lawmakers over the weekend, Karzai suggested he might have to join the Taliban himself if the United States does not stop “meddling.” Gibbs called Karzai's most recent comments "troubling," "confusing," and "untruthful."

So ABC News asked: "Is Karzai our ally?"

Gibbs' response: "Karzai is the democratically elected leader of Afghanistan."

"That’s not what I asked," ABC News noted. "Is he our ally?"

Said Gibbs: "There are times in which the actions that he takes are constructive to governance. I would say that the remarks he’s made I can’t imagine that anyone in this country found them anything other than troubling.

"So our position on this, Jake, is that when the Afghan leaders take steps to improve governance and root out corruption, then the president will say kind words," Gibbs said. "When leaders need to hear stern language from this administration about the consequences of not acting, we’ll do that as well."

Wild Thing's comment........

Obama is community orgainzing the hell out of the mideast!

"White House Slams Karzai for Latest Anti-American Outburst"..... UM well maybe this would be Karazai responds "I was just following your lead Mr. President." I mean what does Obama expect when he travels the world telling everyone how awful America is and how we are the enemy of the world.

All of this is putting our troops in even more danger.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (7)

April 04, 2010

The Part Where You Let Go

Wild Thing's comment........

This is so beautifully done, the whole thing.

.....Thank you Steppberg and Cuchieddie for sending this to me.

Cuchieddie
4/23rd 25th Infantry Division ( Stryker)
2nd Tour Huey door gunner with the Robin Hoods
Tomahawks
66-68

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (4)

March 31, 2010

Father of Fallen US Marine Forced To Pay The Westboro Cult’s Court Costs ~ O'Reilly Said He Will Pay It

Bill O’Reilly announced last night on his show that he will pay the legal fee for the father of fallen US Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder who sued the Westboro cult after they picketed his son’s funeral. The father of Albert Snyder is being forced to pay the Westboro cult’s court costs.

Newmax

Bill O’Reilly said Tuesday that he will personally write a check to cover $16,500 in legal costs for the father of a fallen U.S. Marine who sued the members of a church who picketed his son’s funeral.

According to news reports, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church, located in Topeka, Kan., believe that God is punishing the United States because of its acceptance of gay people. The church garners attention for its views by protesting high-profile funerals.

On March 3, 2006, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder died in a non-combat related vehicle accident in Al Anbar province in Iraq.

“He was a hero and he was the love of my life,” said Albert Snyder, Matthew’s grieving father.

During the wake that was held after his son’s funeral, family members turned on the television to view coverage of the massive procession involving over 1,500 persons. They saw the church members waving signs and protesting the funeral.

“I just stood there in shock,” Albert Snyder told O’Reilly in November 2007.

“I couldn’t believe that somebody would do that to somebody else. I mean, I didn’t know what to say.

“Finally, somebody yelled, ‘Turn off the television.’ But I just stood there in shock. I can’t believe there’s somebody that would actually do that to soldiers.”

On Tuesday’s The O’Reilly Factor, however, the host stepped forward.

“That is an outrage,” he said. “I will pay Mr. Snyder’s obligation. I am not going to let this injustice stand.”

Died March 03, 2006 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom 20, of Finksburg, Md.; assigned to Combat Service Support Group 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died March 3 from a non-combat-related vehicle accident in Anbar province, Iraq.

Marine's father ordered to pay Westboro's court costs

The father of a Marine who gave his life for his country in Iraq is being forced to pay the Westboro cult’s court costs.

The Baltimore Sun

Lawyers for the father of a Marine who died in Iraq and whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters say a court has ordered him to pay the protesters’ appeal costs.

On Friday, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered that Albert Snyder of York, Pa., pay costs associated with Fred Phelps’ appeal. Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, which conducted protests at the funeral of Snyder’s son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, in Westminster in 2006.

Lawyers for Snyder say the Court of Appeals has ordered him to pay $16,510.80 to Phelps for costs relating to the appeal, despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the Court of Appeals’ decision.

They say that Snyder is also struggling to come up with fees associated with filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We are extremely disappointed,” said Sean E. Summers, an attorney for Snyder. He added that the U.S. Supreme Court will likely hear the case during its October term and make a decision in June of next year.

“The Court of Appeals certainly could have waited until the Supreme Court made its decision,” Summers added. “There was no hardship presented by Phelps.”

Summers said there is no timetable for when the costs must be paid, but if his client doesn’t have the money when Phelps requests payment the matter would go into collections. Snyder could lose his property or his wages, Summers said.

The high court agreed earlier this month to consider whether the protesters' message is protected by the First Amendment or limited by the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners.

From Wikipedia

“On March 10, 2006, WBC picketed the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, who died in a helicopter crash in Iraq. On June 5, 2006, the Snyder family sued Fred Phelps, WBC, and unnamed others for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.[74] On October 31, 2007, WBC, Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis, were found liable for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A federal jury awarded Snyder’s father $2.9 million in compensatory damages, then later added a decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and an additional $2 million for causing emotional distress (A total of $10. 9 million).[75][76] The organization said it wouldn’t change its message because of the verdict.

The lawsuit named Albert Snyder, father of Matthew Snyder, as the plaintiff and Fred W. Phelps, Sr.; Westboro Baptist Church, Inc.; Rebekah Phelps-Davis; and Shirley Phelps-Roper as defendants, alleging that they were responsible for publishing defamatory information about the Snyder family on the Internet, including statements that Albert and his wife had “raised [Matthew] for the devil” and taught him “to defy his Creator, to divorce, and to commit adultery.” Other statements denounced them for raising their son Catholic. Snyder further complained the defendants had intruded upon and staged protests at his son’s funeral. The claims of invasion of privacy and defamation arising from comments posted about Snyder on the Westboro website were dismissed on First Amendment grounds, but the case proceeded to trial on the remaining three counts.

Albert Snyder, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, testified:

They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family. They wanted their message heard and they didn’t care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside.

In his instructions to the jury U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett stated that the First Amendment protection of free speech has limits, including vulgar, offensive and shocking statements, and that the jury must decide “whether the defendant’s actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection.” See also Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, a case where certain personal slurs and obscene utterances by an individual were found unworthy of First Amendment protection, due to the potential for violence resulting from their utterance.

WBC sought a mistrial based on alleged prejudicial statements made by the judge and violations of the gag order by the plaintiff’s attorney. An appeal was also sought by the WBC. WBC has said that it is thankful for the verdict.

On February 4, 2008, Bennett upheld the ruling but reduced the punitive damages from $8 million to $2.1 million. The total judgment then stood at $5 million. Court liens were ordered on church buildings and Phelps’ law office in an attempt to ensure that the damages were paid. [77]

An appeal by WBC was heard on September 24, 2009. The federal appeals court ruled in favor of Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church, stating that their picket near the funeral of Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder is protected speech and did not violate the privacy of the service member’s family, reversing the lower court’s $5 million judgment.[78]

Wild Thing's comment........

Good for O'Reilly he did something right for a change.

The family sued Phelps and gang, and Phelps lost. An appeal turned it around, so that now the family that originally sued lost -- and has to pay for Phelps costs.

There is a special hell for the Phelps and others like them.

If you like you can send the family an email address below

And this is the family's website

http://www.matthewsnyder.org/

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (9)

March 29, 2010

Open Arms Await Fort Hood Troops

As Laird arrives on base she goes through a secured gate, and gets out of her SUV to hug soldiers Spc. Christopher Robles, center and Sgt. Randy DeWitt, left.

Open arms await Fort Hood troops

Since June 2003, Elizabeth Laird has greeted nearly every soldier in transit between Texas post and the battlefield.

statesman.com

FORT HOOD

Across the tarmac they come, four dozen war-weary soldiers who have just flown for 18 hours from the sands of the Middle East.

Single file they march from the chartered Boeing 757 to the military airfield terminal, sunshine reflecting off their dark glasses.

They wear digital camo and tan boots. They grip M-16 rifles cleared of ammo. They carry backpacks and extra bags.

This quiet procession heading back to American life snakes up the stairs to the door of the terminal.

Across the threshold waits a tiny, gray-haired woman.

She is about to interrupt the military's regimented universe, in which crisp salutes are standard greeting and a firm handshake is about as informal as it gets.

She wears a floral blouse, an ankle-length red skirt and black Ugg boots. She clasps her hands. She sports a yellow ribbon in her waist-length hair.

She sees a bit of herself in these young soldiers who have seen and felt so much. Life has tested her, too. She knows what it's like to feel alone in a big world.

Sgt. Michael Flanders is the first to hit the doorway.

The woman's arms lift and stretch toward him. He leans down, holding his assault rifle and bag off to the side so they don't bump.

She is all of 4 feet 10 inches tall. He is 5 feet 11 inches tall.

They embrace.

"Welcome home," she says.

"Thank you, ma'am," he says.

"It is amazing to see her again," he says later.

This woman is no stranger to the soldiers. They have seen her before. She was here when they deployed from Fort Hood last year.

Elizabeth Laird is the official Fort Hood Hug Lady.

The Fort Hood airport is her home away from home. It doesn't matter whether a plane filled with soldiers is taking off or coming home. It doesn't matter whether the plane leaves at 3:30 a.m. or arrives at 3:30 p.m.

The Hug Lady is here.

She wraps her arms around deploying soldiers before they board a plane and around returning soldiers just after they deplane. She is a one-woman welcome wagon and one-person goodbye party.

She takes over at the airfield after soldiers have said goodbye to their families at an official ceremony on the main post. When they come home, she's the warm-up act before the big, patriotic ceremony in a gym where soldiers reunite with their families.

The Hug Lady, who has her own official Fort Hood business card, has been embracing soldiers since June 2003, just three months after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. She had been going to the airfield terminal as a Salvation Army volunteer. One day, a soldier hugged her. She hugged him back, and then she hugged another soldier, and another.

Soon after, Fort Hood's then-command sergeant major, Joe Gainey, saw her in action. "I want you to hug every soldier going and coming," he told her. He even bought her a package of Huggies baby wipes as a gag gift.

She has hugged at least 500,000 soldiers in almost seven years, Fort Hood estimates.

"If I can bring a smile to their face, if I can lift their spirits a bit, if I can let them know we care," she says, "it's my way of saying 'thank you for what you do.'\u2009"

Sometimes her gig takes only a few minutes. One recent afternoon, 48 soldiers from the Wyoming Army National Guard arrived. It took only six minutes to give all of them hugs.

But the Hug Lady stayed on, waiting for the last soldier, who had been assigned to keep an eye on the luggage as it was unloaded from the plane.

Sgt. Justin Gydesen finally made it into the terminal long after his comrades had left the building.

The Hug Lady was there for him, of course.

The Hug Lady is not going to abandon a soldier. The pain of separation is something she has known. She toughs it out and smiles through her pain. Resilience shows in her laughter, which comes out as a series of giggles.

Soldiers don't have time to stop and chat. If they could, they might learn this:

Laird is 78, a mother of four, grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother of seven.

She grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in Birmingham, Ala., embarrassed by the homemade feed sack clothing she had to wear to school. Her father wanted a son, and her mother, at times, was emotionally distant. She felt unwanted.

She graduated high school at 16 and moved to New York City. At 17, she got a job at a research institute on Madison Avenue.

She joined the Air Force at 18 and ended up at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. She married, but divorced her husband after he cheated on her. Then she discovered she was pregnant.

She left the Air Force, moved back in with her parents and married the former Marine who lived across the street. They had three children, and he adopted the son fathered by her first husband.

In 1964, she moved alone to the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois to study computer programming while her husband cared for the children. The long-distance separation ended her second marriage, and she moved around the country with her children to various military installations and private computer companies.

She married a third time in 1969. The late Ray Laird had been in her computer class at Rock Island. Together, they ran an income tax preparation office in Copperas Cove for decades.

Her tax business is called Have Pen Will Travel.

She has two dogs, 27 cats and six birds. She also feeds 60 or so wild pigeons in the parking lot of her office twice a day.

She is a vegan who listens to Rush Limbaugh.

She hasn't cut her hair for 40 years.

Ray Laird died suddenly from a blood clot on Jan. 10, 2008. They had been married for 38 years.

He was buried in the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery next to Fort Hood. After the service, she got in her Suburban and drove to the airfield to meet an incoming flight. She got to the doorway just as the first soldier came through.

Nine days after her husband died, her eldest daughter, Linda, died of breast cancer in Alabama. Laird's grief was immeasurable.

"In a way it was better because you can only hurt so much," she says. "I think it was God's plan. The pain for both of them was so intense. It was good that it went together rather than getting over one and then being hit with a second one."

Hugs can heal. Hugs keep her going.

On a recent morning, she locks up her tax office and steps onto the running board of her 1999 white Suburban. She's too short to reach the seat without this boost. She drives 11 miles to the Fort Hood airfield and stops, as required, at the guard shack at the gate.

"You want your hugs today?" she asks the two guards on duty.

She climbs out of the Suburban and hugs Sgt. Randy DeWitt, who has to shift his M-4 carbine to the side.

"I always remember the sweet faces," he says.

Spc. Christopher Robles comes to get a hug, too.

Then she's back on her way to the terminal.

Have hugs will travel.

Wild Thing's comment........

Awesome! I LOVE stories like this. What a wonderful lady she is!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (5)

Obama's Trip to Afghanistan

Obama flew into Afghanistan's capital Sunday on an unannounced visit, his first trip as president to a country where tens of thousands of new U.S. troops are being deployed this year.

He’s looking for support among the “moderate Tal-i-ban.”

Obama attacks Bush every chance he gets, and this time he does it while making a surprise visit to Afghanistan.

The troops despise this creature.. He’s not going to get the hero’s welcome that Bush always got.

And for YOU Democrats that lurk here, you will say that Obama didn’t mean Bush or Iraq in his statement. Then I ask you, why make the comparison of ‘America trying to spread it’s influence’ or ‘wanting to meddle in someone else’s business’? He could have simply avoided the comparison and just pointed out the attack on 9/11 is the reason we are fighting this war. But no, he had to take another jab at Bush, as he always does.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (4)

March 27, 2010

Lawmakers: Navy and Marines Facing Larger Than Expected Fighter Jet Shortfall

Lawmakers: Navy and Marines facing larger than expected fighter jet shortfall

The Hill

The Navy and Marine Corps face a much larger shortfall of fighter jets than expected, four senior members of the House Armed Services Committee warned Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

In a letter to Gates, the lawmakers said Pentagon assumptions of a shortfall of 100 fighter jets are “too optimistic.”

Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) signed the letter along with ranking Republican Rep. Buck McKeon (Calif.). Two other panel members with jurisdiction over Navy programs, Reps. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) and Todd Akin (R-Mo.), also signed the letter to Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The four lawmakers questioned the assumptions underlying the Pentagon’s calculations as well as its ability to fund efforts to tamp down the shortfall.

“We were concerned to learn that the shortfall of 100 aircraft, referenced in your testimony, is based on a number of optimistic assumptions and is only reached after several management efforts have been implemented,” the four lawmakers wrote to Gates in the March 12 letter. “Of great concern is the fact the shortfall number you mentioned is contingent on actions that are not included in either the FY 2011 budget request or the future years defense program.”

The shortfall of 100 jets comes from testimony Gates gave to the committee. He also said that number could go lower as a result of management efforts.

The lawmakers’ prodding comes as the Pentagon mulls whether to enter a new multiyear contract with Boeing for the F/A 18 E/F Super Hornets — the latest version of the carrier-based jets. Boeing has strong congressional backing for another multi-year contract.

The Pentagon is also experiencing trouble with the high-stakes F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program — the most expensive program to date and one that Gates is banking on.

The F-35 is facing significant cost overruns and schedule delays. The F-35 is supposed to replace the older versions of the F-18. Super Hornets, the newest version of the F-18, are supposed to share carrier deck space with the F-35 until 2030.

In order to manage the looming fighter jet shortfall, the Pentagon is eyeing efforts to extend the life of 150 older Hornets and reduce the number of aircraft in expeditionary squadrons.

In their letter to Gates, House lawmakers argue that the life extension of the Hornets, estimated at $3.5 billion, is not funded in the Pentagon’s budget, while the reduction of the aircraft in expeditionary squadrons cannot be done until the demand for these aircraft diminishes in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

“When combined these assumptions and unfunded levers mean that the true shortfall facing the Department of the Navy is likely to be significantly greater than 100 aircraft,” the lawmakers concluded. “The strike fighter capacity of our Navy and Marine Corps is a strategic asset that should not be allowed to wither.”

Wild Thing's comment........

Obama hates our military and he could care less how much power to fight the enemy our troops are given.

The Navy and Marine Corps face a much larger shortfall of fighter jets than expected, four senior members of the House Armed Services Committee warned Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

In cradle-to-grave welfare states, the military is not a priority - just look at Europe.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (9)

A-10 Warthogs in Action Over Kandahar

On the Kandahar airstrip, pilots Murphy and Eddins are ready to roll in an A-10 Warthog, one of the more agile planes at the Air Force's disposal.

Today, Lt Col Murphy’s 30mm cannon is loaded with 1,150 rounds. The 30mm can destroy tanks, but believe it or not, typically will not penetrate the walls around Afghan homes. When the 30mm fires, it’s almost unbelievable. The bullets don’t fly in a laser-like stream, but sort of spray in a lethal mist, as if the cannon is shot-painting a swath with huge bullets. If the enemy is in the open, the cannon is like a weapon of mass destruction. When people are hit with M-16 bullets, the wound is often more like a couple small holes, but when bodies get hit with weapons this large, they fly in pieces.

A-10 Warthogs in Action Over Kandahar

By Michael Yon

FOXNews.com

As two pilots geared up to fly from Kandahar to neighboring Helmand to support a British unit, Michael Yon takes an up-close look at the fantastically agile and advanced A-10 Warthog.

Two pilots were gearing up to fly from Kandahar to neighboring Helmand to support a British unit in "Warthogs" -- the A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter that's popular with the Air Force. Warthogs are slow—not supersonic—but fantastically agile. They dart like dragonflies and seem to change direction against the laws of physics.

The A-10s can turn so fast that they break the laws of healthy physiology, and can cause a pilot to pass out and crash his airplane. And so pilots wear G-suits to help counter adverse fluid dynamics. Michael Yon, former Green Beret and current war correspondent, was there to catch the action first-hand.

A-10s have more tricks than Harry Potter, writes Yon, such as the flares designed to lure heat-seeking missiles away from the engines. Over these battlefields, pilots often pop the flares as "we see you" warnings to the enemy. If the enemy is in the open and no civilians are around, they're unlikely to get a friendly flare warning, but sometimes it's better to hold off on the big weapons; the enemy might be fighting from a built-up area.

Yon watched Lt. Col Murphy gear up for flight in an A-10, its 30mm cannon loaded with 1,150 rounds. The 30mm can destroy tanks, but believe it or not, it typically won't penetrate the walls around Afghan homes. When the 30mm fires, it's almost unbelievable. The bullets don't fly in a laser-like stream, but sort of spray in a lethal mist, as if the cannon is shot-painting a swath with huge bullets. If the enemy is in the open, the cannon is like a weapon of mass destruction. When people are hit with M-16 bullets, the wound is often more like a couple of small holes, but when bodies get hit with weapons this large, they fly in pieces.

A-10 cannons are tilted down so that the pilot can fly level while strafing. This is important, Yon explains: In Mosul, in 2004, an F-14 was strafing downtown after a massive truck bombing. The pilot told me he was fixated on the target. Since the F-14 cannon is tilted up for "Top Gun" air combat, the pilot had to nose down the F-14 and was diving straight into the target -- and nearly crashed. The hard turn to avoid crashing damaged his aircraft and the pilot had difficulty landing on the aircraft carrier later that night. This doesn't happen in an A-10.

To find out more, and to view a series of wonderful photos direct from Kandahar, read the full story by Michael Yon.

A10 unleashes it's cannon - stand back!

Wild Thing's comment........

What a great aircraft!!!!!! Imagine the thought of those it’s directed . ERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

And this from Darth....

"GO Ugly Early Warthogs!" - Darth

....Thank you Darth for sending this to me.

Darth
U.S. Airforce
C-5 loadmaster
84-97

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)

March 26, 2010

Checking in With Our Awesome Troops ~ Alpha Company, 1st Battalion 6th Marines

1/6 Marines in Afghanistan USMC

Words of the Marine (mabryusmc) who made the video: "Bits and pieces of released footage I put together to give you a VERY VERY QUICK look into our lives. The Marines in this video are from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion 6th Marines. PLEASE NOTE that no one was injured in these videos. H/T Afghanistan

1st Battalion 6th Marines - 1/6 - Home sweet home..... in a pack! Afghanistan USMC Marines

"So after packing my gear I thought about what my father would think if I could show him the gear I have to carry around and live out of for "who knows how long". The people in the states for some reason have this idea of Marines sitting on large bases and eating at these nice chow halls.... have you forgot about the Marines with 1/6 who live in the dirt, dont have wireless internet, dont have showers, no phones to call their loved ones? The gear I show you in this video is the gear that these Marines lives depend on. Some carry more than others... some carry outstanding amounts of ammo, weapons, and grenades.... tons of weight while trying to fight their way through Afghanistan. This isnt Iraq, this isnt Camp Leatherneck.... the Marines of 1/6 are the most bad ass Marines in Afghan right now.

Wild Thing's comment.......

To those that have never served your country, in any of our branches of services. ....... as you watch this... think about how you would live out of a backpack in the mud and cold for weeks on end while carrying a ton of weight.... you think you can do what these guys do?"

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (3)

March 25, 2010

Colonel Allen West Answers Question About Muslim Terrorists

The question of Muslim terror was never so succinctly answered as here by Allen West. (Courtesy of The Hudson Institute's Reclaim American Liberty Conference).

Wild Thing's comment......

Please note the idiots sitting at the table that giggled and laughed and were totally unable to answer the Marine. This stands out as much as Col. West's GREAT reply. How disgusting that grown men like the others are sooooo weak, so limpy minded they cannot have the balls to take a stand and answer a question about our second enemy to our country! Obama and his ilk being our number one enemy.

God bless Col. Allen West!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (5)

March 23, 2010

Last Haditha Defendant Seeks to Dismiss Charges

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich

Last Haditha Defendant Seeks to Dismiss Charges

Newsmax

The story is also at FOX News so that is good. I would hate to think FOX had dropped their interest in this.This story and anything about these Marines should be in all the media and newspapers. Too many only want to be a part of it when it began. ~ Wild Thing

Eight Marines were charged in the biggest criminal case against U.S. troops to arise from the Iraq war. Six have had charges dismissed, and one was acquitted.

Whether the only remaining and perhaps highest-profile defendant stands trial may hinge on what happens this week in a military courtroom.

Lawyers for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich will ask a judge to dismiss charges against the former squad leader in a case involving the deaths of 24 Iraqi men, women and children in Haditha in November 2005, arguing that a general who oversaw the case was improperly influenced by an aide.

Wuterich, 30, is charged with voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice. He is currently assigned to administrative work at 1st Marine Division headquarters at Camp Pendleton.

Gen. James Mattis is expected to testify at the pretrial hearing Monday about his role in the case, which included bringing charges against Wuterich when he was commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command and 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

The four-star general was later promoted to commander of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and U.S. Joint Forces Command. He left the NATO post last year but still commands U.S. Joint Forces in Norfolk, Va.

A courtroom appearance is rare for such a high-ranking officer but Mattis has done it before in the Haditha case.

In 2008, a military judge dismissed charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani for failing to investigate the Haditha killings after deciding that Mattis had been unduly influenced by the aide.

"The trail basically has already been blazed," Neal Puckett, one of Wuterich's attorneys, said Sunday.

A Marine Corps spokesman, Lt. Col. David Griesmer, declined to comment on the government's case.

The defense argues Mattis was improperly influenced by Col. John Ewers, who investigated the killings and later became a top legal advisor to the general. Military policy prohibits Ewers from offering legal advice on Haditha because he was also an investigator in the case.

Mattis testified in 2008 that he never talked with Ewers about Haditha, although the aide was at meetings where the case was discussed.

Wuterich's case is before a different judge, Lt. Col. David Jones.

And, while Mattis brought charges in 2006, his successor, Gen. Samuel Helland, court-martialed Wuterich a year later after a preliminary hearing. In Chessani's case, Mattis brought charges and ordered the court-martial.

Wuterich's attorneys say Helland sat in on the same meetings as Mattis.

"(Helland) was probably in the same sort of information flow as Gen. Mattis," said Puckett, who predicts Helland may also testify. "It's going to be the judge's call whether that also taints him."

The deaths occurred after a roadside bomb hit a Marine convoy, killing the driver of a Humvee and wounding two other Marines.

Wuterich and a squad member allegedly shot five men by a car at the scene. Investigators say Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., then ordered his men to clear several houses with grenades and gunfire, leaving women and children among the dead.

At his preliminary hearing, Wuterich said he regretted the loss of civilian life in Haditha, but said he believed he was operating within military combat rules when he ordered his men to attack.

The pretrial hearing is scheduled to last up to one week.

Puckett said the judge has told attorneys he expected to rule by the end of this week. If the defense argument fails, attorneys for both sides have agreed to go to trial in September, he said.

Wild Thing's comment........

I can’t imagine being ‘wronged’ over this long of a period. September is not an option..end it now. Charges were brought 3 years 3 months ago and they were under investigation before that.

The continued persecution of Frank is an abomination.

Judge, Lt. Col. David Jones is the one to come through for SSgt. Wuterich.

There is also this from June of 2006:

Haditha Child: I Knew of Bomb Plot to Kill Marines

There were no "innocent" civilians in those houses at Haditha. The occupants were either insurgents or collaborators. They were either "with us or against us". Clearly, they were against us:

A 12-year old survivor of the alleged massacre of innocent civilians by U.S. Marines patrolling Haditha has admitted she had prior knowledge of the plot to detonate an IED as their convoy was passing by her house on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005.

In a CNN interview broadcast Wednesday, Safa Younis - who says eight members of her family were killed by U.S. troops - recalled that she was getting ready for school as the Marine Humvee approached.

"I was planning to go to school. I was about to go out of bed. I knew the bomb would explode so I covered my ears," the youngster said, according to a CNN translator. "The bomb [then] exploded," she explained. "The bomb struck an armored vehicle. I don't know if it was a Humvee or an armored vehicle. When the bomb exploded, they came straight to my house."

The "innocent" occupants of those houses knew about the impending deadly ambush and watched it happen. They chose to collaborate with terrorist insurgents, and those insurgents used them as human shields. Now look at them.... Que sera sera.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (7)

February 25, 2010

Air Force Bugbots Micro Air Vehicle (MAVs) buglike drones

The U.S. military has been working for a while on tiny, buglike drones — to serve as miniature flying spies, Defense Department robot-makers say. But this video, from the Air Force Research Laboratory, shows that the military is also interested in turning these "Micro Air Vehicles," or MAVs, into biomorphic weapons that can lie in secret for weeks at a time — and then strike an adversary with lethal accuracy.

"Individual MAVs may perform direct-attack missions," says the video's gravelly voiced narrator. "They can be equipped with incapacitation chemicals, combustible payloads or even explosives for precision-targeting capability."

Wild Thing's comment.....

This is awesome !! What a GREAT idea.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (6)

February 23, 2010

Journalist Bets He Can Endure 15 Seconds Of Waterboarding

Video has been removed by user at YouTube.

Playboy.com journalist Mike Guy underwent waterboarding by a trained member of the U.S. military in the site's new Lab Rat feature.

There is no permanent damage done... but the response is immediate. A much more humane and effective way to obtain critical intelligence quickly without brutalizing the prisoner. Sure beats electrocution, ripping off finger nails, acid showers, whippings/beatings, cutting off limbs, removing eyes & tongues, drilling out teeth, dislocating shoulders, burning, and other ways that the enemies of our freedom use.

Guy bet that he could endure 15 seconds of the interrogation technique used by the Bush administration on al Qaeda chief Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah

Wild Thing's comment.......

The enemy we’re facing is slightly more committed, fanatical, and tough than a journalist. I don't consider this to be torture.

KSM lasted 17 seconds and spilled his guts about everything to the interrogators. 17 seconds for a man committed to dying for his cause. The brilliance of water boarding is that it takes physiology into account along with the psychological fear of drowning.

We have been waterboarding close to 500 of our own troops and aviators annually for dozens of years during SERE training.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 08:48 AM | Comments (3)

February 20, 2010

Iwo Jima Vets Observe Battle's 65th Anniversary

Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Larry Snowden presents Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, with a war document he carried home from the Battle of Iwo Jima at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, Va., Feb. 19, 2010. The men spoke at a 65th anniversary commemoration of the battle.

Veterans and military leaders gathered February 19 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps to remember the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Iwo Jima Vets Observe Battle's 65th Anniversary

TRIANGLE, Va.,

Feb. 19, 2010

Dozens of veterans of the Battle of Iwo Jima and their families gathered at the National Museum of the Marine Corps here today to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the iconic World War II battle.

The battle for Iwo Jima – the first U.S. attack on Japanese soil – is memorialized worldwide by the famous Joe Rosenthal photo of five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi. Three of the six later were killed in battle.

“Iwo Jima was not the bloodiest or the longest battle” of World War II and “it probably was not even the most successful in the Pacific Island campaign,” Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, told the audience. “All that said, Iwo Jima occupies a place in our history like no other battle.”

Conway said he believes that’s a result of the determination, courage and sacrifice of the men who fought there, noting the “savagery” of the battle. “It was kill or be killed,” he said.

And that was true of both sides of the fighting, Conway said, noting a comment a Japanese lieutenant colonel made about the Americans during the battle: “They are relentless, and they fight with a mentality like they are exterminating insects.”

George Alden of Fort Worth, Texas, was a 20-year-old sergeant with 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division, when he stormed the volcanic ash beach in the first wave of U.S. troops onto Iwo Jima. The Japanese -- who with 21,000 troops had nearly three times more men than Alden and his unit expected -- had terraced the beach, making for an arduous climb for the troops who had no alternative but to move forward on the eight-square-mile island.

About 400 yards up the beach, Alden and his unit came upon a bunker. After taking charge of the action that demolished the bunker, Alden was seriously wounded on his left side by rifle fire. “I laid out in the open until almost dark,” he recalled.

Finally, a litter bearer approached the injured Alden. “They said they’d passed me four times thinking I was dead,” he said. They could not evacuate him until the next morning, leaving Alden and three of his comrades in a fox hole overnight.

Three days later, on the fifth day of the battle, Alden was aboard a hospital ship when a medic told him to look out the port hole over his bed. “That was when I saw the flag rising up above the smoke and haze,” he said, remembering the scene of Rosenthal’s famous photo.

Like others, Alden said, the image of the U.S. flag on the mountaintop made him think the battle soon would be over. In fact, it would last 31 more days, claiming 6,820 Americans dead or missing, and 19,000 wounded.

“We could not have guessed that Feb. 19, 1945, would start 36 of the most deadly days in the history of the Marine Corps and probably the most savage fighting we have ever engaged in,” Conway said.

For today’s Marines, Iwo Jima is the “gold standard,” the commandant said. “It drives us, it inspires us, and it gives us confidence” in training and preparedness, he said.

In the Iraq war, Conway said, a young Marine was asked about the possibility of U.S. troops wresting control of Fallujah from insurgents. “Of course we can take Fallujah,” Conway said the Marine replied. “We took Iwo Jima.”

Retired Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones, now President Barack Obama’s national security advisor, thanked the veterans for their service. “We honor your legacy for the lives you saved,” he said.

Jones said today’s Marines gain strength from the examples set by the veterans of Iwo Jima, and he asked the audience to keep today’s Marines in mind, especially those confronting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Ron “Rondo” Scharfe, an Iwo Jima veteran from Missoula, Mont., was 16 when he hit the Japanese island’s shores. “Our knees were shaking so bad we could barely stand up,” he said. “We didn’t know where the hell we were going. We were tight as rubber bands.”

Scharfe said he and his comrades crawled onto the beach, which already was smoking and “smelling like a junkyard” on the first day of battle. The Japanese “waited ‘til we got on the beach, then they opened up on us,” he said.

Scharfe survived nine days of Iwo Jima without serious injuries, before being sent to Okinawa. Today, he said, he thinks about the Marines in Afghanistan and thinks Iwo Jima was easier in at least one way. “At least we knew who the enemy was,” he said.

Retired Marine Corps Col. Harvey Barnum, a Medal of Honor recipient for heroism in Vietnam, said the courage of those on Iwo Jima was proven by the number of Medal of Honor recipients the battle yielded: 22 Marines and five sailors.

The commemoration of the battle is important for the veterans who remain, Barnum said.

“They’ve gotten older, but nothing has changed in their heart,” he said. “These people are all in their 80s, and they’ve come from all over the country to be here. But this will be the last time for many of them.”

Bill Toledo, Frank G. Willetto and Keith Little, Navajo code talkers, participate with other Iwo Jima veterans at a ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., Feb. 19, 2010. On Feb. 19, 1945, the United States launched its first assault against the Japanese at Iwo Jima, resulting in some of the fiercest fighting of World War II.

1945: US flag raised over Iwo Jima 2/23/1945

US troops have raised the Stars and Stripes over Iwo Jima four days after landing on the Japanese-held volcanic island.

The 28th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division took Mount Suribachi at 1030 local time.

The extinct volcano offers a strategic vantage point for the ongoing battle for control of the island.

Lying in the north-west Pacific Ocean 650 miles (1,045 kms) from Tokyo, Iwo Jima would serve as a useful base for long-range fighters to cover B-29 Superfortresses in a bombing campaign against the Japan’s capital.

Although the Stars and Stripes are flying over the island the battle is far from over and the Japanese are reported to be defending every inch of the island using elaborate underground defences.

The battle for Iwo Jima has been described as the toughest fight in US Marine history by the commander of the Marines in the Pacific, Lt-General M “Howling Mad” Smith.

On 19 February, after four days of naval and air bombardment had pounded the beaches and weakened Japanese defences, the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions landed on the south side of the island under the overall command of Vice-Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner.

After a day of little resistance, the enemy fought back in earnest.

Hidden in fortified caves and pillboxes linked by a series of tunnels they relentlessly attacked the Americans with artillery fire, grenades and other explosives as well as from the air.

The last 24 hours have seen the fiercest fighting yet with every step of the way up the mountain defended by the Japanese.

But by 1035 local time the Marines had reached the summit of Mt Suribachi.

Reporting from the US base in Guam, Admiral Chester W Nimitz said so far the battle had cost 5,372 casualties, including 644 dead, and that US carrier-based aircraft flying over the Bonin Islands north of Iwo Jima had destroyed three enemy planes.

Reuters news agency also reports Marines have finally reached the Japanese fighter-plane base in the centre of the island, which lies just 700 yards (640m) from the bomber airfield taken by the Americans two days ago.

In Context
The Japanese army and naval troops under Lt-General Kuribayashi Tadamichi fought to the death but the US Marines finally secured the whole island on 26 March in one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

Out of the 74,000 Marines that landed more than a third were killed or wounded.

The US then used the island to launch bombing raids on Japan.

The photograph of the US Marines raising the flag over Mount Suribachi was taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal and is one of the most famous images of the war. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1945.

A memorial based on the photo stands at Arlington Cemetery, Virginia.

Iwo Jima was returned to Japan in 1968.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Ron “Rondo” Scharfe, an Iwo Jima veteran from Missoula, Mont., was 16 when he hit the Japanese island’s shores. “Our knees were shaking so bad we could barely stand up,” he said. “We didn’t know where the hell we were going. We were tight as rubber bands.”

Wow 16 years old.

These true Americans heroes are leaving us so fast. I love to listen to them speaking about their past.

One Uncle was in the battle on Iwo Jima and all the other Islands, two uncles made D-day one to the beaches, the other dropped in with 101st Airborne. They have all passed away, but when they would talk about the war I woud sit with them and listen.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (9)

February 18, 2010

Afghan Official: Taliban Using Human Shields

Major Afghan assault claims first Taliban casualties

MARJAH, Afghanistan

Taliban insurgents are increasingly using civilians as human shields as they fight allied troops trying to take the militants' southern stronghold of Marjah, an Afghan official said Wednesday as military squads resumed painstaking house-to-house searches.

With the assault in its fifth day, insurgents are firing at Afghan troops from inside or next to compounds where women and children appear to have been ordered to stand on a roof or in a window, said Gen. Mohiudin Ghori, the brigade commander for Afghan troops in Marjah.

"Especially in the south of Marjah, the enemy is fighting from compounds where soldiers can very clearly see women or children on the roof or in a second-floor or third-floor window," Ghori said. "They are trying to get us to fire on them and kill the civilians."

The Marjah offensive is the biggest joint operation since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and is a major test of a retooled NATO strategy to focus on protecting civilians, rather than killing insurgents.

Ghori said troops have made choices either not to fire at the insurgents with civilians nearby or they have had to target and advance much more slowly in order to distinguish between militants and civilians as they go.

Even with such caution on both the NATO and Afghan side, civilians have been killed. NATO has confirmed 15 civilian deaths in the operation. Afghan rights groups say at least 19 have been killed.

In northern Marjah on Wednesday, U.S. Marines fanned out through poppy fields, dirt roads and side alleys to take control of a broader stretch of area from insurgents as machine gun fire rattled in the distance.

The Marines found several compounds that had primitive drawings on their walls depicting insurgents blowing up tanks or helicopters, a sign that Afghan troops say revealed strong Taliban support in the neighborhood.

Lt. Col. Brian Christmas, commander of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, said security has improved enough in northern Marjah for Afghan police to step in. Other Marine units have taken control over main locations in the center of town.

"Bringing in the Afghan police frees up my forces to clear more insurgent zones," Christmas said.

Combat engineers were building a fortified base at the entrance of town for the police, who are expected to arrive Thursday.

Afghan police chosen for the task in Marjah were selected from other regions of the country instead of Helmand province, Marine officials said, in order to avoid handing over day-to-day security to officers who may have tribal or friendship ties to the Taliban.

A day earlier, Marines and Afghan forces moving by land from the north had succeeded in linking up with U.S. units that have faced nearly constant Taliban attack in the four days since they were dropped by helicopter into this insurgent stronghold.

The linkup between the two Marine rifle companies and their Afghan army partners will enable the U.S. to expand its control in Marjah, about 380 miles southwest of Kabul.

A top Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Razaq Akhund, dismissed the offensive as NATO propaganda and said on the group's Web site that Marjah was militarily insignificant.

Four NATO service members have been killed in the Marjah operation. An American and a Briton were killed on Saturday, while two others whose nationalities were not identified were killed Tuesday. One Afghan soldier also died Tuesday, Afghan officials said.

The Marines and Afghan troops "saw sustained but less frequent insurgent activity" in Marjah on Wednesday, limited mostly to small-scale attacks, NATO said in a statement.

Marine officials have said that Taliban resistance has started to seem more disorganized than in the first few days of the assault, when small teams of insurgents swarmed around Marine and Afghan army positions firing rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Troops are encountering less fire from mortars and RPGs than at the start of the assault, suggesting that the insurgents may have depleted some of their reserves or that the heavier weapons have been hit, Ghori said.

Nevertheless, Taliban have not given up. Insurgent snipers hiding in haystacks in poppy fields have exchanged fire with Marines and Afghan troops in recent days as they swept south.

Insurgents tried but failed to shoot down an Osprey aircraft with rocket-propelled grenades as Cobra attack helicopters fired missiles at Taliban positions, including a machine gun bunker.

NATO said it has reinstated use of a high-tech rocket system that it suspended after two rockets hit a house on the outskirts of Marjah on Sunday, killing 12 people, including at least five children.

The military coalition originally said the missiles went hundreds of yards off target but said Tuesday that it determined that the rockets hit the intended target.

Afghan officials said three Taliban fighters were in the house at the time.

Violence and NATO strikes have continued elsewhere in the country.

In neighboring Kandahar province, four Afghan policemen were killed and four others were wounded when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb on Tuesday, the Afghan Interior Ministry said.

And in the east, NATO said it killed more than a dozen insurgents in an airstrike near the Pakistani border.

Wild Thing's comment.......

"The Taliban Is Using Human Shields"

The Traitor-in-Chief told them to with his "rules of disengagement."

OBAMA is getting more of OUR troops killed. Our soldiers are dying due to this insnane ROE !

From a New York Times article: “Troops: Strict War Rules Slow Afghan Offensive "

February 15, 2010

“MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) — Some American and Afghan troops say they’re fighting the latest offensive in Afghanistan with a handicap — strict rules that routinely force them to hold their fire. “

Although details of the new guidelines are classified to keep insurgents from reading them, U.S. troops say the Taliban are keenly aware of the restrictions.

''I understand the reason behind it, but it's so hard to fight a war like this,'' said Lance Cpl. Travis Anderson, 20, of Altoona, Iowa. ''They're using our rules of engagement against us,'' he said, adding that his platoon had repeatedly seen men drop their guns into ditches and walk away to blend in with civilians.

If a man emerges from a Taliban hideout after shooting erupts, U.S. troops say they cannot fire at him if he is not seen carrying a weapon -- or if they did not personally watch him drop one.

What this means, some contend, is that a militant can fire at them, then set aside his weapon and walk freely out of a compound, possibly toward a weapons cache in another location. It was unclear how often this has happened. In another example, Marines pinned down by a barrage of insurgent bullets say they can't count on quick air support because it takes time to positively identify shooters.

''This is difficult,'' Lance Cpl. Michael Andrejczuk, 20, of Knoxville, Tenn., said Monday. ''We are trained like when we see something, we obliterate it. But here, we have to see them and when we do, they don't have guns.''

more of my comment........

All the enemy has to do is drop their gun and they are “civilians”?? They can’t even be detained? AND a civilian who permits a terrorist killer to "blend in" with him is not an "innocent" civilian.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (8)

February 17, 2010

Marines Face Fierce Resistance in Afghan Assault

Troops Mass Ahead of Afghan Onslaught

from CNN

Marines push 'The Breacher' against Taliban lines....this is known as the Assault Breacher Vehicle It is used to plow out the IED's.

Another VIDEO

Marines from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines

Marines face fierce resistance in Afghan assault

MARJAH, Afghanistan

Military cancels detainee interview in Navy SEAL case

U.S. Marines leading one of NATO's biggest offensives against Taliban Islamic militants in Afghanistan are facing fierce resistance in some areas, bogged down by heavy gunfire, snipers and booby traps.

Marine units have tried twice since Sunday to reach a bazaar in Marjah, the last militant stronghold in the country's most violent province, Helmand, only to be pushed back.

Coming under heavy gunfire and sniper attacks -- one assault lasted over an hour -- they were forced to call in Harrier jets and attack helicopters with Hellfire missiles.

There have been conflicting assessments of how much progress NATO has made, but it seemed clear that the campaign to seize insurgent-held areas before a planned 2011 troop reduction could drag on for weeks.

"We are making steady progress, but being very methodical about detecting and clearing routes in an area heavily saturated with IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)," Marine Capt. Abraham Sipe told Reuters in reply to an e-mail, adding that counts of militants killed or captured would not be provided.

"In many parts of Marjah, we have seen very little opposition. There are areas where Marines have met with stiff resistance, but they are making steady progress throughout the area."

The assault, one of the biggest in the eight-year war, is the first test of U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, where the Taliban have made a steady comeback since a U.S.-led invasion ousted them in 2001.

The Marines' efforts to close in on Taliban snipers in Marjah's bazaar came a day after the compound the U.S. troops are holding in the heart of the town was attacked several times, showing the Taliban are not confined to one area.

Afghanistan is a top foreign policy issue for Obama so failure here could be seen as damaging to his presidency.

Much of the operation's success in Helmand province depends on whether the administration wins residents' trust and Afghan troops are able to keep the Taliban from returning.

ARMY TRAINING CRUCIAL

"Looking to the day when we leave Afghanistan requires a government with a police and security force with the strength to deal with the Taliban. Training of the army is the most critical part of our long-term policy there," said U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke.

Speaking to a U.S.-Islamic Forum in Doha, Qatar, he added: "Security has to be the first criteria as we help the Afghans rebuild their nation."

Afghan officials said on Sunday that as many as 35 militants had been killed in the first two days of the offensive.

Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf, citing reports from Helmand, said in a statement on the group's website that its fighters had repulsed attacks by NATO troops on Monday.

NATO and the Afghan government's credibility rests on limiting civilian casualties, and NATO commanders told Marjah residents to stay at home during the offensive.

NATO rockets killed 12 civilians by accident on Sunday in the attack on Marjah, a farming area criss-crossed by canals, a breeding ground for insurgents and lucrative opium poppy cultivation, which Western countries say funds the insurgency.

Three Afghan civilians were accidentally killed in separate incidents during the offensive, NATO said. On two occasions the civilians ignored warnings to stop approaching NATO positions.

It also said that a NATO airstrike on suspected insurgents in Kandahar province, not part of the current offensive, had accidentally killed five civilians and wounded two.

Showing the dangers of fighting an unpredictable enemy, Helmand Province Governor Gulab Mangal said three would-be suicide bombers were gunned down on Sunday while trying to blow themselves up among troops.

The offensive is going as expected, he told a news conference. "The forces are extending their advances from points they have captured and the operation is going on successfully," he told a news conference.

The Taliban could not be reached for comment on Monday.

But in a statement on the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal of defeated Soviet troops from Afghanistan, after battling Western-backed mujahideen fighters for nearly a decade, the Taliban said: "The current occupiers of Afghanistan, like the Red Army, will face defeat.

"Twenty years after the defeat of the Red Army, today Obama, also in Afghanistan, has given one-and-a-half years to the commander of foreign invaders, (NATO Commander U.S. General Stanley) McChrystal, to prove his success against the Islamic Emirate."

Key Taliban Commander Mullah Baradar Captured in Pakistan

And this is the report on the capture of key Taliban Commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Pakistan as the result of a secret operation carried out by U.S. and Pakistani operatives. Baradar is second only to Taliban Leader Mullah Omar, and was captured in Karachi about a week ago. He is reportedly now cooperating with authorities and providing intelligence.

Wild Thing's comment........

Please keep all our brave warriors in your prayers.

WAR UPDATE: Afghan and Allied Forces Begin to Secure Taliban Stronghold
Summary as of February 13
-5 confirmed enemy killed. More enemy casualties likely from air strikes, but not confirmed (Taliban often hides bodies and does not advertise casualties for propaganda purposes)
-One of Marjah’s bazaars has been secured
-Multiple and ongoing air strikes have been reported
-Marines are clearing landmines and booby-traps

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (5)

SAS and SEALs Take Out 50 Taliban

The joint attacks with US special forces over the past two weeks have helped prepare the ground for the biggest battle in Afghanistan yet - when 4,000 British troops will go into action.

Special forces dealt the deadly blow to the Taliban by taking out scores of their top field commanders in the build-up to the massive offensive.

SAS men and US Navy SEAL teams killed the 50 insurgent leaders in a series of dramatic covert operations deep inside southern Afghanistan's Helmand badlands.

Their objective was to destroy the Taliban command structure - and military sources labelled the daring raids "a great success".

Precise details remain a secret but it is known that the elite forces spearheaded a "shaping operation" to soften-up the enemy before the biggest offensive since the conflict began in 2001 is launched.

Other British units have also been heavily engaged in the operations to disrupt the Taliban.

Scots Guards uncovered a bomb-making factory and destroyed more than 20 deadly devices.

Grenadier Guards pushed south, hunting for insurgents.

But the Taliban fled rather than fight, leaving booby traps behind.

The Grenadiers left the way clear for dozens of local Afghan National Army and police to flood in and begin the process of bringing security to the district.

Major Jim Green, one of the Grenadier officers who planned the shaping operation, told The Sun: "This phase was all about putting the insurgents on the back foot.

"The lads down there have done some incredible things. This has been a great success. It was an operation to free the local people from the Taliban's grip."

Meticulous planning stretching back weeks would have gone into the SAS raids which struck the first blow against the Taliban - and put fear in their hearts.

Patrols of around four men would have used the tried and tested "find, fix, strike" method to locate and destroy their prey.

Their tactics are veiled in secrecy. But they would have moved by night, covering their tracks as they went. Then they would strike with lethal force before vanishing to seek new targets.

The full allied assault, labelled Operation Moshtarak, will involve up to 15,000 troops - at least 4,000 of them British.

Fighting in the Taliban- controlled Nad e-Ali area of Helmand is expected to be ferocious.

Insurgents have even hung from trees blood-stained uniforms discarded by British troops as a taunting warning.

Major Green said the presence of British troops alongside Afghan National Army soldiers in operations so far was welcomed by people living in the insurgent stronghold.

And when the big assault gets under way, a similar tactic will be used, with Our Boys and Afghan forces going in side by side.

This is the first time Afghan troops have been engaged with the international force on such a scale.

Commanders hope it will help reassure locals in Taliban hotspots that their ordeal is almost over.

So many helicopters and transport planes are now using the air base there that it is officially busier than Essex's Stansted Airport, an RAF officer revealed.

Squadron Leader John Parfitt is Senior Air Traffic Control Officer at the base.

And when the generals give the order for the big push to start, he and his colleagues will co-ordinate helicopter movements in and out of Camp Bastion.

He said: "We currently have more than 550 movements a day.

"And during the op we will see a surge in movements. It will be the busiest day of our careers."

He described the mood as "businesslike but confident".

THE Taliban's leader in Pakistan did die of wounds received in a US missile attack on his stronghold in Waziristan last month, Interior Minister Rehman Mali said yesterday.

Ruthless Hakimullah Mehsud, 28, was behind bomb attacks that have killed more than 600 people.

Wiild Thing's comment........

Good. Shooting them keeps the SEALS from being prosecuted by Holder and Obama if a terrorists complains of a fat lip.

Wild Thing's Miranda warnings .

We have the right to make you remain silent, forever. Anything we have in our arsenal can and will be used against you in a firefight. You have the right to a hellish journey. If you are afraid to make that journey, one will be appointed to you. We don’t care if you understand these rights as they have been dealt to you?

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (3)

February 15, 2010

Lt Col Peters on Biden's Iraq Comments

Lt Col Peters on Biden's Iraq Comments: "He's All Gun Powder, No Bullets. He's Like the Crazy Uncle"

Lt. Col. Ralph Peters responding to Joe Biden saying that Iraq will be one of Obama's greatest achievements, while at the same time accusing Dick Cheney of rewriting history.

Peters: "This is crazy, here's Biden saying Cheney can't re-write history and my god, Biden just claimed that Iraq is gonna be one of Obama's great achievements, if that's not re-writing history, I don't know what is but at the end of the day, it doesn't pay too get wired up about anything the Vice President says, Joe Biden, he's a decent guy but he's all gunpowder, no bullets. He's like the crazy uncle in the family that sits around the holiday dinner table and always says something wacky and the rest of the family just rolls their eyes and keeps eating, you gotta kinda treat it like that"

"Even after the surge had been an obvious operational success, Biden was still claiming the summer after the surge that it was a failure, and that mattered. Because it's not just politics, it's undercutting our troops, it's giving our enemies ammunition to believe that we're failing"

Wild Thing's comment........

Joe Biden, Gibbs and Obama are creating a massive Karma bomb for themselves that’s inevitably gonna drop on their heads.

Thank you Lt.Col. Peters.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (3)

February 12, 2010

Outright LIARS Joe Biden and Robert Gibbs TRY to Take Credit For Success In Iraq

Robert Gibbs Tells White House Press Corps That Obama Administration Saved Iraq

Robert Gibbs yesterday tried to take credit for the success in Iraq even though both Biden* and Obama voted against the successful surge that stabilized the country. That’s not all. Biden caused rioting and protests when he pushed legislation to divide Iraq into three countries. Barack Obama told supporters in 2007 that, “Preventing a potential genocide in Iraq isn’t a good enough reason to keep U.S. forces there.”

And as if that is not bad enough others are saying similar things. GRRRRRR

First we need to remember that In 2007 both Barack Obama and Joe Biden continually spoke out against the Bush troop surge in Iraq.

Joe Biden took credit for Iraq.

Joe Biden said the day before

......." On January 16, 2007, Chuck Hagel, Delaware Democrat Joe Biden (Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair), and Michigan Democrat Carl Levin (Armed Services Committee chair) co-sponsored a non-binding resolution that says it is “not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq.”

Speaking at Camp Lejeune on February 27, 2009, Barack Obama talked about the success of our efforts in Iraq which he and the Democratic Party tried to undermine on a daily basis.

But that was 2007. This last Wednesday, Feb. 10th, 2010, Vice President Joe Biden was on with Larry King. During the conversation Vice President Biden, a cut-and-runner, said that Iraq was one of the great accomplishments of the Obama Administration.

BIDEN:

Well, you’ve heard me say that for the last 10 years. I think it’s the — it’s a big country. It has nuclear weapons that are able to be deployed. It has a real significant minority of radicalized population. It is — it is not a completely functional democracy in the sense we think about it. And so it’s — it — that’s my greatest concern.

I am very optimistic about — about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You’re going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer.

You’re going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government. I spent — I’ve been there 17 times now. I go about every two months — three months. I know every one of the major players in all the segments of that society.

It’s impressed me. I’ve been impressed how they have been deciding to use the political process rather than guns to settle their differences.

In 2007 candidate Barack Obama said that, “The United States cannot use its military to solve humanitarian problems and that preventing a potential genocide in Iraq isn’t a good enough reason to keep U.S. forces there.”

Then by Joe Biden:

What happens after we surge these women and men? ... General Petraeus ... may be the only one who believes this is a good idea! Virtually, no one else think it's a good idea! — Joe Biden, March 14, 2007

The first thing I'm going to do is veto that bill [for surge money] and I'm going to take out that money for those MRAPs, those vehicles to save lives over there. ... I gotta kid going over there ... the idea that we're not building new Humvees with the V-shaped thing is just crap, man! Kids are dying that don't have to die. The second thing we're going to do is shove it down his throat. — Joe Biden, April 27, 2007

[General Patraeus is] dead, flat wrong [about trying the surge]. The fact of the matter is that there is ... this idea of the security gains we made have had no impact on the underlying sectarian dynamic. None. None whatsoever. Can anybody envision a central government made up of Sunni, Shi'a, and Kurds that's going to gain the trust and respect of 27 million Iraqis? There have been some tactical gains, but they have no ultimate bearing at this point on the prospect of there being a political settlement in Iraq that would allow American troops to come home without leaving chaos behind. — Joe Biden on "Meet the Press," September 9, 2007

Now by Joe Biden:

I'm very optimistic about about Iraq, and this can be one of the great achievements of this administration. You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the, uh, end of the summer. You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government. — Joe Biden on Larry King Live, February 10, 2010

Wild Thing's comment.......

Wow, just WOW...they truly think no one cares about the truth. Talk about grasping at straws...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

These people make me sick! They not only lie but they also never give the troops creidt either. I can't stand this BS!

Biden did not elaborate on what all the administration’s other “great achievements” were so far so I will.

1) Record gun and ammo sales
2) The rise of tea Parties
3) The Russians eagerly awaiting to pounce on Eastern Europe
4) record National debt that would make members of Gamblers Anonymous blush
5) setting back racial relations back 20 years with the Cambridge incident.

Soon to come:

1) Pakistan implodes
2) China dictates our foreign policy
3) 12$ a gallon of gas after Iran goes nuclear and USES IT.

..... Thank you Richard for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (13)

February 11, 2010

Military Cancels Detainee Interview in Navy SEAL Case

The military has canceled the deposition of an alleged terrorist mastermind who claimed that he was assaulted by the military following his capture last year. The law firm Puckett and Faraj, representing Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe, made the announcement on Sunday.

Major General Charles Cleveland, the convening authority for the upcoming special courts-martial for three of the Navy SEALs involved in the operation, has decided to cancel the trip to Iraq to depose Ahmed Hashim Abed. Since the SEALs have a Constitutional right to confront their accuser in court, the alleged terrorist’s statements won’t be used as evidence for the case.

Abed, who is still in U.S. custody, is believed to be the al Qaeda mastermind behind the 2004 Fallujah ambush where four U.S. private security contractors were killed and their bodies mutilated. According to court documents, he claimed that he received what amounted to a punch in the stomach while in U.S. custody.

The prosecution’s case against the SEALs appears weak. For instance al Qaeda’s training manual states that once captured, members should claim torture and abuse. In addition Abed was initially detained at an Iraqi facility, which presents a chain of custody issue. Complicating matters further, the military has not released any corroborating evidence, such as medical records or photographs, and the sailor who claimed to witness the incident has given five conflicting statements.

Also, the SEALs were initially offered an Article 15 hearing, which carries relatively light non-judicial punishment. Instead, the sailors requested trial by courts-martial, which allows all evidence to be considered, but carries much heavier punishment – including incarceration. The SEALs possibly made their decision in an effort to protect their careers. Many believe a non-judicial process would leave the impression of guilt.

The military previously decided not to bring Abed to the U.S. for interview. Commander Tierney Carlos, the military judge for the trials of SO1 Julio Huertas and SO2 Jonathan Keefe, decided in January that since the military ruled that Abed would not be flown from Iraq to the U.S., that the sailors’ trials would be held in Iraq.

It is not known whether the military’s decision to disallow the detainee interview will affect the cases of Huertas or Keefe. Their trials are set to start in April. McCabe’s trial is set for May.

The statement from Puckett and Faraj said, “Since those two military judge’s rulings, Major General Cleveland has canceled the government trip to Iraq to depose the detainee. This leaves the SO2 McCabe defense and government teams without the Iraqi detainee’s presence or sworn statements as evidence in the case.”

Wild Thing's comment.........

To the terrorists....“Nuke ‘em till they glow...Shoot ‘em in the dark...”

Looks like this case is unraveling, as it damn well should.

Obama is prosecuting our US citizens Navy Seals in a military court for possible war crimes yet prosecuting foreign terrorists for war crimes in civilian court! sheesh!

Will Obama let them get back to work, or is this now an official witch hunt against these brave American Warriors! ?!

....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.

Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69

Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (7)

January 26, 2010

U.N. Seeks to Drop Some Taliban From Terror List

The United Nations' Kai Eide said he hoped that moves would help lead to talks between Afghan officials and Taliban leaders.

U.N. Seeks to Drop Some Taliban From Terror List

NY Times

The leader of the United Nations mission here called on Afghan officials to seek the removal of at least some senior Taliban leaders from the United Nations’ list of terrorists, as a first step toward opening direct negotiations with the insurgent group.

In an interview, Kai Eide, the United Nations special representative, also implored the American military to speed its review of the roughly 750 detainees in its military prisons here — another principal grievance of Taliban leaders. Until recently, the Americans were holding those prisoners at a makeshift detention center at Bagram Air Base and refusing to release their names.

Together, Mr. Eide said he hoped that the two steps would eventually open the way to face-to-face talks between Afghan officials and Taliban leaders, many of whom are hiding in Pakistan. The two sides have been at an impasse for years over almost every fundamental issue, including the issue of talking itself.

“If you want relevant results, then you have to talk to the relevant person in authority,” Mr. Eide said. “I think the time has come to do it.”

Last week, the American envoy to the region signaled some willingness to allow the names of some Taliban to be taken off the list as long as they are not senior commanders responsible for atrocities or associated with Al Qaeda.

“A lot of the names don’t mean much to me,” Richard C. Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said last week in Kabul. “Some of the people on the list are dead, some shouldn’t be on the list and some are among the most dangerous people in the world.

“I would be all in favor of looking at the list on a case-by-case basis to see if there are people on the list who are on the list by mistake and should be removed, or in fact are dead,” he said.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai urges West to buy off the Taliban

Times online co.uk

The government will provide the Taliban and other insurgent groups who wish to respect the constitution a dignified way to renounce violence and peacefully reintegrate into their communities,” says a draft version of the plan.

The international community has insisted that key Taliban leaders such as Mullah Mohammed Omar would not be part of any such plan. “The red line is links to Al-Qaeda,” Miliband said. But the document offers “key leaders of the Taliban movement” an opportunity for amnesty and reintegration.

Aside from differences between nations over who to negotiate with, there is scant evidence that the Taliban wish to come in from the cold.

US officials admit that it was a bad tactical error for President Obama to cite a target date of July 2011 to start withdrawing troops in his speech announcing the surge.

The date, which was inserted by the White House at the last minute to assuage disgruntled Democrats, has led the Taliban and their backers in Pakistan to believe they just have to wait.

“The Taliban are telling the local population the Americans will be gone in 18 months and we’ll be in charge so you better not cross us or we’ll kill you,” said an adviser to General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan

Wild Thing's commnet........

Why on earth drop any of the Taliban from a terror list. good grief!

"Afghan president Hamid Karzai urges West to buy off the Taliban"

Yeah, buy ‘em off with bullets. It’s blackmail and extortion all rolled into one. I can’t imagine a way it can turn out good for those who decide to pay them off, even once. You can’t buy off terrorists.

We all saw this coming when they started practicing “catch and release” with the local Taliban in Afghanistan. Troops were complaining that they would turn the Taliban prisoners over to Afghans, only to find them back on the battlefield again shortly.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (8)

January 19, 2010

Remember Pearl Harbor

Wild Thing's comment..........

I missed posting this in December and it is so well done.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:40 AM | Comments (5)

December 07, 2009

Pearl Harbor Survivor Returns to Site for First Time Since War

White House aides insisted F-22 be removed from Obama speech venue

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — Ed Johann will always remember the sound of planes diving out of the sky to bomb U.S. battleships, the explosions and the screams of sailors. He still recalls the stench of burning oil and flesh.

The 86-year-old retired firefighter is due to return Monday to Pearl Harbor for the first time since World War II to attend a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the Japanese attack.

"I really don't know how I'm going to handle it," said Johann, from his home in Oregon. "When I think about it, all I have is unpleasantness. I'm sure it's not like that now."

Johann was a 17-year-old apprentice seaman on Dec. 7, 1941. He had enlisted in the Navy only five months earlier so his parents, who picked and packed tomatoes and other crops in California's San Fernando Valley, wouldn't have to support him.

He and two other sailors were waiting to ferry passengers on a small boat to and from the USS Solace, a hospital ship that was moored in Pearl Harbor, when they saw the Japanese planes.

They first thought they were U.S. aircraft conducting drills until they saw explosions and flames from the stricken ships.

Johann's motor launcher boat rushed to the USS Arizona, which was hit by several bombs, one of which struck her forward ammunition magazines and set off a massive explosion. Already fueled and manned when the attack began, their 30-foot boat was the first rescue vessel to arrive at the scene.

They found the water littered with people — some wounded, some dead, some unharmed. Many were covered in the leaking oil from the ships.

They loaded as many as they could and delivered them to the hospital ship before returning to the USS West Virginia for more.

"As we're pulling them out of the water, a lot of times the skin would come right off the arm," Johann said. "They would just be black with oil, except maybe you could see the white of their eyes."

The planes kept coming. Dive-bombers plunged out of the sky, dropping bombs and strafing the water and ships with machine gun fire before roaring back up for another round. Torpedo bombers flew in level to drop their submersible weapons for underwater assaults.

The burning, sinking vessels at first lowered men into Johann's makeshift rescue boat. But some sailors started to panic and jump into their small ship, forcing it to pull away so it wouldn't sink too.

"Some of the sailors would be like in shock and some of 'em would be like going out of control, screaming and hollering," Johann said.

The next morning — after nervously worrying the Japanese planes would return — Johann's boat unloaded men from the Solace who failed to make it through the night and delivered them to land.

"We had them stacked like cordwood in our boat. The open end where the feet was sticking out was these big brown tags that said 'unknown, unknown,"' Johann said. The military hadn't adopted dog tags yet and many couldn't be identified.

The attack sank four U.S. battleships and destroyed 188 U.S. planes. Another four battleships were damaged, along with three cruisers and three destroyers.

More than 2,200 sailors, Marines and soldiers were killed.

"We didn't survive by any skill," Johann said of his boat. "It was just luck, pure luck. Because all we were concentrating on was trying to save people, and not save ourselves."

Johann served the rest of the war on the USS Wright, a seaplane tender. After 1945, he returned to California where he worked in sawmills before moving to Portland, Ore. where he spent 28 years as a firefighter. He retired to a beach cottage in Lincoln City and where he served on the city council, helping build hiking trails and campaigning against domestic violence.

Every Fourth of July, he goes to bed early to avoid the fireworks because they remind him of Pearl Harbor's explosions. Even so, the blasts keep him awake.

But the horrors he went through also led him to become a firefighter.

"I think I had it in my mind," Johann said, "I wanted to help people."

For years, Johann said he wouldn't go to the annual observance in Hawaii in honor of those killed in the attack. But now that he's 86, it seemed liked a good idea.

"If I'm ever going to do anything like that I'd better do it now," Johann said. His son, who lives on Maui, will accompany him.

Organizers expect between 40 and 50 survivors of the attack to come. Overall, some 2,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony on a pier overlooking the spot where the Arizona sank.

The bodies of more than 1,000 sailors and Marines are still on board, and small drops of oil continue to rise from the battleship.

Wild Thing's comment...........

Gob Bless Ed, all who served and all who remain on station below.

On March 7, 1950, Admiral Radford, CINCPAC, ordered that an American flag be flown from Arizona's remains.
Nine months later, on the ninth anniversary of the attack, he had a plaque placed on the wreck, making it the first Arizona Memorial. The bronze plaque states: "May God make his face to shine upon them and grant them peace."

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (9)

December 04, 2009

The Worst CIC in History Obama Insisted on Removal of F-22A Raptor At His Elmendorf AFB Speech

When President Obama spoke to troops at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base last month, the unit there parked a shiny new F-22 fighter plane in the hangar. But according to multiple sources, White House aides demanded the plane be changed to an older F-15 fighter because they didn't want Obama speaking in front of the F-22, a controversial program he fought hard to end.

"White House aides actually made them remove the F-22-said they would not allow POTUS to be pictured with the F-22 in any way, shape, or form," one source close to the unit relayed.

Stephen Lee, a public affairs officer at Elmendorf, confirmed to The Cable that the F-22 was parked in the hangar and then was replaced by an F-15 at the White House's behest.

The airmen there took offense to the Obama aides' demand, sources told The Cable, seeing it as a slight to the folks who are operating the F-22 proudly every day. They also expressed bewilderment that the White House staff would even care so much as to make an issue out of the fact that the F-22 was placed in the hangar with the president.

A White House official, commenting on background basis, told The Cable that yes, there were discussions about which plane or planes would be in the hangar, but that they were not meant as an insult to the pilots and other personnel who work on the F-22. The official couldn't elaborate on why the White House aides felt it necessary to get involved in the matter in the first place.

The official pointed to Obama's speech to the troops that day, where he praised both the 90th Fighter Squadron, known as the "Dicemen," and the 525th Fighter Squadron, the "Bulldogs," both of which operate the F-22.

Even so, the Air Force personnel thought it odd the White House wanted to display the older plane rather than the more advanced plane that, in the eyes of its supporters, represents the latest and greatest in American aviation.

The Obama administration fought hard and successfully to cut off production of the F-22 at 187 planes, a number Defense Secretary Robert Gates endorsed but that was hundreds less than originally planned and about half of the 381 planes Air Force leadership lobbied hard for in the years preceding Obama's inauguration.

"It's one thing to be against further production; quite another to slight the folks who are flying them in the operational world," one source said, adding that "the F-15 pictured was put into service roughly around the same period when Obama graduated from college. It's vintage."

Wild Thing's comment........

I wish they had told Obama and his people to put his demands where the sun does not shine. This makes me so angry that he did and does things like this.

Obama is a national disgrace!!!!

F-22 at Obama’s Elmendorf AFB Speech Removed by White House

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about our troops/airmen.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about the F-22.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about fighting terrorism.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about our national security.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about people's health.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about the economy.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about ending racism.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about employment.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about the environment.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about meeting our energy needs.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about energy independence.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about the collapsing banks.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about the collapsing dollar.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about our industry.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about the continuing foreclosures.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about the Constitution or Bill of Rights.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about our sovereignty.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about this country.

I get the idea that Obama doesn't care about God.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:49 AM | Comments (5)

West Point Cadets Were Asked To Respond “enthusiastically” To Obama Speech

Der Spiegel

Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as his Tuesday address announcing America’s new strategy for Afghanistan. It seemed like a campaign speech combined with Bush rhetoric — and left both dreamers and realists feeling distraught.

One can hardly blame the West Point leadership. The academy commanders did their best to ensure that Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama’s speech would be well-received.

Just minutes before the president took the stage inside Eisenhower Hall, the gathered cadets were asked to respond “enthusiastically” to the speech. But it didn’t help: The soldiers’ reception was cool.

One didn’t have to be a cadet on Tuesday to feel a bit of nausea upon hearing Obama’s speech. It was the least truthful address that he has ever held. He spoke of responsibility, but almost every sentence smelled of party tactics. He demanded sacrifice, but he was unable to say what it was for exactly.

An additional 30,000 US soldiers are to march into Afghanistan — and then they will march right back out again. America is going to war — and from there it will continue ahead to peace. It was the speech of a Nobel War Prize laureate.

Wild Thing's comment.......

From a friend that has been to West Point:

Chrissie, In my four years at West Point, we were NEVER coached on how to applaud. Reagan, Bush 41, Powell, Dan Quayle, Stormin Norman - no coaching. How degrading to have your schedule interrupted, have to wait for hours for the Messiah to show up, and then have an OFFICER coach you on how to applaud. Morale must be getting low. And that is due to Obama and his R.O.E.s and his lack of caring about our guys."

President Bush speaks at West Point....what a difference!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (7)

Obama's Longtine Terrorist Friend William Ayers Protesting Against Obama's Decision on Afghanistan

The longtime Obama friend William Ayers hammering Obama on his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, saying it is an "absolute tragedy." Ayers does not believe there is any way Obama will begin pulling troops out of Afghanistan in July 2011, despite having said he would. Ayers said he is "appalled and alarmed" at Obama's decision.

Ayers made the remarks yesterday in Chicago where he joined demonstrators against the war.
Read more...

Weather Underground Bombs the Capitol, Pentagon, and State Department

Weather Underground Bombed the Pentagon 5-19-72
Obama's friend of 20 years William Ayers' group sets off bombs in honor of Ho Chi Minh's Birthday... Video from Abcnews in 1972, Pentagon reports starts at 4:10

On March 1, 1971 a bomb exploded in the Capitol building in Washington D.C. Members of the Weather Underground claimed responsibility for the terrorist act. The group claimed it was in protest of the government's involvement in the country of Laos.

On May 19, 1972 a bomb went off in the Pentagon . The Weathermen said it was in celebration of Ho Chi Minh's birthday (a North Vietnamese communist revolutionary).

On January 29, 1975 the Weathermen set off a bomb in the Department of State's building. The bombing was supposedly in protest of America's support for South Vietnam and Cambodia. On the same day another bomb was set to go off in a federal building in Oakland, California.

Obama began his political career in the living room of this man's home on the South side of Chicago.

Wild Thing's comment.......

It’s a win-win for both leftists.

Ayers gets to be publicly against the war.

Obama gets to say “I’m not with Ayers”.

There’s still not a dime’s worth of difference between them, not when you consider the ROE that Obama is laying on the same troops he’s sending over there.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:40 AM | Comments (4)

December 03, 2009

Former Secrtary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Responds To Obama's LIES

Former Secrtary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld responded to Barack Obama’s claims that US commanders were repeatedly refused support in Afghanistan.

by Michael Goldfarb

The Weekly Standard

“In his speech to the nation last night, President Obama claimed that ‘Commanders in Afghanistan repeatedly asked for support to deal with the reemergence of the Taliban, but these reinforcements did not arrive.’ Such a bald misstatement, at least as it pertains to the period I served as Secretary of Defense, deserves a response.”

“I am not aware of a single request of that nature between 2001 and 2006. If any such requests occurred, ‘repeated’ or not, the White House should promptly make them public. The President’s assertion does a disservice to the truth and, in particular, to the thousands of men and women in uniform who have fought, served and sacrificed in Afghanistan.”

“In the interest of better understanding the President’s announcement last night, I suggest that the Congress review the President’s assertion in the forthcoming debate and determine exactly what requests were made, who made them, and where and why in the chain of command they were denied.”

This is true as far as I know and conforms with what Steve Hayes reported in THE WEEKLY STANDARD in October:

Perhaps more infuriating for Bush veterans was the suggestion by [Robert] Gibbs that the Bush administration ignored requests for more troops. It's nonsense, they say. McKiernan wanted more troops--he asked for three additional brigades in the summer of 2008--but he understood that he could have them only when they became available. "McKiernan was making requests down the line," says a Pentagon official, "and late in 2008 we did have the ability to commit more forces. So we did." Indeed, Bush sent nearly 7,000 additional troops to Afghanistan before he left office, including one brigade that had been repurposed from Iraq.

One Bush veteran asks, "If it's true that the Bush administration sat on these troop requests for eight months, is the White House suggesting that the Pentagon was incompetent or negligent or both? That would be a good question to put to the defense secretary--and President Obama is in a position to make him talk."

I couldn't reach Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, but I did talk to a senior defense official who serves with him. This person stressed that Gates has gone to great lengths to avoid being dragged into political fights between administrations. Nonetheless, he offered a strong rebuke to the present White House political team.

"There was no request on anyone's desk for eight months," said the defense official. "There was not a request that went to the White House because we didn't have forces to commit. So on the facts, they're wrong."

Wild Thing's comment...........

Good - call his bluff with a “put up or shut up” dare. Obama the LIAR! Rumsfeld is doing a Joe Wilson- You Lie.

Is Obama finally going to realize that “Bush’s fault” ISN’T a policy and he’s finally going to have to lead? Nah ...

"Such a bald misstatement"

Call it by its correct name, Rumsfeld. It's called a bald-faced LIE!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (4)

December 02, 2009

Obama and His Speech At West Point Regarding The War

A U.S. Army cadet reads a book entitled "Kill Bin Laden" as he waits with other cadets for U.S. President Barack Obama to deliver an address on U.S. policy and the war in Afghanistan at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York December 1, 2009.

Obama announced that 30,000 more troops will go to Afghanistan and then they will come home 18 months later.

Krauthammer and Hayes Slam Obama's Weak Afghan Surge Speech

Krauthammer said a timetable for withdrawal sends a bad signal to our allies in Afghanistan.

Charles Krauthammer: I thought it was a rather strange speech. It was defensive and it was a lot of hedging. the president said at the end that our resolve is unwavering. He said in August this was a war of necessity. And then he gives us all of the reasons that we need to start leaving in a year and a half. And among the reasons he gave was that it was a very expensive war and we have a bad economy and that’s at least of equal importance. It’s not exactly the kind of speech you would have heard from Henry V or Churchill. And it’s not exactly the kind of speech you heard from George Bush when he announced his surge.

Stephen Hayes: The most important role of a president is Commander in Chief. This felt very small to me. The president in one sentence called this the common security of the world is at stake. And literally in the very next sentence he said we’re going to get out in July 2011. If it is the case that the common security of the world is at stake you don’t say that we need to figure out the problem in 18 months or we’re out of here.

MY NOTES During Speech:

Obama is screwing over Charlie Brown. What the hell did Charlie Brown ever to do him. I watch that Charlie Brown Christmas show every year.

Obama's lips are looking especially blue tonight. yuk!

The camera panned the audience and I swear it was checking out all the various people asleep during Obama's speech.

Blames Bush....BLAHHHHHHHHHHH

Obama mentioned the successful War in Iraq but for some strange reason he forgot to mention Bush or the fact that he was against the Bush Surge. He also forgot to thank General Petraeus, who was sitting in the audience.

Obama blames former administrations for their Pakistan policies.

Islam, one of the world's great religions"

"Tolly Bon"...."Paah ki stahn"....there he goes into his Muslim speak. I guess he thinks this is how he speaks a foreign language. Besides how he also can say the other things related to his precious Islam.

20:08 Blames President Bush for losing Afghanistan.

He is not foolinng the Corps of Cadets with this tripe.

He compared Afghanistan to Vietnam. His comparison with Vietnam is so flawed it is laughable. He says we faced a broad based local insurgency. BS. It was a communist inspired insurgency aided and abetted by North Vietnam. The overwhelming majority of South Vietnamese were against the communists.

Obama said he spent this year renewing our alliances.

OMG how he LIES

Give me Charlie Brown and Linus instead of this creep Muslim America and troops hater.

"Let me be clear"...."Let me be clear"...."Let me be clear"

ME, ME, I, mine, my, I me, ME, ME, MEEEEEEE!!!!

I wish those wonderful Cadets could get up and walk out...or boo...or turn their backs to him

20:11 Pres_ _ent Obama blames GOP for war. (smirks), calls them “partisans”, then talks about how HE has visited military caskets, etc.

OMG- He has sent letters of condolence to the families of the fallen...........AND HE wants to be SURE we KNOW IT.

“He’s seen first hand the terrible wages of war” which means he watched some Oliver Stone movie about ‘Nam.

I-I-I-I again! I write letters! I visit Dover! Someone should count up the “I”’s. He’s said about 20 in the last minute. It’s ridiculous. NARCISSIST.

18 months a pull out............ he just told the enemy they have 2 years to kill as many Americans as they can (bonus 30,000 troops), then he has to pull the remaining ones out, so he can shore up his anit-war base to win another 4 years.

He is giving the Generals 30,000 troops. Too bad the Generals asked for 33% more than that.

20:17 Pres_ _ent Obama’s goal is to “end the war”.

Pres_ _ent Obama wants to stop the “momentum” of the the “Talley—ban”, not kill and destroy them.

Again he says it. .....He said he would pull out troops in July 2012.

I’m measuring 22 head flips per minute, an all time record stress level is maxed out

Teleprompters must be running on fast speeded up or something. haha

Obama is not used to giving speeches that aren’t interrupted with orchastrated applause. I think he might actually be boring himself to death.

The Taliban are thinking; WTF! This guy is so stupid, he’s telling us his plan. All we have to do is wait for 18 months and we will be back in business.

Quoting Ike now about the need for “balance.” He should have quoted Ike’s prophetic warning about the dangers of the Military-Industrial Complex.

I never thought I could lean to hate....
This man is creating his own reality......

Arhhhhhhggggg ......I wish the troops would rebel against this traitor!!!!!! ECOMCON NOW!!

Loved the shot from the camera of one cadet yawning!!!!!!!!

Up to 24 flips per minute.......we’re in uncharted territory here

Now he’s tying it to the economy.

He claims "we much rebuild here at home" while he is bankrupting the nation daily/hourly.What the heck ,triangulation, smells of Axelrod all the way. He is losing it. The economy? This is the wrong audience.

some more cadets looking down/closing eyes

The cameras can’t get a good shot of the audience without showing someone asleep. LOL

America has forged a new beginning with the Muslim world????

OMG, he can so bite me.

On and on the speech goes. He sounds like a third world dictator, e.g., Castro, who just drone on and on spewing platitudes and grand theory. Now comes the self-congratulation. He is crediting himself for setting up a new relationship with the Muslim world. LOL. Iran, AQ, Pakistan, the Palestinians, and the rest of the Middle East are not drinking his Kool-aid.

Ok Obama you’ve made your point. Now say goodnight Gracie.

Holy Crap! EVERYONE in the audience is dozing, nodding off...

Hillary, Gates, cadets, generals...they’re all in the zone.

It’s amazing- it’s snooze... punctuated by what the heck moments.

He’s a frikking word machine. Not a brain in his head. I think his teleprompter has mixed up a bunch of different speeches and it won’t stop!

LOL

He stopped, waited for applause.

They finally applauded — they thought he was finished.

He wasn’t.

The cliches keep coming, quoting Lincoln now.

More references to diversity and multiculturalism. Stresses the need for unity yet he is the most polarizing President we have ever had.

They’re clapping because it’s finally over.

They were falling asleep and they looked like there were not thrilled at all at the poser usurper in chief, Fairy Barry

Chris Matthews calls West Point the "Enemy Camp"

MSNBC's Chris Matthews referring to the assembled cadets at West Point to hear President Obama's speech on Afghanistan as the "enemy camp." Incredibly, Matthews was critical of the fact the cadets were not supportive enough of Obama during his speech, saying he saw "if not resentment, skepticism."

Matthews has made some really bizarre statements over the years, but this is one of the worst,

Few Marines in Afghanistan wake for Obama's speech

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Only a handful of the thousands of troops in the U.S. Marines' main base here thought it worth the effort to get out of bed for President Barack Obama's speech on Afghanistan, which began at 5:30 a.m. local time.

In the workout gym — one of the few public places with TVs — only two Navy Seabee engineers were watching when the speech began, and they were sharply divided on the wisdom of the president's plan.

"I didn't really hear a good reason," said E3 Steven Lewis, 23, of Boise, Idaho. "I think it's all gone on too long. 9/11 happened a long time ago."

Lewis had been riding an exercise bike close to the dusty, 21-inch TV when the speech started and sat through half of it, including the announcement of the size of the buildup, before he got up to leave.

Next door in a weight room, Marine Sgt. Alvaradoj Imael of San Diego was doing abdominal exercises. He said he hadn't needed to watch the speech because the basics had been leaked in advance.

Wild Thing's comment...........

When Bush announced the surge in 2007 he did it in the White House LIbrary. NOT as a photo op like Obama did at West Point.

Get politics out of WAR and let our troops do what they do!

Our troops in the war zone need their sleep a helluvalot more than they need to be even further depressed by the idiot-in-chief.

Our military men and women already KNOW what’s going on.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (13)

November 28, 2009

Obama Considering To Allow U.S. Soldiers to Be Tried At Hague

Our countries Heroes!

Obama and anyone that thinks it is ok to go after our troops in any way should be ..........well use your imaginaton and think of the worst punishment possible........the WORST!

Prosecuting American 'War Crimes'

The International Criminal Court claims jurisdiction over U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Wall Street Journal

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed “great regret” in August that the U.S. is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This has fueled speculation that the Obama administration may reverse another Bush policy and sign up for what could lead to the trial of Americans for war crimes in The Hague.

The ICC’s chief prosecutor, though, has no intention of waiting for Washington to submit to the court’s authority. Luis Moreno Ocampo says he already has jurisdiction—at least with respect to Afghanistan.

Because Kabul in 2003 ratified the Rome Statute—the ICC’s founding treaty—all soldiers on Afghan territory, even those from nontreaty countries, fall under the ICC’s oversight, Mr. Ocampo told me. And the chief prosecutor says he is already conducting a “preliminary examination” into whether NATO troops, including American soldiers, fighting the Taliban may have to be put in the dock.

“We have to check if crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide have been committed in Afghanistan,” Mr. Ocampo told me. “There are serious allegations against the Taliban and al Qaeda and serious allegations about warlords, even against some who are connected with members of the government.” Taking up his inquiry of Allied soldiers, he added, “there are different reports about problems with bombings and there are also allegations about torture.”

It was clear who the targets of these particular inquiries are but the chief prosecutor shied away from spelling it out.

Asked repeatedly whether the examination of bombings and torture allegations refers to NATO and U.S. soldiers, Mr. Ocampo finally stated that “we are investigating whoever commits war crimes, including the group you mentioned.”

The fact that he avoided a straightforward "I am looking into possible war crimes committed by American soldiers" showed that Mr. Ocampo is aware of the enormity of crossing this legal and political bridge.

Mr. Ocampo remained tight-lipped about the specifics of his preliminary examination. Asked whether waterboarding—a practice that simulates drowning without causing lasting physical harm—is a form of torture produced a telling "no comment." Yet if the Obama administration considers this practice torture, one has to wonder if the ICC's chief prosecutor would give it his stamp of approval.

There is also the issue of whether Predator strikes of unmanned drones targeting terrorist leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan—as carried out in the very first week of the Obama presidency—are part of the bombings he's looking into. Mr. Ocampo chuckled and answered evasively.

"We have people around the world concerned about this," he said, and when pressed, added, "Whatever the gravest war crimes are that have been committed, we have to check."

Continue HERE for the rest of the article

Wild Thing's comment.............

If Obama allows this happen even once, or signs the treaty, it is high treason and he must be quickly removed from office.

Turning over American soldiers over to a foreign entity to be tried is a bright red line, which must not be crossed.

This just keeps getting worse and worse! You can’t fight a war this way and expect to win!!!!!!!! Obama did say he does not seek Victory in war.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (13)

November 27, 2009

Navy Seals Charged For Fat Lip On Terrorist

Attorney for one of the three Navy SEALs

Navy SEALS May Go to Prison for Giving a Fat Lip to Islamic Terrorist

CFP

by Jim O'Neil

Jim O'Neil was born in June of 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jim O’Neill proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1970-1974 in both UDT-21 (Underwater Demolition Team) and SEAL Team Two.

On March 31, 2004, a small convoy guarded by four American civilian contractors was ambushed at Fallujah, Iraq, and the guards were killed. The bodies of the four Blackwater security guards were burnt, hacked, and two of the mutilated bodies were hung for display on a bridge over the Euphrates river.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that in ” a macabre and murderous town fete, locals cheered as one corpse was attached to a car tow rope and pulled triumphantly up and down the main road….”

The article noted that “In terms of its sheer bestial violence, the attack on the Blackwater operatives was unprecedented….”

The ambush, and desecration of the bodies were all videotaped by Islamic extremists, and subsequently disseminated world-wide as anti-American propaganda.

This incident, believed to have been planned by Ahmed Hashim Abed, is widely held to have led directly to the first Battle of Fallujuh, that began four days after the guards were murdered.

All four of the American guards worked for Blackwater, out of Moyock, N.C. Blackwater (now called Xe—pronounced “zi”) was founded in 1997 by former Navy SEALs, Eric Prince, and Al Clark, (Clark later left to start Special Tactical Services).

One of the murdered guards, Scott Helvenston, was also a former SEAL.

In 2007, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, headed by Henry Waxman (D-CA), laid all of the blame for the slaughter at Blackwater’s doorstep. Their report does not mention Islam, terrorists, Muslim extremists, war, radicals, insurgents, or atrocity.

Reading the House report, one could be excused for thinking that the Blackwater operatives ambushed themselves.

This past September, the purported leader of the Fallujah ambush—“one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq”— was captured by Navy SEALs.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, code named “Objective Amber,” was briefly held at Camp Baharia (Dreamland), a Marine base adjacent to the main compound of Camp Fallujah, located about 2 miles southwest of the city. (Source)

Ahmed Abed alleges that while under the watch of Navy SEALs, he was punched, and suffered a bloody lip. Three SEALs are now facing court-martial charges.

A court-martial is defined as “a military court to try members of the armed services who are accused of serious breaches of martial (military) law.”

The three SEALs have turned down the opportunity for a captain’s mast (also known as an admiral’s mast, or flag mast), which is not a trial, but a non-judicial discipline hearing.

Perhaps they are curious about the Pentagon’s pusillanimous pandering to political correctness. Or perhaps they would like to see real proof of their CIC’s citizenship.

Whatever their reasons, I salute their bravery, and service to our country—as I’m sure all patriotic Americans do as well.

Wild Thing's comment.......

How are we to fight the broader war of Islamo-terrorism if we are so blind to see the restraints within our midst? It is the political correctness straight jacket of the Left (and their political dupes) that has infected this nation's ability to survive. It has caused the Twin Towers destruction and the Fort Hood massacre. These terrorists are being treated with kid gloves on the battlefield at the sacrifice of our fighting heroes. It has infused itself into the military culture like a cancer. Political correctness has allowed our precious heroes to fight with both hands tied behind their backs. Every human rights group in the world follows them around looking for the one bullet shot that looks like a war crime. Every action is weighed and scrutinized as we force our fighting heroes to measure their actions for possible war crimes prosecution. May God help us!

This political correctness is costing us more than the Fort Hood massacre. It is influencing the way we wage this war against Islamic terrorist who want to kill every American they can.

And every time Obama opens his mouth, the entire world is aghast at the dismal leadership we have placed in the position of Commander in Chief.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (6)

November 25, 2009

Heroes Our Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Supposedly Giving Most-Wanted Terrorist A "fat lip"

Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist

Contact your Senator here:

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.

The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged.

FoxNews.com obtained the official handwritten statement from one of the three witnesses given on Sept. 3, hours after Abed was captured and still being held at the SEAL base at Camp Baharia. He was later taken to a cell in the U.S.-operated Green Zone in Baghdad.

The SEAL told investigators he had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.

"I gave the detainee a glance over and then left," the SEAL wrote. "I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health."

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.

The source said intelligence briefings provided to the SEALs stated that "Objective Amber" planned the 2004 Fallujah ambush, and "they had been tracking this guy for some time."

The Fallujah atrocity came to symbolize the brutality of the enemy in Iraq and the degree to which a homegrown insurgency was extending its grip over Iraq.

These are family photos show the Blackwater USA contractors who were killed in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. Shown are Wesley Batalona, top left, Scott Helvenston, top right, Jerry Zovko, bottom left, and Michael Teague.

The four Blackwater agents were transporting supplies for a catering company when they were ambushed and killed by gunfire and grenades. Insurgents burned the bodies and dragged them through the city. They hanged two of the bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates River for the world press to photograph.

Intelligence sources identified Abed as the ringleader, but he had evaded capture until September.

The military is sensitive to charges of detainee abuse highlighted in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The Navy charged four SEALs with abuse in 2004 in connection with detainee treatment.

Wild Thing's commenrt........

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot !!

This is beyond belief. Our heroes being treated this way. This is more than the senses can comprehend. Insanity reigns!!!!!! What the hell are we doing to the men and women who risk their lives for us?

The Holder/Obama destruction agenda for America and our military, and the treachery of these democrats now ruling America is beyond tolerable.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

The man tortured, killed and mutilated the bodies of four Americans and then hung the remains on a bridge for animals (regular animals and human ones) to desecrate and he's upset that he was punched in the mouth.

Anyone in military service should just shoot the terrorist bastards on sight — anything else and you risk your career, or risk having them tried and released where they return to terrorism.

We need to take back our country and we need to do it now before it is too late.

CIC obama has said he would side with the MUSLIMS if the “political winds turn ugly.” How effing ugly does it have to get before Americans say NO MORE!?!?!

Dear God ..end this madness ! And protect our brave troops, suffering under the most despicable CIC in our history.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (14)

November 23, 2009

11 Congress Members Want to Pass a Tax to "Share the Sacrifice" of War

Below two items written by Robert Stokely proud dad SGT Mike Stokely KIA

11 Congress Members Who Want to Pass a Tax to "Share the Sacrifice" of War

By Robert Stokely

I am sorry but right now I am somewhat having one of those anger induced bladder discharge moments. And sorry if this is not very well proof read - I tried, but it made me more angry each time I thought about this legislation. But read on if you like.

First, read this, article where: House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, and Representative John Murtha, who chairs that panel's defense subcommittee; and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank set forth that "The only people who've paid any price for our military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan are our military families: and state "... We believe that if this war is to be fought, it's only fair that everyone share the burden."

Then read this pdf document and pay real close attention to the definition of who is "family" when it comes to who would be exempted from paying this Share the Sacrifice tax to support the War on Terror - it actually winds up excluding most of the family of the fallen, or in some cases could result in a non-family member who receives the death gratuity to be given preferential tax treatment as "family" while none of the fallen's family would be exempted.

SGT Mike Stokely was killed in action fighting the War on Terror and his death was and continues to be devastating to our family. The familial and emotional cost can only be measured by a lifetime of love lost. But in the aftermath of that lifetime of love lost, our family has also suffered direct and significant financial impact. This impact will affect our family prosperity for a lifetime to come. I estimate the costs to date and the future costs to exceed $50,000.00. Some have a perception that families like us got a large check from the American Government because Mike died in the War on Terror. However we didn't because Mike Stokely did what any good husband would do, he took care of his wife by naming her the beneficiary of his death gratuity and group life.

The Stokely family in Sharpsburg Georgia - me, my wife, and Mike's brother and sister work hard for what we achieve in life and we pay the prevailing tax rate on our earnings. We don't get any exemptions for the costs that we continue to incur because of and only because Mike as KIA in the War on Terror. And we are not looking for one either.

Rep. Obey, Murtha, Frank and other Congress members who want to pass the "Share The Sacrifice Act of 2010" claim it exempts the families of the fallen. Well the truth of the matter is it only exempts the person(s) who received the death gratuity (which is the single lump sum payment the government makes - $100,000 - to the named beneficiary of a fallen soldier and which can be, as it is in some cases, made to a non-family member). Thus, this Share the Sacrifice tax will be a new tax for most of the family of the fallen, including Mike Stokely's family.

Sadly, these Congress members also have another agenda other than to "Share the Sacrifice". This is a Health Care Reform Tax as well, as it seeks to shift costs of the War on Terror that "devours money need to fix the health care system."

To Rep. Obey, Murtha, Frank and others who think the Stokely's and others like us should pay the war tax surcharge and thus "SHARE THE SACRIFICE: given you crafted legislation that sets forth the premise we have not Shared the Sacrifice, please tell me how much you think is our fair share of the sacrifice in the War on Terror?

Robert Stokely
proud dad SGT Mike Stokely
KIA 16 AUG 05
15 miles south of Baghdad near Yusufiyah / IED
2nd Platoon, E Troop 108th CAV 48h Brigaded GA NATL GUARD

This was also written by Robert Stokely father of SGT Mike Stokely in December of 2005

Came across your blog this morning, and thought I'd share my thoughts as the dad of an American Soldier killed in action four months ago. My son was standing cover flank for two buddies checking out a suspicous location in the roadway while on patrol at 2:20 A.M. 16 Aug when an IED exploded. He was the only one killed. Two soldiers suffered serious injuries and are now home on permanent medical leave, but both will live normal lives after they finish med rehab and surgery.

Life is hard when you lose a child; you have children and you think of them burying you and not the other way around. But war brings a nw perspective to the parent child relationship, for the parent is put in a position that they are unable to fulfill a basic parental instinct - protect your child. Losing a child, especially in war and especially with media attention focused on your loss, is difficult. I find myself counting time in weeks - every Monday at 6:20 p.m., I silently remember, maybe with a tear, that X weeks ago Mike died at what was 2:20 a.m. his time on Tuesday; then as the evening goes on, I think, Mike was dead X hours at this time; I then awake on what is my Tuesday mornng, and at 7:00 a.m., I remember the call to my home and the voice saying "Mr. Stokely, this is Maj. Hulsey - please come to the door, you dog won't let us up the driveway and we need to speak to you" and then remembering my fast gait to the driveway and asking, before they can say anything "is my boy dead" and the the words they spoke, with humble sadness in the eyes of Maj. Hulsey and the Chaplin that was with him "we regret to inform you...." But the pain,while there, is more manageable. I think it must be like the rigors and harshness of war - it is always the same, you just adjust.

No pity for me is needed, for as a friend said to me, I am lucky to have a son who has brought such honor to his father and the entire family. My son was a man who had a heart that cared deeply for others, and they likewise cared for him. In all of this, so many stories of his simple kindness have been shared with us and touched us. My favorite is the one where he and his buddies had been on continuous duty for several days (their normal day was 22 hours long). He and one of his fellow soldiers had to pull guard duty after being on missions for that continuous period without any sleep. He told his buddy to take a nap and he would stand watch and then they would swap out. For the next six hours, he let his buddy sleep while he stood the whole watch.

We miss him so much. We hurt inside. But we burst with pride in our son and brother. His memory will not fade nor will our love for him. When Mike was just becoming a teenager, I tried to imagine what he would be one day. I often told people I wasn't sure where life would take him, but I knew he would do something different and be very well known in his chosen field. I never dreamed he would become an American Hero who would serve his country so well.

For whatever reason, the last few days what Cindy Sheehan said "Casey didn't die for a just cause" has been on my mind. Maybe it is because some people have felt comfortable enough four months out to ask me how I felt about Mike's death and whether I thought the cause was "just" enough to justify his sacrifice.

My response is that Mike didn't die for a "just cause", he died JUST BECAUSE - just because he loved his country enough to want to serve it since the time he was in middle school; just because he loved his family enough to want to protect them; just because he loved his friends enough that he would rather fight a war "there" than here; just because he believed in our order of government whereby the civilian government rules and the military obeys, and when the President, with lawful authority, calls upon soldiers to go and fight, he believed it was not only his duty, but his honor to go; just because he wouldn't let his fellow soldiers - his guys - go it alone; and just because he wanted to do for others - the Iraqi people - what he would do for his own country.

A good friend of our family, Charles Carmical, wrote these words in tribute to Mike - “Would I lay down my life for a country to defend? I willing would if it housed my family and friends."

Mike Stokely didn't die for a just cause, he died for a lot of just causes, including the ones I set out above. I wish I were fit to tie his shoe laces but I am fortunate enough to have a son who believed in God, family, duty, honor and country and who certainly turned out to be the better of the two of us.

Want to do something?

Contact your Represenative here:

Contact the miscreants here:

Dave Obey:

Barney Frank:

John Murtha:

Wild Thing's comment..........

These people in Congress are so horrible.

Murtha’s planning to kill two birds with one stone. Get a tax increase passed to recruit more antiwar liberals to “cut and run” plus he’ll have more money available for his grubby hands.

We are already paying for the war with taxes.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (6)

Liz Cheney Talks About Afghanistan, and Sarah Palin

Liz Cheney on "This Week" saying that the lack of a decision on Afghanistan is "completely inexcusable."

Liz Cheney said "I think it's just completely inexcusable that we've now had month after month of photo-op out of the White House and no decision." She said "the President is very fond of saying, "before I commit troops I'm going to think very carefully about it," somebody in the White House needs to remind him he's already committed troops. We've got American men and women in Afghanistan today."

Liz Cheney was on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace today. The conversation included a discussion of Going Rogue and the 2012 Election.

The topic of conversation on Fox News Sunday eventually settled, briefly, on Obama's bow to the Emperor of Japan. Bill Kristol's comment is priceless:

Wild Thing's comment.......

Liz Cheney just completely overwhelmed the panel.

Whenever she spoke the rest were absolutely quiet and appeared rather spell bound.

She has the same charismatic,yet brilliant delivery of Sarah Palin and both today command huge audiences and always deliver for freedom and democracy.

Liz Cheney never fails to impress with her knowledge and ability to easily and intelligently converse on all subjects.
Especially national security.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:44 AM | Comments (6)

November 20, 2009

The WORST CIC Obama Tells Troops: "You guys make a pretty good photo op"

Yes, that's what the commander-in-chief said to his troops today in South Korea.

No Afghan decision before Thanksgiving

Code Pink’s “Sugar Mommy” – Jodie Evans

SEOUL

Obama will not announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan before the Thanksgiving holiday, senior aides said Thursday.

The news came as the president greeted 1,500 troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea, just before boarding Air Force One and heading back to Washington after an eight-day trip to Asia.

Obama said in interviews Wednesday that he would reveal his decision within the next several weeks. On Thursday, aides clarified that there would be no announcement before Thanksgiving.

Obama did not mention the looming decision in his remarks to U.S. troops, referring to the Afghan conflict only by thanking South Korea for its efforts and expressing gratitude to the American military personnel who have served there.

But he did discuss the region in his meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, whose government is sending 150 civilian aid workers to Afghanistan.

Obama arrived on the base 3:19 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) and received a rousing welcome from 1,500 troops in camouflage uniforms, many holding cameras or pointing cellphones to snap pictures.

"You guys make a pretty good photo op," the president said.

Standing on a riser wearing a blue suit and red tie, with a cluster of troops and a large American flag behind him, Obama expressed "the gratitude of the American public" and said his meetings in four countries over eight days in Asia will help deliver a "safer, more prosperous world for all of us."

He got a huge cheer when he told them he was increasing military pay. "That's what you call an applause line," he said, before boarding his jet and taking off at 4:11 p.m.

Wild Thing's comment.......

What an arrogant horrible person. Gawd I despise this ‘man’. I utterly despise him. He is a self-absorbed marxist thug liar. He is doing his damndest to destroy what is left our values and our economy.

"received a rousing welcome from 1,500 troops in camouflage uniforms, many holding cameras or pointing cell phones to snap pictures."

How on earth did they find 1500 Democrats in the military?

Obama arrived on the base 3:19 p.m. local time (...snip...)
"That's what you call an applause line," he said, before boarding his jet and taking off at 4:11 p.m.

And he spent a whopping 52 minutes with the troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (17)

November 18, 2009

Jane Fonda's Friend Jodie Evans Met With Taliban ~ Code Pink Gives Terrorists Direct Line to Obama

Jane Fonda: Obama Funder Jodie Evans Met With Taliban; Code Pink Gives Terrorists Direct Line to Obama

Big Government

Top Obama donor and fundraiser Jodie Evans met with the Taliban in Afghanistan on a recent trip there, according to a report by Jane Fonda of a discussion she had with Evans last month. The meeting with the Taliban took place just weeks before Evans was videotaped directly handing to President Barack Obama a package of information about her trip to Afghanistan at a high dollar fundraiser in San Francisco.

The meeting with the Taliban was kept secret by Evans and her group Code Pink in reports she and the group posted from Kabul and in interviews with the media and bloggers about the trip. Fonda, a close friend of Evans, let the secret meeting slip in an account of her dinner with Evans at a fundraiser for the Armand Hammer Museum in Los Angeles:

Last Saturday, My dear friends Jodie Evans and Max Palevsky, invited Richard and me to join them at their table at a fundraiser at the Armand Hammer Museum in Westwood. It was a good evening for lots of reasons. I had never been to the museum and definitely want to go back. Clearly it is a courageous place, very cutting edge. Then, too, I saw lots of friends I hadn’t seen in a long time and I sat next to Jodie who told me a little about her recent trip to Afghanistan with an American delegation that included a retired colonel, and member the State Department (Army Reserves Col. (Ret.) and ex-diplomat Ann Wright). While there, she met with people ranging from the brother of President Karzai, Afghan members of Parliament, activists, to warlords and members of the Taliban (emphasis added.) Jodie is co-founder of the peace organization, Code Pink, and always willing to go to any lengths to try and find out what’s really going on. Bottom line: everyone she met with wants the U.S. Military out of their country. They feel our presence there has brought more violence rather than security. Please read a short article she wrote about the trip which is on the Women’s Media Center website.

There is precedent to suspect that Evans is acting as a conduit for the Taliban to Obama. In June, her fellow Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin hand carried a letter out of Gaza from the terrorist group Hamas addressed to Obama.

Over the seven years of its existence, Code Pink has acted as propaganda shills for the anti-American governments of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, Cuba’s Castro brothers and Iraq under Saddam Hussein, as well as Middle Eastern terrorist groups.

Fonda has her own history of working with America’s enemies. During the Vietnam war she visited North Vietnam in 1972 and was photographed manning an anti-aircraft battery used to shoot down American planes. Fonda also recorded propaganda radio broadcasts for the North Vietnamese communists

In 2007 Code Pink brought Fonda out of protest retirement at a so-called antiwar demonstration held at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.

What was in the package that Evans gave Obama at the San Francisco fundraiser? She describes what she gave Obama in an article at the Huffington Post:

…we were careful to make the package very user and security friendly. It was filled with photos, quotes, thousands of signatures (on a petition against more troops for Afghanistan), a copy of Rethink Afghanistan and our 25-minute interview with Afghan MP Dr. Roshanak Wardak from Wardak Province, who is adamant that the U.S. should not send new troops and rather, must leave.

Evans notes that she gave a similar package to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who was also at the fundraiser being held in her city.

No mention is made by Evans on whether she relayed oral or written messages from the Taliban to Obama. However, it is a strong possibility given Fonda’s revelation and Code Pink’s history.

Code Pink’s image as kooky but well-meaning women committed to peace is belied by their words and actions. At home they work to undermine morale in our soldiers, their families and the American public. Abroad they work with terrorist enemies of the United States.

And one of Code Pink’s co-founders, Jodie Evans, works with President Obama. Is anyone in our nation’s capital paying attention?

Wild Thing's comment.......

So Obama gets his news from terrorists, next he will be bowing to them.

A hand-delivered package, though, will be off-record. They probably have other channels that are more watched, monitored, and regulated. So, Obama has a Code Pinko carrying on now not-so-secret talks with the Taliban and being a envoy between them. He’s completely not involving the CIA or any intelligence agency.

John Kerry did this same thing during Vietnam. He should have been executed for it. Ditto for Jane and this Jodie Evans and all the other leaders of Code Pink. If it wasn't called treason when code pink went to Fallujah and Ramadi in 2003 and gave aid and comfort to the enemy. And if it wasn't called treason when jane fonda went to N. Vietnam and gave aid and comfort to the enemy. When will giving aid and comfort to the enemy ever be called treason, and dealt with accordingly?

And we all know what a scum a total scum communist Hanoi Jane is.

Jodie Evans

"..Jodie Evans is a radical activist and Democratic fundraiser best known as the co-founder -- along with Diane Wilson, Global Exchange's Medea Benjamin, and a Wiccan calling herself Starhawk -- of Code Pink for Peace. Evans also works closely with Leslie Cagan, the pro-Castro leader of United For Peace and Justice..."

"..Ms. Evans is a very rich and powerful woman, thanks largely to her divorce settlement from the billionaire capitalist Max Palevsky in "common property" California..."

These women can all join the John Kerry Traitors to America and our troops Club.

"...at a fundraiser for the Armand Hammer Museum in Los Angeles..."

Now there's an interesting connection. Look that one up. Armand was the son of one of America's earliest Communists - Julius Hammer. Despite being one of America's richest men at the time, old Julius was also a close confidant of none other than Lenin himself.

Julius's next best friend was an itinerant backwoods tent-revival preacher from Tennessee whom Julius' money and influence made into a US Senator. His name was Albert Gore, the father of our own dear frog-boiling, global warming "Chicken Little" - Albert J. (for "Julius" after his father's political/financial patron) Gore "Jr".

Armand Hammer simply followed in his daddy's footsteps and used their family fortune to promote "Socialist" (just a cowardly euphemism for Communist) causes around the world including the "Armand Hammer World College" in Montezuma, NM. Hammer was just another dirty Communist bastard. It doesn't surprise me in the least that Jane Fonda would be raising money for his "library", or that the Code Pinkos are involved.

The biggest terrorist attack on American soil since 9-11, the Fort Hood Massacre, happens on Obama's watch.

Soros’ people , Barack Hussein Obama, Ms. Fonda and Ms. Evans do not like the United States, have never liked the United States, and will not be happy until it is turned into a little Marxist dictatorship. They also never met an enemy of the United States they didn’t like.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (9)

November 16, 2009

Obama Fails as CIC and Plummeting Military Morale

German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, wearing body armour, disembarks from a plane on arrival in Kabul November 12, 2009, as he makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan to meet with military commanders and to inspect German Army, Bundeswehr, troops stationed there. Reuters

NO OBAMA VISIT to the TROOPS! ~ Wild Thing

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd lays a wreath in observance of Remembrance Day during a service held at Camp Holland near Tarin Kowt November 11, 2009. Rudd was in Afghanistan to mark Remembrance Day with the Australian troops. afpak-fun-05g-ure taken on November 11. Reuters

NO OBAMA VISIT to the TROOPS! ~ Wild Thing

Obama and Plummeting Military Morale

The American Thinker

New Army surveys, reports the Wall Street Journal, show that morale has fallen sharply among soldiers fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and confirm an unusually high suicide in their ranks.

Perhaps this has something to do with doubts about their commander-in-chief's commitment to win this war by standing staunchly with them in spirit and providing the necessary troop levels and other resources. With fatalities and injuries surging among them, the president's prolonged and frazzled indecision on how to wage this struggle must leave these soldiers with a sense of being cast adrift in limbo, if not hell itself. Having first, very belatedly, consulted directly on strategy with the man in charge of the war, General Stanley McChrystal, President Obama then proceeded for months to pore over, appear to accept, throw out, and then start all over examining, various options.

In an act of deep interpersonal significance, as Claudia Rosett observes, the president has not bothered to pay a visit to Afghanistan to bolster morale. Yet, to buck up his foreign policy credentials, he managed to make a campaign stop there while running for president. Once elected, he found time to extend a friendly hand to Muslims in Cairo, lobby for Chicago's Olympics bid, vacation in Martha's Vineyard, and have a "date night" in New York City with his wife. Soon he'll be off to Oslo to accept a Nobel Peace Prize, which he has done nothing yet to deserve, in Afghanistan, at home, or elsewhere in the world.

It could also have not done much to fortify our soldiers to learn of the president's obfuscations and omissions in his recent Fort Hood tribute to their slaughtered 13 comrades. He could not bring himself, as Michael Goodwin and others noted, to call the massacre what it clearly was: treason and terrorism, visited by an Army officer on his defenseless comrades. While failing to acknowledge that Nidal Malik Hasan had shouted, "Al lahu akbar" (God is great) as he fired his weapons, the president also commented, "No just and loving God looks upon them with favor." The president declared the nation to be "in a time of war," but then downgraded the killings to the level of a mere "tragedy." He alluded to 9/11, warning that "the same extremists who killed nearly 3,000 Americans continue to endanger America," but neglected to say that the same militant Islamism led to the recent slaughter. He was silent about the shooter's contacts with al Qaeda, but stated, "No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts."

Rosett urges the president to betake himself without further delay to Afghanistan and deliver "a soaring speech" to our troops, such as to "display for their benefit and the world's, that as commander-in-chief of these men and women who are risking their lives under his command, he is not AWOL."

But one wonders just how soaring such a message could possibly be, coming from one who cannot muster the leadership to decide how, and indeed if at all, to proceed on their battleground. So geared to mollify his leftist political base has this president's every action seemed so far in his tenure that our courageous soldiers have every reason to fear themselves but chess pieces in his long game of political calculation.

Can the hearts of our troops yet be touched by a commander-in-chief who has for so long failed to show his face, and left them alone, on the battleground? By now they, like many among us, must acknowledge that this is the same commander-in-chief who, during his bid for the presidency cynically - then, too, for rank political reasons -- trumpeted the war in Afghanistan to be the most "necessary" one in the fight against terrorism.

But, above all, the drag that this president exerts on our soldiers comes from his unwillingness even forthrightly to name the enemy with whom they are locked in deadly combat.

If President Obama's lack of leadership and alienation from our troops continue, he may go down in history as America's great demoralizer-in-chief. But, vastly more momentous than his place in history, his failure to lead this nation, and the world, during these hazardous times may well precipitate a series of crises that will plague us for generations.

Wild Thing's comment.............

DAMN obama!

This makes me sick to see this happening to our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:49 AM | Comments (13)

November 13, 2009

Barack Obama Demands Exit Strategy in Afghanistan

Barack Obama has demanded the inclusion of an exit plan in the new US strategy for Afghanistan.

Telegraph.co.uk

White House officials said that in a meeting with Pentagon chiefs Mr Obama had made clear he wants his decision on troop reinforcements to offer a strong suggestion of when and how responsibility for security would be turned over to the Afghans.

After two months of discussions with his advisers he rejected all four options they had touted on the number of troops to be sent, in a surprise move that risked provoking further allegations of “dithering”.

While he is still expected to announce that he is sending reinforcements, Mr Obama insisted that a broad framework for handing over control of security to the Afghan army is written in, as he sought to warn Afghan leaders - and reassure the US public - that the mission is not "open-ended".

Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said on board Air Force One, said: “The president believes that we have been there for eight years, and we're not going to be there forever. And it's important to fully examine not just how we're going to get folks in but how we're going to get folks out.”

The move followed a forceful intervention about the troop build-up from General Karl Eikenberry, the US ambassador to Kabul.

In two classified cables and comments he made to Mr Obama by video link late on Wednesday, he came out firmly against bolstering the American presence unless President Hamid Karzai seriously addresses corruption, and argued that more US troops would only make the Afghans more dependent.

As the US commander in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, Gen Eikenberry’s views will carry extra weight, as well as annoying his successor, Gen Stanley McChrystal, who has requested a “surge” of up

Tensions between the White House and the Pentagon over the deployment have already bubbled to the surface. Senior presidential advisers have accused generals of leaking the misinformation that Mr Obama has all but decided to dispatch more than 34,000 additional troops, in a bid to force his decision. There are currently 68,000 US military personnel in Afghanistan.

Wild Thing's comment........

I sure wish Osama would give us HIS an exit strategy from OUR White House and go and get lost!

I guess the troops will have to wait an added 2 months for Obama to get his exist strategy as well. It has taken him this long to decide he does not know what the heck to do yet.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (11)

November 12, 2009

Traitor and Obama Groupie Gen. Powell to President Obama on Af-Pak Strategy: "Take Your Time"

Gen. Powell to President Obama on Af-Pak Strategy: "Take Your Time"

ABC Political Punch

Jack Tapper

November 11, 2009 3:01 PM

In an interview with Roland Martin on the Tom Joyner Morning Show this morning, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell revealed that he recently advised President Obama to take his time in devising his strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"This is a very difficult one for him," Powell said. "And it isn't just a one-time decision. This is the decision that will have consequences for the better part of his administration. So Mr. President, don't get pushed by the left to do nothing; don't get pushed by the right to do everything. You take your time and you figure it out. You're the commander-in-chief and this is what you were elected for."

Powell said he had "advised him is to not be rushed into a decision because this one is the decision that will have consequences for years to come."

"If you decide to send more troops or that's what you feel it is necessary, make sure you have a good understanding of what those troops are going to be doing and some assurance that the additional troops will be successful," Powell says he told the president. "You can't guarantee success in a very complex theater like Afghanistan and increasingly with the Pakistan problem next door, but you have to have some sense of what these additional troops will be able to do.

"And secondly, take your time," Powell said, "and third, you've got to ensure that you're putting this commitment on a solid base, and the base is a little soft right now. We've got a president in Afghanistan that had a rough election; a lot of corruption associated with the election; a lot of corruption in the government. And he has been told -- Mr. Karzai has been told, and I know him very well -- he's been told he's got to do something about this; he's got to do something about the drug problem, and he's got to start pulling the Afghan people together. And so the president has to measure that; what kind of base is he putting this new strategy on because it isn't just what we do; what do the Afghans do. And as I said a moment ago, it's made particularly difficult because of the unstable situation along the Pakistan border and in Pakistan."

Wild Thing's comment........

"This is a very difficult one for him," Powell said

For God's sake...HE'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!! It's ALWAYS a difficult time. Presidents make tough decisions EVERY DAY

Advice from the affirmative action General to the affirmative action President.

The only thing Powell ever did right was shutting up and letting Norman Schwarzkopf plan and run the first Gulf War.

Men and women continue to put themselves in harm’s way and dips$$t Colonectomy says “Take your time”?!

Moral courage is a 10 second decision. 10 months is rushing it for boy wonder.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (11)

November 04, 2009

CIC Obama Offers Taliban 6 Provinces for 8 Bases ~ Taliban Says NO

Mullah Zaeef, a former envoy to Pakistan, reportedly represented the Taliban side in the recent talks.

When Obama stated that he was going to reach out to the Islamic world, he was not kidding. The weakness of Obama has lead to the Taliban getting stronger. He has even given the Taliban the OK to participate in the future political landscape of Afghanistan. Apparently none of this was enough though, and now Obama is willing to share power in Afghanistan with the Taliban .

US Offers Taliban 6 Provinces for 8 Bases

By Aamir Latif

ISLAMABAD

The emboldened Taliban movement in Afghanistan turned down an American offer of power-sharing in exchange for accepting the presence of foreign troops, Afghan government sources confirmed.

"US negotiators had offered the Taliban leadership through Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil (former Taliban foreign minister) that if they accept the presence of NATO troops in Afghanistan, they would be given the governorship of six provinces in the south and northeast," a senior Afghan Foreign Ministry official told IslamOnline.net requesting anonymity for not being authorized to talk about the sensitive issue with the media.

He said the talks, brokered by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, continued for weeks at different locations including the Afghan capital Kabul.

Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, were the only states to recognize the Taliban regime which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

Turkish Prime Minister Reccap Erodgan has reportedly been active in brokering talks between the two sides.

His emissaries are in contact with Hizb-e-Islami (of former prime minister Gulbadin Hikmatyar) too because he is an important factor in northeastern Afghanistan."

A Taliban spokesman admitted indirect talks with the US.

"Yes, there were some indirect talks, but they did not work," Yousaf Ahmedi, the Taliban spokesman in southern Afghanistan, told IOL from an unknown location via satellite phone.

"There are some people who are conveying each others’ (Taliban and US) messages. But there were no direct talks between us and America," he explained.

Afghan and Taliban sources said Mutawakkil and Mullah Mohammad Zaeef, a former envoy to Pakistan who had taken part in previous talks, represented the Taliban side in the recent talks.

The US Embassy in Kabul denied any such talks.

"No, we are not holding any talks with Taliban," embassy spokeswoman Cathaline Haydan told IOL from Kabul.

Asked whether the US has offered any power-sharing formula to Taliban, she said she was not aware of any such offer.

"I don't know about any specific talks and the case you are reporting is not true."

Provinces for Bases

Source say that for the first time the American negotiators did not insist on the "minus-Mullah Omer" formula, which had been the main hurdle in previous talks between the two sides.

The Americans reportedly offered Taliban a form of power-sharing in return for accepting the presence of foreign troops.

"America wants 8 army and air force bases in different parts of Afghanistan in order to tackle the possible regrouping of Al-Qaeda network," the senior official said.

He named the possible hosts of the bases as Mazar-e-Sharif and Badakshan in north, Kandahar in south, Kabul, Herat in west, Jalalabad in northeast and Ghazni and Faryab in central Afghanistan.

In exchange, the US offered Taliban the governorship of the southern provinces of Kandahar, Zabul, Hilmand and Orazgan as well as the northeastern provinces of Nooristan and Kunar.

These provinces are the epicenter of resistance against the US-led foreign forces and are considered the strongholds of Taliban.

Orazgan and Hilmand are the home provinces of Taliban Supreme Commander Mullah Omer and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"But Taliban did not agree on that," said the senior official.

"Their demand was that America must give a deadline for its pull out if it wants negotiations to go on."

Wild Thing's comment.......

President of the United States begging the Taliban thugs for a deal!! We shouldn't be offering the Taliban anything other than bullets lubed with pork lard?

And there are Afghans who have risked their lives, and their families lives, to support us. Obama sold them out too along with our troops. Good luck getting any more support from them.

How about we exchange Obama for our troops and let Obama stay over there with his favorite terrorists the Taliban. He would fit right in and wouldn't even have to learn their language.

The Taliban would be crazy to accept this proposal. If they wait, they can have it all. If they wait long enough Obama will give them all they want over there and heck over here too. The Taliban already said no. They are ruthless but not stupid.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (11)

October 29, 2009

Obama Concludes U.S. Can't Beat Taliban

Obama Concludes U.S. Can't Beat Taliban; May Wait Until Late November for Afghan Decision

Obama has asked senior officials for a province-by-province analysis of Afghanistan to determine which regions are being managed effectively by local leaders and which require international help, information that his advisers say will guide his decision on how many additional U.S. troops to send to the battle.

Obama made the request in a meeting Monday with Vice President Biden and a small group of senior advisers helping him decide whether to expand the war. The detail he is now seeking also reflects the administration's turn toward Afghanistan's provincial governors, tribal leaders and local militias as potentially more effective partners in the effort than a historically weak central government that is confronting questions of legitimacy after the flawed Aug. 20 presidential election.

"This is obviously a complicated security environment in Afghanistan, and the president wants the clearest possible understanding of what the challenges are to our forces and what is required to meet that challenge," said a senior administration official who has participated in the Afghanistan policy review and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss it. "Any successful and sustainable strategy must clearly align the resources we provide with the goals we are trying to achieve."

As U.S. forces in Afghanistan endure the deadliest month of the eight-year-old conflict, Obama is weighing a request by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, for a quick jump in forces to blunt the Taliban's momentum against concerns that too many new troops could help the insurgency's recruiting efforts.

Administration officials say that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and national security adviser James L. Jones, a retired four-star general, support Obama's request for a more detailed status report on each province that could identify potential U.S. allies among Afghanistan's local leaders, some with less-than-sterling human rights records.

Gates and Jones have pushed McChrystal to justify as specifically as possible his request for 44,000 additional troops, the figure now at the center of White House deliberations. The review group once included intelligence officials, generals and ambassadors, but it has recently narrowed to a far smaller number of senior civilian advisers, including Biden, Gates, Jones, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Administration officials said the province-by-province analysis will be ready for Obama before his scheduled Friday meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the White House.

"There are a lot of questions about why McChrystal has identified the areas that he has identified as needing more forces," said a senior military official familiar with the review, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deliberations candidly. "Some see it as an attempt by the White House to do due diligence on the commander's troop request. A less charitable view is that it is a 5,000-mile screwdriver tinkering from Washington."

~ snipet ~

About half the 44,000 troops McChrystal requested would be sent to take back Taliban sanctuaries in southern Afghanistan. The others would push into western Afghanistan, where the U.S. military has only a slight presence, and reinforce operations in the mountainous east. One brigade would train Afghan army and police forces.

Even after weeks of review, administration officials say a range of options is still under consideration, including whether additional U.S. forces could be deployed in phases. Although Obama had been expected to announce his decision before leaving Nov. 11 on a 10-day trip to Asia, administration officials say he may wait until he returns.

"I think it's important to hear and to get this right," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday.

In reviewing McChrystal's bracing assessment of the war, the president and his senior advisers have concluded that the Taliban cannot be eliminated as a military and political force, regardless of how many more troops are deployed.

~snipet~

Some White House officials, including Biden, have advocated a strategy that would focus primarily on counterterrorism efforts against al-Qaeda. The vice president has argued for preserving the current U.S. troop level of 68,000, expediting the training of Afghan forces, intensifying Predator drone strikes against al-Qaeda operatives and supporting the Pakistani government against the Taliban within its borders.

But the deepening conflict is complicating those plans. For example, administration officials say that sending additional U.S. training brigades to accelerate preparation of the Afghan security forces may not accomplish as much as hoped because recruitment -- and retention -- has gone poorly as the war intensifies.

"It's all part of the endemic problems of illiteracy and security that plague many countries, but particularly this one," said a senior administration official familiar with the review process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss it. "You want to increase the number of people engaged in training, but at some point bringing in more and more Americans won't produce quicker results. There's a ceiling."

McChrystal has advocated something far closer to a nation-building project. Some Republican supporters of the general's plan in Congress have compared his strategy to the 2007 "surge" of U.S. troops in Iraq, a shorter-term effort that helped pull the country back from sectarian civil war.

But administration officials reject the comparison, pointing out that McChrystal's troop request would require a far longer deployment of U.S. forces and that Afghanistan is in a less dire position than Iraq was at the time of the surge.

Wild Thing's comment......

The Washington Post reports that Barack Obama and top administration officials have concluded the Taliban cannot be beaten and that they are looking for ways to cede parts of Afghanistan to the Taliban without those regions becoming safe havens for al Qaeda.

The article also reports that Obama may wait until after he returns from a 10 day visit to Asia that begins November 11 to decide his policy for Afghanistan.

The article describes Obama's defeatist attitude about the invincibility of the Taliban.

Sooooooo Obama thinks our military can’t beat a bunch of mountain huggers in sandals.Obama is doing all he can to show our troops how little respect he has for all of them, every branch of service, every one of them.

They need to tell Obama screw you and stop trying to avoid civilian casualties and go back to using a Rolling Thunder strategy. Instead Obama wants to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. We can win, but Obama does not want to. With him as POTUS, America can never win a war. Somehow they have to over-ride what he wants, he is not qualified to be CIC not even close. He has NO clue at all about our military.

When, I ask, will we see the day when this country has had it with this TRAITOR! He isn’t fit to shine the shoes of our brave fighting men and women.

It's clear that the Kenyan Clown is heavily invested in the U.S. failing — Barack Hussein Obama hates and despises this country, and he will relish victory for the Taliban.

Can you even imagine what this will do to Troop morale? This isn't their fault, they HAVE the will to win. It isn't their fault they were stuck with CIC Obama.

Obama is weighing a request by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, for a quick jump in forces to blunt the Taliban's momentum against concerns that too many new troops could help the insurgency's recruiting efforts.

But apparently NO concern that perceptions of American weakness and irresolve, "could help the insurgency's recruiting efforts." Obama is a traitor to our troops and all he is doing shows us he wants the Islamic radicals to win.

Obama is intentionally permitting the blood of America's fighting men to be splattered across the front pages in order to distract from his domestic failures and depredations. And quite possibly for other reasons even more contemptible.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (12)

Obama Makes MORE Cut Backs in Defense Spending

Barack Obama attends a briefing on Afghanistan in the Situation Room of the White House

Victory for Obama Over Military Lobby

New York Times

When the Obama administration proposed canceling a host of expensive weapons systems last spring, some of the military industry’s allies in Congress assumed, as they had in the past, that they would have the final say.

But as the president signed a $680 billion military policy bill on Wednesday, it was clear that he had succeeded in paring back nearly all of the programs and setting a tone of greater restraint than the Pentagon had seen in many years.

Now the question is whether Mr. Obama can sustain that push next year, when the midterm elections are likely to make Congress more resistant to further cuts and job losses.

White House officials say Mr. Obama took advantage of a rare political moment to break through one of Washington’s most powerful lobbies and trim more weapons systems than any president had in decades.

Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said Wednesday that the plan was to threaten a veto over a prominent program — in this case, the F-22 fighter jet — “to show we were willing to expend political capital and could win on something that people thought we could not.”

Once the Senate voted in July to stop buying F-22s, Mr. Emanuel said in an interview, that success “reverberated down” to help sustain billions of dollars of cuts in Army modernization, missile defense and other programs.

Mr. Emanuel said the strategy emerged when the defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, told Mr. Obama they needed to “shake up sacred cows and be seen as taking on fights.”

And Senator John McCain of Arizona, the former Republican presidential candidate, who has criticized the Pentagon’s cost overruns, provided Mr. Obama with political cover to make the cuts without being seen as soft on the military.

Still, Mr. Obama said at Wednesday’s signing ceremony, there is “more waste we need to cut.”

The act authorizes $550 billion for the Pentagon’s base budget in fiscal 2010 and $130 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That compares to a total of $654 billion for both accounts in fiscal 2009.

The measure also includes a ban on hate crimes that Democratic leaders attached to the bill.

Mr. Obama had wanted to cancel an alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a new plane that is expected to be a mainstay for the Air Force, the Navy and the Marines. He had also threatened to veto the military bills if they took money from plane purchases to keep developing that engine.

But Congressional leaders say the believe that the second engine will provide crucial insurance for the $300 billion fighter program. And they say they will take money from other parts of the military budget to save it.

Wild Thing's comment........

All part of the plan. Destroy the military so we’re helpless against the invading muslims.

So how many jobs is this alone going to cost America? He's weakening America militarily and economically in one fell swoop.

And yet Obama is the guy who runs up the largest yearly deficit in the history of the country. So basically he’s reducing spending on things that are constitutional to spend money on unconstitutional.

Now wasnt that nice of Mr. McCain.... NOT! Notice how McCain's name always pops up when something bad happens.

Only one department of government is being cut. The hated miliatary, for 50 years a target of the lunatic left Democrats. And yes, that dim wit McCain and his butt boy Lindsey Graham helped provide cover. Emperor Obama has not the slightest interest in saving money as shown in his other programs, but he has great interest in neutering the military and playing golf and traveling the globe while Americans die waiting on his new policy for Afghanistan.

The kicker is that the Bush Administration paid for Defense out of the Defense budget and had War Supplemental bills to cover a lot of the costs of Iraq and Afghanistan. The supplementals are getting few and far between and the real amounts to the military are going down.

If you are a fighter pilot and you aren't deployed you are riding the pine. In the Navy they are calling 11 hours a month the "tactical hard deck." In reality it means a U.S. strike fighter pilot that is going to drop bombs in Afghanistan next year is flying less than a Chinese Su-27 pilot in a peace time setting.

And then added in is the post yestersday about US military in Afghanistan is to be allowed to pay Taliban fighters who renounce violence against the government in Kabul.

That is also included in this defence bill which President Obama has signed.

AUGH!

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (5)

October 28, 2009

U.S. Official Resigns Over Afghan War

U.S. official resigns over Afghan war

The Washington Post ...for complete article

Foreign Service officer and former Marine captain says he no longer knows why his nation is fighting

When Matthew Hoh joined the Foreign Service early this year, he was exactly the kind of smart civil-military hybrid the administration was looking for to help expand its development efforts in Afghanistan.

A former Marine Corps captain with combat experience in Iraq, Hoh had also served in uniform at the Pentagon, and as a civilian in Iraq and at the State Department. By July, he was the senior U.S. civilian in Zabul province, a Taliban hotbed.

But last month, in a move that has sent ripples all the way to the White House, Hoh, 36, became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war, which he had come to believe simply fueled the insurgency.

"I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan," he wrote Sept. 10 in a four-page letter to the department's head of personnel. "I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end."

The reaction to Hoh's letter was immediate. Senior U.S. officials, concerned that they would lose an outstanding officer and perhaps gain a prominent critic, appealed to him to stay.

U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry brought him to Kabul and offered him a job on his senior embassy staff. Hoh declined. From there, he was flown home for a face-to-face meeting with Richard C. Holbrooke, the administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"We took his letter very seriously, because he was a good officer," Holbrooke said in an interview. "We all thought that given how serious his letter was, how much commitment there was, and his prior track record, we should pay close attention to him."

While he did not share Hoh's view that the war "wasn't worth the fight," Holbrooke said, "I agreed with much of his analysis." He asked Hoh to join his team in Washington, saying that "if he really wanted to affect policy and help reduce the cost of the war on lives and treasure," why not be "inside the building, rather than outside, where you can get a lot of attention but you won't have the same political impact?"

Hoh accepted the argument and the job, but changed his mind a week later.

"I recognize the career implications, but it wasn't the right thing to do," he said in an interview Friday, two days after his resignation became final.

"I'm not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love," Hoh said. Although he said his time in Zabul was the "second-best job I've ever had," his dominant experience is from the Marines, where many of his closest friends still serve.

"There are plenty of dudes who need to be killed," he said of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. "I was never more happy than when our Iraq team whacked a bunch of guys."

But many Afghans, he wrote in his resignation letter, are fighting the United States largely because its troops are there -- a growing military presence in villages and valleys where outsiders, including other Afghans, are not welcome and where the corrupt, U.S.-backed national government is rejected. While the Taliban is a malign presence, and Pakistan-based al-Qaeda needs to be confronted, he said, the United States is asking its troops to die in Afghanistan for what is essentially a far-off civil war.

As the White House deliberates over whether to deploy more troops, Hoh said he decided to speak out publicly because "I want people in Iowa, people in Arkansas, people in Arizona, to call their congressman and say, 'Listen, I don't think this is right.' "

"I realize what I'm getting into . . . what people are going to say about me," he said. "I never thought I would be doing this."

~ snipet ~

This week, Hoh is scheduled to meet with Vice President Biden's foreign policy adviser, Antony Blinken, at Blinken's invitation.

If the United States is to remain in Afghanistan, Hoh said, he would advise a reduction in combat forces.

He also would suggest providing more support for Pakistan, better U.S. communication and propaganda skills to match those of al-Qaeda, and more pressure on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to clean up government corruption -- all options being discussed in White House deliberations.

"We want to have some kind of governance there, and we have some obligation for it not to be a bloodbath," Hoh said. "But you have to draw the line somewhere, and say this is their problem to solve."

Wild Thing's comment........

Matt Hoh is an American Hero.

I remember hearing Mike Yon report on him from Iraq. This guy is the real deal .

Far be it from me to try to explain this man’s reasons.He has been through enough and from the full article he had or maybe still does sleepless nights and other things. Perhaps he sees that Obama isn’t in it to win ( as Obama has stated very clearly in the past ) and he (Hoh) recognizes that, why stick around for the blood bath, literally and politically? There is that too of course. I might be wrong but it seems Hoh is upset with the administration’s lack of purpose and strategy. I think he’s saying, in essence, “It’s clear Obama doesn’t think this job is worth doing well, so what am I doing here?”

“but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end.”

I do have to say however, that Hoh's saying the war effort is fueling the insurgency is misguided. We assisted the mujahedeen against Russia. the Afghanis should have handed us Osama Bin Laden on a platter as a well deserved favor between allies. Instead we were repaid by 9-11.

As long as there are non Muslims ( all of us ) on this planet the jihadis will be either financing or participating in bloodshed against us. We fight them now or we’ll end up fighting them later. Either way, war is inevitable. apathy, inaction & appeasement will very likely make the confrontation worse.

" joined the State Department after leaving the military and was a diplomat in a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan"

I keep wondering why no one mentions why we went to Afghanistan in the first place.It was called Operation Enduring Freedom and it began on October 7th of 2001. We sent troops to Afghanistan to go after the terrorists after 9-11.

I may be wrong but it was after Iraq and the surge there when troops were taken from Iraq and sent to Afghanistan that all of a sudden it changed to how can we help these people, how can we bring them democracy etc. While at the same time going after terrorists.

I don’t think we’ve put the effort into Afghanistan that we did in Iraq. The Iraqis did man up once they knew we weren’t going to cut and run. The populace isn’t convinced we’ll stick it out, so they’re reticent to stick their necks out.

The Taliban are not stupid they hate and are all about death and destruction but stupid is not one of them. They and the citizens of Afghanistan many of them anyway must be aware as well of what Obama is about and the difference in Obama and Bush.

Could it have anything to do with the mighty Obama's reversal of prior agreements with Poland re missile defense? Or with his not sticking by Israel in the face of the threats they're receiving? Or, his snubbing of our other allies, such as Great Brittain? Or, with his appeasement approach to Iran? Or his desires to have negotiations with the Taliban?

Or, might it have more to do with his lack of resolve in not following through with his campaign statements that the war in Afghanistan is just and must be prosectuted?

The list of backpedaling on agreements with our allies and formation of new relationships with our enemies goes on and on and on.

If we do a surge in Afghanistan and drop the damn R.O.E.'S and get back to KILLING the enemy, I believe the area can be stabilized and the citizens lives improved.

If we are not going to do the surge then get the hell out of dodge. Because the only reason we would stay would be for political purposes and the intentional murder by Obama of our troops. We have GOT to be in it to WIN and take no prisoner attitude and actions. Make Chesty proud for God's sake instead of sheep at the slaughter that has been gonig on since Obama brain dead as a CIC took over.

If we did pull out, I believe Iraq will take the brunt of it. And then Afghanistan will fall and Iraq will be next.

I think it is imperative we clean up Afghanistan. Otherwise we’ll eventually pay for not having done so.

Obama has is no strategy. Obama has yet to publish a strategy for Afghanistan. Obama has yet to publish the National Security Strategy for the United States.

He has no clue.

Bascially now in Afghanistan, our troops are told to sit and be quite as to wait and be fired upon. The ROE's were changed as soon as Obama sort of took the oath. Up to that election, our troops in Afghanistan were much safer and taking out a lot of terrorists.

Dying to achieve a win over the terrorists goal and to secure our Nation is bad enough. Not one member of the military should die when there is no goal. It sickens me because I really believe in our military and I believe we CAN win and we can keep our troops a hell of a lot safer if ONLY Obama would go back to Bush's R.O.E.'S. and also do a surge.

Please read Michael Yon’s “Adopt-a-stan” post at his website http://www.michaelyon-online.com. Definitely a realistic view on what is goin on there. Considering all the civil action projects, I don’t think it’s necessarily feeding the insurgency. If anything, lack of reliability by policymakers, in the form of scant Allied presence, gives locals pause for thought. Marines have won over locals in northern Helmand province in relatively short time (2 or 3 years).

When Bush warned of a war spanning a generation, he was more accurate than most gave him credit for. Keep in mind the Islamists have been planning the reconquest of Europe since the Versaille Treaty of 1919. This event was a watershed because it turned liberated Ottoman Empire territory into a collection of virtual colonies of European powers.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is as relevant now as it was a thousand years ago. To some extent, al Qaeda took some lessons from the godless Mao, who employed a strategy of taking land away from Nationalist Chinese forces by winning over the local contryside populace through coercion or force.

COIN operations in Malaya proved Mao’s strategy could be defeated.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:48 AM | Comments (2)

October 26, 2009

Karzai Questions US Reliability As Partner

University students play with a burning effigy of the President Barack Obama during a demonstration in front of the Afghan Parliament in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. Hundreds of Afghans shouted anti-US, NATO and Afghan government slogans and burned effigy of the President Barack Obama

Karzai questions US reliability as partner

The Age

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai questioned the reliability of the United States as a partner Sunday, as he fought off criticism of his government’s legitimacy following fraud-marred elections.

Karzai’s main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, warned in an interview with CNN that the US strategy will not succeed without a credible partner in Kabul, blaming Karzai for deteriorating conditions.

But underscoring the political headache that Washington faces if Karzai wins a run-off against Abdullah next month, Karzai pointed the finger at the United States in a separate, pre-recorded CNN interview.

“Is the United States a reliable partner with Afghanistan? Is the West a reliable partner with Afghanistan?” Karzai asked. “Have we received the commitments that we were given? Have we been treated like a partner?”

Karzai said a partnership to him was "where the Afghan lives are respected, where Afghan property is respected, where the Afghan traditions are respected, where we know the direction we are moving to."

The comments appeared to allude to Karzai's longstanding criticism of civilian deaths in US air strikes, and to President Barack Obama's still unresolved review of US strategy and his commander's request for up to 40,000 more US troops.

Abdullah said more troops were needed to stabilize the country. But he said that after eight years of war, Afghanistan should have been in position to ask for fewer troops, not more.

"We are not there. Why? Because of the failures of the current administration in Afghanistan," he told CNN.

"Any success for the US strategy in Afghanistan will depend on the credibility of your partner, on the legitimacy of your partner," he added.

Wild Thing's comment.......

LOL I could care less if those students want to use their time burning effigy's of Obama. Go for it! Hahaha

Regarding Karzai questioning OBAMA'S reliability we know the answer to that one. Obama is all about Obama and has already made it very clear that VICTORY in war is not important to him.

Just one other thing....note to Karzai........ after 9-11 we did not go into your cave dwelling land of sand to do anything BUT go after the terrorists. So let's get that straight. If you don't want to better your country, roads, hospitals, schools, you name it then tell us to get the hell out. All the lives of your people do not equal even ONE of our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (5)

October 25, 2009

Pakistan Army Captures Hometown of Country's Taliban Chief

Handout picture from Inter Services Public Relations shows picture of Pakistani Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud.

Pakistan Army Captures Hometown of Country's Taliban Chief

ISLAMABAD

Pakistani soldiers captured the hometown of the country's Taliban chief Saturday, a strategic and symbolic initial prize as the army pushes deeper into a militant stronghold along the Afghan border. An army spokesman said the Taliban were in disarray, with many deserting the ranks.

The 8-day-old air and ground offensive in the South Waziristan tribal region is a key test of nuclear-armed Pakistan's campaign against Islamist militancy. It has already spurred a civilian exodus and deadly retaliatory attacks.

Washington has encouraged the operation in the northwest because many militants there are believed to shelter Al Qaeda leaders and are also suspected to be involved in attacks on Western troops in Afghanistan.

The U.S. military has also kept up its own missile strikes in the lawless tribal belt, including a suspected one that killed 22 Saturday.

The battle for Kotkai town was symbolically key because it is the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and one of his top deputies, Qari Hussain. It also lies along the way to the major militant base of Sararogha, making it a strategically helpful catch.

The fight was intense, taking several days and involving aerial bombardment, officials said.

The majority of homes in the town were converted into "strong bunkers" and it also was home to a training camp for suicide bombers, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told reporters. Troops had begun ridding it of land mines and roadside bombs.

"Thank God, this is the army's very big success," Abbas said. "The good news is that (communications) intercepts show that there are differences forging among the Taliban ranks. Their aides are deserting them."

Abbas said some of the fleeing Taliban have shaved their beards and cut their hair to try to blend in with the civilian population. Taliban spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment.

Three soldiers and 21 militants died in the most recent fighting in the region, the army said. Because it has blocked access to South Waziristan, independently verifying the data is all but impossible.

The government has forged ahead in South Waziristan despite a wave of violence that has put the nation on edge. Some 200 people have been killed in a variety of militant attacks across the country this month.

Others noted that Pakistan had failed at least three times before to wrest the region from the Taliban and said they feared the damage the army might cause.

"Years ago, the army suddenly started an operation and we all had to leave our area in the clothes we were wearing," said Abdul Samad Khan, 65, a farmer from the Spinkai Raghzai area. "When we returned to our area all our homes were either bombed, bulldozed or torched. Our animals were missing. Now imagine, if they come with more might, what they will do with our area."

The army has deployed some 30,000 troops to South Waziristan to take on some 12,000 Taliban militants, including up to 1,500 foreign fighters, among them Uzbeks and Arabs.

The U.S. has launched scores of missile strikes at militant targets in Pakistan's tribal belt over the past year, killing several top insurgents including former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

Pakistan formally protests the missile strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and raise sympathy for the Taliban, while the U.S. rarely discusses the attacks. However, analysts believe the two sides have a secret deal allowing the strikes.

The U.S. has shown no sign of easing the drone-fired attacks even as Pakistan is waging its own fight in the tribal areas. Asked if the missile attacks are a distraction or help, the army spokesman said Pakistan would prefer to go it alone.

"We do not want any assistance or interference from outside," Abbas said.

Wild Thing's comment........

How about giving our troops in harms way - on the 'ghan side of the border where these miscreants run to when things get hot in Pakistan - some more boots on the ground (they have ALWAYS been under-forced and under equipped there) so's they can protect themselves.

Nah, that would upset the Taliban, 'bama's new friends - then they might not sit down and talk with him.

....Thank you Darth for sending this to me.

Darth
U.S. Airforce
C-5 loadmaster
84-97

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (4)

October 20, 2009

Special Gifts from the 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan

I thought I would share something with all of you.

On October 7th, 2001 Operation Enduring Freedom begins in Afghanistan. I had notified the various ships after some lengthy research how to contact them. I told them that I wanted to support our troops on this important mission for our country and the world. I explained I was no one of importance just a grateful American that would like to send care packages and letters of support.

It was a special time, we were answering back to the terrorists after their attack on 9-11 and the world other then Muslim countries were in full support of the mission. It was the first time in my life there was a feeling of unity among the good vs. a pure evil. People were enlisting that had never even thought about it before they wanted to be a part of going after the terrorists. Many other re-enlisted as well and there was an awakening in our country that spread to every city and town, big and small. Flags were flying from shops and business's and homes and cars that had never been there before. Flag stickers were seen on vehicles proudly displayed showing support of our country. A pride in America like I have never seen in my lifetime.

As time went by Nicholas and I sent numerous packages, letters asking for requests for special items and needs. Friendships being made that will always be special just as those have been from the Gulf War and the Vietnam War.

One of the main ships we were in contact with was the USS Bataan. The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed aboard the USS Bataan. The unit went to Spain, then participated in the Operation Bright Star exercises in Egypt. It looked like it might be a normal cruise. He said there was a lot of supposition that the 26th would be going into Afghanistan, but it didn't become official until after the Marines exercised in Albania.
The 26th MEU followed the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit into Camp Rhino, near Kandahar, Afghanistan. The unit then took, secured and protected Kandahar International Airport. It was the longest amphibious landing in history. The Navy placed the Marines more than 500 miles from their ships.

Once they got there we continued to stay in touch. Much of the news we kept to ourselves so as not to put our troops in more danger, other news we would share.

A giant U.S. flag that flew over New York's ground zero and was scrawled with the names of victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks was raised by Marines at their base at Kandahar airport. The flag was given to the Marines by the New York Police Department in the hopes that it would be flown over Afghanistan, said Col. Andrew W. Frick of Task Force 58.
In the white stars of the flag's blue field were written the names of the police officers who died in the World Trade Center attack, as well as those of 17 sailors killed in an October 2000 suicide bombing against the Navy ship USS Cole in Yemen.

Two weeks after the terror attacks, the flag was draped across a building near the World Trade Center. Later, it was taken to an emergency services office in Manhattan, where it became a memorial cloth.

It was flown to the USS Bataan, a Navy warship in the northern Arabian Sea, and then went with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune, N.C., which seized this international airport.

Remember John Walker, the American that joined the terrorists to kill Americans? When the Marines were coming back from Afghanistan aboard the USS Bataan, they had John Walker on board with them. They wrote me about it and said they kept him locked up and away from the others they had taken prisoner. They also said the stench from him was almost unbearable. They had to clean him up just to bring him back. But they had to do it once he was already on the ship.

One day to my complete surprise a large, box arrived from Afghanistan. There was special wrapping paper folded neatly inside it was a red background with the USMC emblem on it in gold and a card. A bottle of wine with the map of Afghanistan, a small glass bottle with sand from Afghanistan, a set of 12 cups and saucers with the USMC emblem on them in gold, a Screaming Eagles Zippo lighter, a mug, and cap.

I sat there so surprised and tears running down my cheeks. I was so proud of them and so grateful and they didn't have to give me anything. Their service and the service or our soldiers, Airmen and Sailors was MORE then one could ask for.

Over the years these items, these gifts sit on a special shelf for others to see. I have never posted about this and thought you might like to see them. The sand in the little bottle being from Afghanistan when thinking about it can you imagine what that sand has been through. The history of that sand, amazing.

One of the Marines called us and told us how we could open the bottle of wine and still manage to save the thin gold thread wrapped along it from the top. LOL He said that is what they all were doing. I laughed and said NO way. That wine will never be drunk, it is too valuable to me and I will cherish it and all the things always.

The Cap from the USS Bataan and the small bottle of sand from Afghanistan

The Mug

The cup and saucer

The bottle of wine with the map of Afghanistan and it says Operation Enduring Freedom over the map and Bataan ARG....LOL I left it pretty big so you can see the image detail better.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (12)

Karl Rove Sets Barack Obama White House Straight on Afghanistan Blame Game Attempt

Karl Rove Sets Barack Obama White House Straight on Afghanistan Blame Game Attempt. Karl Rove, former top adviser to President George W. Bush, bluntly accused President Barack Obama of deliberately "destabilizing" the government of Afghanistan, in an interview this morning on the Fox News Channel.

Rove said Obama sent Democratic party henchman James Carville to help the campaign of one of President Hamid Karzai's opponents for the August presidential election.

An article by NPR last summer says Carville's strategy was to drag the election in to a runoff to aid his candidate, former World Bank official Ashraf Ghani.

Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel made remarks this weekend that questioned whether the Obama administration would send more troops to Afghanistan if the Karzai government remained in power.

Rahm Emanuel, in an increasingly-embarrassing and ineffective Team Obama strategy, attempted to pass the buck on the lackluster Obama Administration .

"Do you have a credible Afghan partner for this process that can provide the security and the type of services that the Afghan people need?" Emanuel said the Obama White House is asking as it conducts a strategy review before answering Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for more troops.

Rove puts Rahm and the rest of the Obama-istas in their proper place.

Take a look at what this administration has done. They have destabilized the Afghan government by saying you know what we're not certain that Karzai is a good partner for us.

And the Obama administration sent in James Carville, Democrat party operative, in order to handle the campaign of Karzai's opponent. And then they express surprise when Karzai is trying to cut side deals with the remaining warlords and regional powers in Afghanistan in order to make certain he has a power base if the Americans pull the rug out from underneath him.

I mean its really unusual that this administration is so quick to criticize the Bush administration when they are really destabilizing the regime in Afghanistan in a fundamental way.

Among the highlights:

* Why are David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs in war strategy meetings?

* What's up with James Carville helping Hamid Karzai's political opponent?

* Is Barack Obama and his team destabilizing Afghanistan with their policies?

Wild Thing's comment.......

OH yessss three cheers for Rove.

For Mr. Rove to state that Obama sent Democratic party henchman James Carville to help the campaign of one of President Hamid Karzai's opponents for the August presidential election... is BIG.

You can imagine the callous and cynical minds that would undermine an election with these kinds of consequences.

Horrific. This admin is putting us in so much danger in so many ways, I can’t keep up with it. We are in trouble and I am very concerned for our troops.

Our central government has become a domestic enemy!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (15)

October 19, 2009

76 Days Since Request For More Troops, Obama STILL Stalling

U.S. Soldiers conduct a dismounted patrol across the Arghandad River to assist Afghanistan National Police with humanitarian relief operations in the Kashani village in the Zabul province of Afghanistan Oct. 9, 2009. The Soldiers are with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment and deployed throughout southern Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

76 days since request for more troops, Obama accused of stalling

Times Online.co.uk

Afghanistan they would call it a shura, the traditional tribal way of listening to elders’ views before reaching a consensus. In Washington, where President Barack Obama has now held five war councils, they are starting to call it dithering.

With another council on the Afghan war scheduled for this week, US officials admit it could be November before a decision is finally taken on whether to agree to General Stanley McChrystal’s request for more troops. One participant revealed that the protagonists have not yet discussed troop numbers.

Latest polls show a majority of Americans now disapprove of Obama’s handling of a war which may come to define his presidency. Many senior members of his own party are in open revolt.

Senator Robert Byrd, at 91 a Democratic institution, was so incensed that he dragged himself from his hospital bed last week to make a 13-minute speech. “Does it really take 100,000 troops to find Osama Bin Laden?” he wondered. “And how much will this cost? How much in terms of more dollars? How much in terms of American blood?”

Obama has kept his own views to himself, although he is thought to be leaning towards acceptance that more forces will have to be added to the 68,000 US troops already committed. But his professorial style of asking for position papers and hearing all views is leading to accusations of drift.

“It has been 76 days since General McChrystal submitted his review to the administration requesting additional forces, and the clock continues to tick,” complained Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the senior Republican on the House foreign affairs committee.

The slow pace, explained one adviser, is explained by the fact that each meeting focuses on a different part of the problem. “They are methodically going through all the information,” he said.

“The discussion itself is not unexpected,” said a Pentagon spokesman. “It’s not as if we were expecting a rubber stamp.”

The White House gives away little after each session, barely changing the adjectives used to describe them. The first was “rigorous and deliberate”, the second “comprehensive”, the next “robust” and the last “fairly comprehensive”.

Behind the scenes a number of big personalities are jostling for power. The man said to have the president’s ear is Robert Gates, the steely defence secretary who served the previous administration of George W Bush and who believes more troops are necessary.

Obama also respects the views of General James Jones, the national security adviser, for his on-the-ground experience of Afghanistan from 2003 to 2006, when he was Nato’s supreme allied commander for Europe. He is said to be wary of sending more men. “Afghanistan is a country that’s quite large and swallows up a lot of people,” he said recently.

The biggest tussle is between McChrystal and Vice-President Joe Biden, who argues against escalation. Biden, who wants more emphasis on Pakistan, pointed out in a paper entitled Counterterrorism Plus that the real threat is not the Taliban but Al-Qaeda, whose leaders have moved over the border.

Biden, 66, seen as the in-house pessimist, has adopted a subtle campaign to make his case, with aides letting slip to journalists the extent of his influence over his inexperienced commander-in-chief.

While McChrystal was slapped down for unwisely choosing a lecture in London to press his point, there has been no attempt by the White House to rein in Biden. Yet with Obama leaning towards sending more troops, the vice-president seems to be heading for defeat.

Although Biden prides himself on his foreign policy experience, a key factor in his selection, critics point out that his judgments have proved questionable in the past.

“When was the last time Biden was right about anything?” asked Thomas Ricks, a military writer affiliated with the Center for a New American Security, a think tank founded by Democrats.

Biden voted against the Gulf war of 1991, voted for the Iraq invasion of 2003, proposed partitioning Iraq into three sections in 2006, and in 2007 opposed the troop surge that was later credited with turning Iraq around.

Whether or not he succeeds in convincing Obama of his case, nobody can dispute that he has changed the nature of the debate. Biden reflects widespread scepticism among Democrats about investing more heavily in an eight-year war that the US and its allies seem to be losing.

Jim McGovern, a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, is pushing a bill that calls for an exit strategy. He argues that extra American troops will only antagonise the Afghans and help the Taliban win more recruits.

Wild Thing's comment..........

“When was the last time Biden was right about anything?” asked Thomas Ricks, a military writer affiliated with the Center for a New American Security, a think tank founded by Democrats.

Good one!

I say this makes Obama criminally culpable in the murders of American service members across this 76 day time span.

I'm no expert but I'll hazard a guess or two based on what I do know. Obama is attempting to triangulate; that is, to find a course of action that exposes him to the minimal risk of political damage, especially to his grandiose domestic programs, and at the same time exposes him to as little responsibility as possible for whatever events transpire in a war zone. IRegarding the welfare of the troops in all of this, it doesn't figure in at all except insofar as it reflects on Obama.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (6)

Sen Kerry: "Irresponsible" To Commit More Troops

Sen Kerry: "Irresponsible" To Commit More Troops Until Afghan Election Decided

Kerry:"We have a responsibility to make certain that the government here is a full partner in our efforts to be able to be as effective as we can be. So before the president makes a decision about the numbers of troops that ought to come here, I believe it is critical for us to be satisfied that the reform efforts that are absolutely mandatory within the government here are in fact going to take place and be fully implemented."

Wild Thing's comment........

John Hanoi Kerry....yes we know this traitor all too well!

* Denouncing America with ‘Hanoi’ Jane
He became a celebrated organizer for one of America's most extreme appeasement groups, Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He consorted with the likes of “Hanoi” Jane Fonda and Ramsey Clark, Lyndon Johnson’s radical former attorney general.

* Those evil American soldiers: Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 23, 1971, Kerry claimed that U.S. soldiers had “raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam.”

* We are not the best’: In his testimony, Kerry claimed there was no communist threat and said: “In 1970 at West Point Vice President Agnew said ‘some glamorize the criminal misfits of society while our best men die in Asian rice paddies to preserve the freedom which most of those misfits abuse,’ and this was used as a rallying point for our effort in Vietnam. But for us, as boys in Asia whom the country was supposed to support, his statement is a terrible distortion from which we can only draw a very deep sense of revulsion, and hence the anger of some of the men who are here in Washington today. It is a distortion because we in no way consider ourselves the best men of this country ….”

* Throw as I say, not as I do: On that same day he led members of VVAW in a protest during which they threw their medals and ribbons over a fence in front of the U.S. Capitol.
Kerry later admitted the medals he threw were not his. To this day they hang on the wall of his office.

* Communist stooge: The communist Daily World delightedly published photos of him speaking to demonstrators and boasted that the marchers displayed a banner depicting a portrait of Communist Party leader Angela Davis, on record stating, “I am dedicated to the overthrow of your system of government and your society,” the New American recalled in May 2003.

* “Under Kerry's leadership, VVAW members mocked the uniform of United States soldiers by wearing tattered fatigues marked with pro-communist graffiti. They dishonored America by marching in demonstrations under the flag of the Viet Cong enemy.”

* The book he doesn’t want you to see: When Kerry ran for election to the U.S. House of Representative in 1972, “he found it necessary to suppress reproduction of the cover picture appearing on his own book, The New Soldier. His political opponent pointed out that it depicted several unkempt youths crudely handling an American flag to mock the famous photo of the U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima,” according to Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry.
“Suddenly, copies of the book became unavailable and even disappeared from libraries. But the Lowell (Mass.) Sun said of the type of person shown on its cover: ‘These people spit on the flag, they burn the flag, they carry the flag upside down, [and] they all but wipe their noses with it in their efforts to show their contempt for everything it still stands for,’” the New American reported.

* Freindly With The Enemy. As chairman of the Select Senate Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, created in 1991 to investigate reports that U.S. prisoners of war and soldiers designated missing in action were still alive in Vietnam, Kerry badgered the panel into voting that no American servicemen remained in Vietnam.
"No one in the United States Senate pushed harder to bury the POW/MIA issue, the last obstacle preventing normalization of relations with Hanoi, than John Forbes Kerry,” noted U.S. Veteran Dispatch.

“But Kerry's participation in the Committee became controversial in December 1992,” reported the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity, “when Hanoi announced that it had awarded Colliers International, a Boston-based real estate company, an exclusive deal to develop its commercial real estate potentially worth billions. Stuart Forbes, the CEO of Colliers, is Kerry's cousin.”

* Kerry is also a fan of China’s communist dictatorship. “On May 19, 1994, five years after Tiananmen Square, Kerry spoke on the Senate floor against linking China's Most Favored Nation trade status to its human rights record,” Slate reported.

Kerry said: “China is the strongest military power in Asia. We need China's cooperation. We cannot afford to adopt a cold-war kind of policy that merely excludes and pushes China away.”

Remember when our awesome soldiers did this in response to what Kerry had said about them.............

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)

October 17, 2009

Obama Ignored Warnings Before Deadly Afghan Attack

The Department of Defense released these photos as they announced on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009 the death of eight soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Oct. 3 in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their contingency outpost with small arms, rocket-propelled grenade and indirect fires. They were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. On the top row are, from left to right, Sgt. Justin T. Gallegos, 27, Tucson, Ariz., Spc. Christopher T. Griffin, 24, Kincheloe, Mich., Pfc. Kevin C. Thomson, 22, Reno, Nev., Michael P. Scusa, 22, Villas, N.J. From left on bottom row, Sgt. Vernon W. Martin, 25, Savannah, Ga., Stephan L. Mace, 21, Lovettsville, Va., Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk, 30, South Portland, Maine, Sgt. Joshua M. Hardt, 24. Applegate, Calif. (AP Photos/Dept. of Defense)

U.S. ignored warnings before deadly Afghan attack

Three intelligence reports dismissed days before eight U.S. soldiers killed

Three intelligence reports warned that Taliban insurgents were planning an attack just days before this month's raid on two remote military outposts in eastern Afghanistan that killed eight U.S. soldiers, but the reports were dismissed as insignificant, U.S. officials told The Washington Times.

As a result, military officials did not send additional troops or make preparations to protect the 140 U.S. and Afghan troops at the combat outposts near Kamdesh in Nuristan province by the Pakistan border, the officials said.

Army Maj. T.G. Taylor, a spokesman for the Army's Task Force Mountain Warrior, told The Times that the three reports did not stand out among hundreds of others and that the intelligence was deemed to be not specific and uncorroborated.

"Reports like this happen all the time in all of our areas," Maj. Taylor said in an e-mail. "It is only through corroboration of reports and/or multiple instances of reporting that we can develop patterns."

One U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said that despite the Army's characterization of the reports as insignificant, some of the reporting was included in finished intelligence that circulated in classified channels throughout the region before the attack. Finished intelligence is material that has been analyzed and determined to be of value.

A former senior Army officer said the intelligence should have prompted action to provide the outposts with more defenses.

"Why didn't they react and have immediate support on site, based on the intelligence, and even based on the initial attack that occurred?" retired Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely asked.

Gen. Vallely said the outposts near the border should have been staffed with more Afghan troops, who despite eight years of U.S. assistance and training are not deemed capable of running such posts themselves.

The attacks on the Keating and Fritsche outposts - the deadliest in more than a year - are now being reviewed by the Pentagon. The disclosure of prior intelligence warnings comes as President Obama is weighing a request by his top commander in the region to deploy up to 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

Some 200 Taliban insurgents attacked the outposts on the morning of Oct. 3 with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, nearly overrunning the fortified bases.

They killed eight U.S. Army soldiers and two Afghan soldiers, making it the deadliest single attack against allied forces in Afghanistan since a similar raid in nearby Wanat in July 2008. Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in that battle, which prompted a re-evaluation of U.S. counterinsurgency tactics in Afghanistan.

One of the intelligence reports on Kamdesh, released in part to The Times, stated that a new Taliban sub-commander in Kamdesh, named Ghulan Faroq, had been appointed and "charged with attacking COP Keating," but no date for the attack was given. COP is military shorthand for combat outpost.

The report also stated that on or about Sept. 29 or 30, "fighters in Kamdesh received a resupply of B-10 ammunition" suitable for use with Soviet-design B-10 recoilless guns that fire 82 mm mortarlike rounds.

A second report stated that, around Oct. 2, a Taliban meeting took place in Kamdesh and that "a Taliban commander will arrive in Kamdesh soon to conduct attacks against coalition forces."

The third report stated that around late September, "a Taliban commander planned to conduct simultaneous attacks against coalition bases in Gewardesh, Kamu and Kamdesh regions of Nuristan and that each attack would be perpetrated by 10-15 Taliban fighters in each location."

"At the same time as these attacks, another unit would attack Barg-e Matal with up to 150 fighters."

Despite the information in the intelligence reports, Maj. Taylor insisted that the attack took the 50 U.S. troops and 90 Afghan police officers and soldiers at the combat outposts by surprise.

"There was no early warning of attacks or significant reporting in the area, which would lead us to believe there would be attacks," he said.

Asked to define significant reporting, Maj. Taylor said that "no significant reporting means that there was no reporting that would lead anyone to believe that anything was out of the ordinary."

Nuristan province is considered a hotbed of al Qaeda and Taliban forces. It is located close to the border where insurgents regularly cross into refuges in Pakistan.

The Army operates several intelligence units in the eastern region of Afghanistan that are in charge of collecting, analyzing and disseminating reports. A military official said communications between headquarters and the outposts was not a problem.

Maj. Taylor said the attack on the outposts, which left at least 27 injured, is under investigation by the military under Article 15-6 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Such inquiries occur "any time there is a loss of life," he said.

Before the attack, the 200 Taliban and other Islamist insurgents infiltrated a mosque in Kamdesh and dug into positions on adjacent hillsides within firing range of the bases.

The U.S. and Afghan soldiers fought back with 155 mm artillery despite heavy enemy fire that limited their capacity to return fire. The soldiers received no combat air support until Apache attack helicopters reached the outposts 30 minutes after the attack began.

After the July 2008 battle at nearby Wanat, the military conducted an investigation to determine whether commanders had been negligent. Military analysts say that battle led to a decision to begin moving forces out of remote hard-to-defend areas.

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, has proposed a counterinsurgency strategy that would move U.S. troops closer to larger population centers with a goal of better protecting the Afghan public against the insurgents. The risk is that the Taliban will be able to move more freely and control more of the countryside.

Both Kamdesh and Wanat are symptomatic of what critics have called the "under-resourced war" in Afghanistan - one that is being fought with too few troops and without other needed equipment.

A draft U.S. military report circulating in military circles stated that troops at the Wanat outpost were distracted by preparations for replacements and did not have enough surveillance drones in use to detect preparations for the attack.

The combat posts at Kamdesh were abandoned days after the battle and then bombed by U.S. aircraft. Western news agencies reported that a Taliban spokesman had boasted that the group's flag was flying over the abandoned outposts.

Wild Thing's comment.......

It sickens me that this happened and didn't have to. Are you listening you POS Obama????????????????

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (16)

October 14, 2009

Obama Quietly Deploying 13,000 More US Troops to Afghanistan

Obama quietly deploying 13,000 more US troops to Afghanistan

Guardian.co.uk

Move is separate from Nato commander General Stanley McChrystal's request to increase troop levels

Barack Obama is quietly deploying an extra 13,000 troops to Afghanistan, an unannounced move that is separate from a request by the US commander in the country for even more reinforcements.

The extra 13,000 is part of a gradual shift in priority since Obama became president away from Iraq to Afghanistan.

The White House and the Pentagon both announced earlier this year that the number of US troops in Afghanistan was to be raised by 21,000, bringing the total at present to 62,000, with the aim of 68,000 by the end of the year.

But the Washington Post, based on conversations with Pentagon officials, said that on top of those an extra 13,000 "enablers" are also being deployed. They are mainly engineers, medical staff, intelligence officers and military police. About 3,000 of them are specialists in explosives, being sent to try to combat the growing fatality rate from roadside bombs.

The deployment of such non-combat troops is in line with the professed aim of the new US commander, General Stanley McChrystal, to try to win the hearts and minds of the Afghanistan population.

In addition to the deployments under way, McChrystal has also requested an extra 40,000 troops he says are necessary to prevent the country falling into the hands of the Taliban. That request has provoked an intense debate within Washington, with some political advisers in the White House opposed to any further escalation of a war that is already proving unpopular at home.

The Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, today expressed support for McChrystal's request. "I'm fully behind him for what he's seeking in this report," Karzai told ABC's Good Morning America.

As part of the internal debate, the US defence secretary, Robert Gates, who is cautiously supporting McChrystal, is due to meet later today the vice-president Joe Biden, who is opposed to the troop increase and favours a shift in priority to tracking down al-Qaida in Pakistan.

A decision on McChrystal's troop request appears to have been postponed for a few weeks. Any extra troops will come as a result of a parallel reduction in the number of US troops in Iraq.

A US military planner told the Army Times: "We've increased forces in Afghanistan before we've reduced forces in Iraq in a meaningful way. If they want forces sooner than 2010, there are no additional forces available. You'll have to pull them from Iraq and put them in Afghanistan."

The US spokesman in Iraq, Brigadier General Stephen Lanza, said yesterday that the number of US troops in Iraq will be down to 120,000 by the end of the month, down 23,000 since January. But any further large-scale reductions will have to wait until after Iraqi elections next January.

He said the aim was to get all combat troops out of Iraq by August, leaving 50,000 troops to advise and support the Iraqis.

Obama Blames Bush for 13,000 New Troops in Afghanistan

Later, spokesman Robert Gibbs rejected a published report that the president had authorized 13,000 additional troops that were now arriving in Afghanistan. He said those troops were part of a deployment ordered by the former Bush administration, but had not made their way to the Afghan theater by the time Obama became president. The Washington Post had reported those forces were authorized by Obama.

Wild Thing's comment........

Obama has established a pattern of blaming his predecessor for nearly any difficulty he has faced in office. His failure to accept a modicum of responsibility ten months in to office for a troop movement that his administration had to approve and support, no matter that it was initiated by President Bush, is pathetic. Especially because Obama retained Bush's Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who carried out the orders of both presidents in deploying the 13,000 troops to Afghanistan.

Obama doesn't want to get his base made at him. What a total jerk. What a wee-weed up wimp. He will never fill the shoes of a Commander-in-Chief. NEVER!

Clinton’s legacy=Never met her

Obama’s legacy = Bush’s fault

And Bush wrote “Dreams of My Father"

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (16)

October 13, 2009

Obama Ready to Pay Afghan Fighters to Ditch the Taliban

Times Online.co.uk

The Obama administration is considering outbidding the Taliban to persuade Afghan villagers to lay down arms as it struggles to find a new approach to a war that is fast losing public and congressional support.

Despite five war councils in two weeks, President Barack Obama has so far failed to come up with a strategy for the conflict that may define his presidency. Fierce infighting continues between his own generals and advisers.

Obama has been handed three options by General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the US forces in Afghanistan. These range from 20,000 to 60,000 more troops, which would almost double the US military presence. McChrystal is said to favour an increase of 40,000 men, without which he warns the mission will fail.

The White House is uneasy about sending so many on top of an extra 21,000 already dispatched this year, fearing this could escalate the war which has already claimed the lives of 241 American soldiers this year.

Obama’s delay in coming to a decision has led generals to warn that the Taliban will see it as lack of resolve and take advantage. The Taliban stepped up attacks last week with a bomb in Kabul, which killed 17 people, and an onslaught against a US military post in which eight Americans died.

Anthony Zinni is one of a number of retired generals who have taken to the airwaves insisting more troops should be sent. “The risk if you take too much time is you look like you’re dithering and both our allies and enemies will wonder if we’re really committed,” he warned.

The president is reportedly frustrated that the debate has become polarised between those who want to send more troops and their critics, who say it would lead to another Vietnam. They advocate more reliance on drones and special forces.

Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, argues that the president has only himself to blame. “It was Obama who insisted in March and again last month that this was a ‘war of necessity’ and must be fully resourced rather than looking at what we really have at stake in Afghanistan.”

One official said the key emphasis in the White House meetings had been to identify options that would prepare the way for American troops to leave. Apart from training more Afghan troops, the focus has shifted to accepting a political role for the Taliban, while also trying to weaken them by winning some over.

Afghans are known for changing sides back and forth during their long years of war — there is an old saying that “you can rent an Afghan but never buy one” — and battles have often been decided by defections rather than combat.

Paying Taliban foot-soldiers to switch sides could spare US lives and save money, say its advocates. A recent report by the Senate foreign relations committee estimated the Taliban fighting strength at 15,000, of whom only 5% are committed idealogues while 70% fight for money — the so-called $10-a-day Taliban. Doubling this to win them over would cost just $300,000 a day, compared with the $165m a day the United States is spending fighting the war.

The tactic was used to good effect in Iraq where the US government put 100,000 Sunni gunmen on its payroll for about $300 a month each.

Some experts disagree. Gilles Dorronsoro from the Carnegie Institute insisted: “You cannot break an insurgency that strong with money. It’s not a mercenary force — it’s a very powerful movement.”

More troops, say McChrysal’s allies, could tip the balance of power away from the insurgents and give the population the confidence needed to switch sides.

McChrystal had his knuckles rapped for failing to go through the chain of command when he described advocates of a focused attack on Al-Qaeda as “short-sighted”. He was told to cancel a trip to Washington to brief Obama.

One serving general close to McChrystal told The Sunday Times he has been taken aback by the White House’s attitude. “It surprised a lot of us — we thought the policy decision was made to come down on the counter-insurgency course of action.”

The source described as “crazy” the idea that “we can just cut deals with the Taliban without having to do anything”.

He added: “At the moment you can’t recruit from Pashtun communities or their families will be killed, so we need to first improve security.”

The Pentagon insists that not sending more troops would signal a lack of resolve and give the enemy the opportunity to regain the initiative.

Obama has scheduled further talks for this week. But it has not gone unnoticed among his generals that among the works of art chosen by the Obamas to hang in the White House is Edward Ruscha’s painting about indecision, I Think I’ll ... The picture superimposes phrases such as “maybe ... yes”, “maybe ... no” and “wait a minute” on top of a blood-red sunset.

Wild Thing's comment....

So what happens when you stop paying the Taliban or does Obama plan on paying them forever. And since Obama is a Muslim he will never say the truth, that Muslims LIE, they are taught that in the Koran. So one can NEVER believe a Muslim.

Might as well say we are going to fund terrorism.

Obama thinks he can buy the Taliban the way he bought blacks in this country...with promises of government money. Every so often he has to come out and hand them a few thousand dollars (such as in Detroit the other day) and he thinks this will be the same.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (15)

October 10, 2009

After Nobel Nod, Obama Convenes Afghan War Council

Hours after being named a Nobel peace laureate, President Barack Obama Friday shouldered his duties as commander in chief of the US armed forces and convened his war council for crucial talks on Afghan strategy.

Obama gathered his top political, military, and security aides in the secure Situation Room of the White House for the fourth in a series of in-depth consultations on rescuing the US mission in the unpopular eight-year war.

"The president had a robust conversation about the security and political challenges in Afghanistan and the options for building a strategic approach going forward," an administration official told AFP.

Obama "looks forward to continued discussion on Wednesday," the official said.

Obama was scheduled to be briefed by Afghan war commander General Stanley McChrystal on his report warning that the US counter-insurgency mission in Afghanistan could fail within a year without more troops.

The meeting came amid more suggestions of tension between the White House and top military brass on the best way forward.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Friday's meeting could be followed by more than one meeting before the president makes a decision on strategy, still several weeks away.

The Taliban scoffed at Obama's shock Nobel prize award on Friday, suggesting his policy towards Afghanistan barely differed from that of ex-president George W. Bush.Related article: Obama urged to spur peace

"We have seen no change in his strategy for peace," said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic fundamentalist militants.

"He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan," Mujahid told AFP. "He has not taken a single step for peace in Afghanistan or to make this country stable."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has seen his stock diminish in the United States amid election fraud allegations, immediately congratulated Obama on Friday, saying he was the "appropriate" person to win the peace prize.

"His hard work and his new vision on global relations, his will and efforts for creating friendly and good relations at global level and global peace make him the appropriate recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize," Karzai spokesman Siamak Hirai told AFP.

On Thursday, Gibbs said there was "clearly a difference" between Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. He said Al-Qaeda was as an "entity that, through a global, transnational jihadist network, would seek to strike the US homeland."

"I think that the Taliban are obviously exceedingly bad people that have done awful things. Their capability is somewhat different, though, on that continuum of transnational threats."said Gibbs.

The White House comments on the Taliban came after the group said Wednesday it did not pose a direct threat to the United States.

Wild Thing's comment......

"Gibbs: "I think that the Taliban are obviously exceedingly bad people that have done awful things."

OMG ....yes well ok they are bad people but um they are worse then bad people you FOOL, they are terrorists and they would love to slice your head right off your body.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (13)

October 09, 2009

Obama ~ Taliban Can Be Part of Afghanistan’s Government

Obama says the Taliban aren’t the enemy and we could cede parts of Afghanistan over to them! What a sad, pathetic, weak man we have in the White House. Obama Takes Yesterday’s Taliban Talking Points, Makes Them Today’s WH Spin God, help us!

Obama focusing on al-Qaida, not Taliban

President Barack Obama is prepared to accept some Taliban involvement in Afghanistan's political future and appears inclined to send only as many more U.S. troops as needed to keep al-Qaida at bay, a senior administration official said Thursday.

The sharpened focus by Obama's team on fighting al-Qaida above all other goals, while downgrading the emphasis on the Taliban, comes in the midst of an intensely debated administration review of the increasingly unpopular eight-year-old war.

Though aides stress that the president's final decision on any changes is still at least two weeks away, the emerging thinking suggests that he would be very unlikely to favor a large military increase of the kind being advocated by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

McChrystal's troop request is said to include a range of options, from adding as few as 10,000 combat troops to - the general's strong preference - as many as 40,000.

Obama's developing strategy on the Taliban will "not tolerate their return to power," the senior official said in an interview with The Associated Press. But the U.S. would fight only to keep the Taliban from retaking control of Afghanistan's central government - something it is now far from being capable of - and from giving renewed sanctuary in Afghanistan to al-Qaida, the official said.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Meanwhile....Iran keeps supporting the Taliban.

Obama does NOT want to kill the Taliban. Weak, weak, weak. Our enemies now know they have nothing to fear from Barack HUSSEIN Obama.

Let's look back at Obama's history about the Taliban since he became the Anti-American illegal President.

From some posts I made in March of this year..............

March 7th 2009
Obama Ponders Outreach to Elements of the Taliban

Obama declared in an interview that the United States was not winning the war in Afghanistan and opened the door to a reconciliation process in which the American military would reach out to moderate elements of the Taliban, much as it did with Sunni militias in Iraq.

March 9th,2009
Taliban Responds To Barack Hussein Obama

March 12th,2009
Taliban To Obama ~ "moderate Taliban and what it means?"

"This does not require any response or reaction for this is illogical," Qari Mohammad Yousuf, a purported spokesman for the insurgent group, said when asked if its top leader Mullah Mohammad Omar would make any comment about Mr Obama's proposal.

"The Taliban are united, have one leader, one aim, one policy...I do not know why they are talking about moderate Taliban and what it means? "If it means those who are not fighting and are sitting in their homes, then talking to them is meaningless. This really is surprising the Taliban."

“Obama’s comment resemble a dream more than reality,” said Waheed Mozhdah, an analyst who has written a book on the Taliban.

“Where are the so-called moderate Taliban? Who are the moderate Taliban?” asked Mozhdah, who was an official in both the Taliban and the Karzai governments.

"'Moderate Taliban' is like 'moderate killer'. Is there such a thing?", asked writer and analyst Qaseem Akhgar.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (25)

General's D.C. Trip Put Off as Strategy Talks Drag On

CLICK HERE for the complete article.

The White House has told the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan to delay a planned trip here Friday to brief President Obama and his senior advisers on his recommendation for a major troop increase.

Officials had hoped to have Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and what national security adviser James L. Jones called "all the key players" speak to Obama in person by the end of this week, leading to final deliberations over a forward strategy.

But "we're not finished," Jones said Thursday, and meetings may extend beyond next week. When the White House is ready, he said, McChrystal -- along with the U.S. ambassadors to Afghanistan and Pakistan -- will fly to Washington so that the three "can meet with the president before a decision is made."

~ Snipet ~

Senior Republican lawmakers who support McChrystal's request for more troops began demanding weeks ago that Obama bring the commander back to testify before Congress -- as Petraeus did in explaining why President George W. Bush's decision to "surge" thousands more troops into Iraq was the right one.

McChrystal initially planned to arrive in Washington in time for the meeting, "but he was told it would be best if he stayed in Afghanistan" for the time being, a senior military official in Kabul said. The message, which originated with Jones, was conveyed by Gates.

Although officials in Washington insisted that the decision to delay the trip reflected only the timing of White House deliberations, this military official said that it was equally a reflection of the desire of both Gates and Mullen to take the lead military role in the discussions. Gates, he said, has worked hard to forge a close relationship with Obama and believes he can effectively represent the Pentagon's positions.

Mullen is determined to fulfill his responsibility to represent the views of all the service chiefs in a way he believes was circumvented under Bush, a Pentagon official said. "Our perspective," he said, "is that [Obama] prefers to use the chain of command and that he wants to hear what the chiefs think."

Here is video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the Charlie Rose Show slamming Gen. Stanley McChrystal "with all due respect." Pelosi praised the proposed strategy for Afghanistan being put forward by Vice-President Joe Biden as one that "has currency" among the American people and members of Congress.

She then said Gen. McChrystal should be giving advice to the President "through the chain of command," not "in press conferences." She was slamming comments made by McChrystal during a Q & A session in London following a speech he gave there last week. McChrystal never mentioned Biden's name, but was asked by a participant if he favored a strategy that would use fewer boots on the ground in Afghanistan, but concentrate efforts only on attacking Al-Qaeda. This strategy would essentially allow the Taliban to retake control of the country.

Olilie North with our troops in Afghanistan to show support and let them know how much we love them all and support them back home.

American troops in Afghanistan losing heart, say army chaplains

American soldiers serving in Afghanistan are depressed and deeply disillusioned, according to the chaplains of two US battalions that have spent nine months on the front line in the war against the Taleban.

Many feel that they are risking their lives — and that colleagues have died — for a futile mission and an Afghan population that does nothing to help them, the chaplains told The Times in their makeshift chapel on this fortress-like base in a dusty, brown valley southwest of Kabul.

“The many soldiers who come to see us have a sense of futility and anger about being here. They are really in a state of depression and despair and just want to get back to their families,” said Captain Jeff Masengale, of the 10th Mountain Division’s 2-87 Infantry Battalion.

“They feel they are risking their lives for progress that’s hard to discern,” said Captain Sam Rico, of the Division’s 4-25 Field Artillery Battalion. “They are tired, strained, confused and just want to get through.” The chaplains said that they were speaking out because the men could not.

The base is not, it has to be said, obviously downcast, and many troops do not share the chaplains’ assessment. The soldiers are, by nature and training, upbeat, driven by a strong sense of duty, and they do their jobs as best they can. Re-enlistment rates are surprisingly good for the 2-87, though poor for the 4-25. Several men approached by The Times, however, readily admitted that their morale had slumped.

“We’re lost — that’s how I feel. I’m not exactly sure why we’re here,” said Specialist Raquime Mercer, 20, whose closest friend was shot dead by a renegade Afghan policeman last Friday. “I need a clear-cut purpose if I’m going to get hurt out here or if I’m going to die.”

Sergeant Christopher Hughes, 37, from Detroit, has lost six colleagues and survived two roadside bombs. Asked if

the mission was worthwhile, he replied: “If I knew exactly what the mission was, probably so, but I don’t.”

The only soldiers who thought it was going well “work in an office, not on the ground”. In his opinion “the whole country is going to s***”.

The battalion’s 1,500 soldiers are nine months in to a year-long deployment that has proved extraordinarily tough. Their goal was to secure the mountainous Wardak province and then to win the people’s allegiance through development and good governance. They have, instead, found themselves locked in an increasingly vicious battle with the Taleban.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Obama appointed General McChrystal's and he can't stand to be in his presence. He doesn't even really want input from him, that is so obvious.

Regarding what Obama is doing to our troops , I shake from anger when I am typing this I am so angry.

Praying hard for our troops!!! And DAMN Obama to the worst place in HELL whatever that would be.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:49 AM | Comments (11)

October 07, 2009

Defense Sec. Gates ~ "I Try To Avoid Terms Like Winning Or Losing" ~WTH?

"Do you think we can win in Afghanistan?"

Amanpour: "Secretary Gates, the majority of the American people believe that America can win in Afghanistan, do you think America can win in Afghanistan?"

Gates: "From the time I took this job I have tried both in Iraq and Afghanistan to avoid terms like winning and losing, because they become very loaded in our domestic debate, but they also become loaded around the world.

"I think the key thing is to establish what our objectives are, and can we achieve our objectives"

Wild Thing's comment.........

OMG, that is lilke Obama has said he did not care about a victory.
One thing we know for sure, Gates would never say “I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” Aren’t we all just equal now?

Thanks to Gates and Obama they must be proud of themselves as they say things like this that raises the enemies’ self-esteem.

Memo to Mr. Gates, well then sir it appears as if you have made a bad career choice. Maybe you should be coaching kindergarten soccer.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (13)

October 06, 2009

Democrats H.R.3699 Bill To Prohibit More Troops in Afghanistan

Hakimullah Mehsud the Pakistan Taliban head cracks jokes, vows vengeance

H.R.3699

http://thomas.loc.gov/

Title: To prohibit any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan.
Sponsor: Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] (introduced 10/1/2009) Cosponsors (21)
Latest Major Action: 10/1/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

To prohibit any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan. (Introduced in House)

HR 3699 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3699

To prohibit any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 1, 2009

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. WATERS, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. WATSON, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. COHEN, Mr. HONDA, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. STARK, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. FILNER, and Mr. GRAYSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To prohibit any increase in the number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON INCREASE IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES SERVING IN AFGHANISTAN.

No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may be obligated or expended to increase the number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan so that the number of members serving in Afghanistan exceeds the number so serving on the date of the enactment of this Act.

COSPONSORS(21), ALPHABETICAL
Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [NY-11] - 10/1/2009
Rep Cleaver, Emanuel [MO-5] - 10/1/2009
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 10/1/2009
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 10/1/2009
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4] - 10/1/2009
Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] - 10/1/2009
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 10/1/2009
Rep Grayson, Alan [FL-8] - 10/1/2009
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 10/1/2009
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] - 10/1/2009
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 10/1/2009
Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18] - 10/1/2009
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] - 10/1/2009
Rep Lewis, John [GA-5] - 10/1/2009
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 10/1/2009
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 10/1/2009
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] - 10/1/2009
Rep Towns, Edolphus [NY-10] - 10/1/2009
Rep Waters, Maxine [CA-35] - 10/1/2009
Rep Watson, Diane E. [CA-33] - 10/1/2009
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] - 10/1/2009

Pakistan Taliban head cracks jokes, vows vengeance

SARAROGHA, Pakistan

Flanked by heavily armed fighters, the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban sat on a blue blanket, amiable and relaxed as he cracked jokes and mixed in threats of vengeance for deadly U.S. airstrikes.

One day later, a suicide bomber attacked a U.N. office in Islamabad.

Hakimullah Mehsud met with reporters Sunday for the first time since winning control of the militant group, quashing speculation that he had been slain in a succession struggle following the killing of his predecessor in a U.S. drone attack.

He also described his group's relationship to al-Qaida as one of "love and affection." Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaida leaders are believed to be hiding out in the remote border region with Afghanistan, possibly in territory controlled by Hakimullah.

The militant vowed to retaliate against the U.S. and Pakistan for deadly attacks on his allies and said his fighters will repel an anticipated Pakistani offensive into his stronghold.

At one point, he pulled out a laptop to show his guests an Afghan comedian's standup routine about jihadi - or holy war - groups. On the serious side, he also showed pre-attack video testimony made by a suicide bomber.

Hakimullah spoke flanked by fighters wielding automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. He agreed to be interviewed on condition his comments not be published until the reporters left the area Monday.

One of Baitullah's deputies, Hakimullah was known for brazen strikes on civilians, claiming responsibility for the June 9 bombing of the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore earlier this year.

He vowed his forces would avenge Baitullah Mehsud's killing and would strike back at Pakistan and the U.S. for the increasing airstrikes.

Unmanned drones have carried out more than 70 missile strikes in northwestern Pakistan in the last year in a covert program, killing several militant commanders along with sympathizers and civilians. The Pakistani government publicly protests the attacks but is widely believed to sanction them and provide intelligence for at least some.

"There is no doubt that American spy planes are being used in these attacks, but we know all the intelligence is being provided by Pakistan," Hakimullah said. "We have taken revenge for the past attacks and we will definitely take revenge for the remaining drone attacks."

Wild Thing's comment........

Can you belive it, here we have men and women, risking their lives in thie war and their CIC and his democrats are doing this H.R.3699 bill. .....or trying to.

OMG ......TREASON!

Obama's liberal buddies are blocking a surge. This is from the blog at TheHill.com, the Briefing Room.

"Nearly two dozen House liberals have signed onto a bill introduced this past week that would prohibit an increase of troops in Afghanistan. A bill introduced by Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) Thursday would bar funding to increase troop level in Afghanistan beyond its current level. Lee and 21 lawmakers, largely from the liberal Congressional Progressive Caucus..."

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (15)

Obama Throwing Generals Petraeus and McChrystal Under The Bus

Obama is not just avoiding his top general in Afghanistan. Obama has also pushed aside miracle worker General David Petraeus.

Voice of Bush’s Favored General Is Now Harder to Hear

The New York Times

Gen. David H. Petraeus, the face of the Iraq troop surge and a favorite of former President George W. Bush, spoke up or was called upon by President Obama “several times” during the big Afghanistan strategy session in the Situation Room last week, one participant says, and will be back for two more meetings this week.

But the general’s closest associates say that underneath the surface of good relations, the celebrity commander faces a new reality in Mr. Obama’s White House: He is still at the table, but in a very different seat.

No longer does the man who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have one of the biggest voices at National Security Council meetings, as he did when Mr. Bush gave him 20 minutes during hourlong weekly sessions to present his views in live video feeds from Baghdad. No longer is the general, with the Capitol Hill contacts and web of e-mail relationships throughout Washington’s journalism establishment, testifying in media explosions before Congress, as he did in September 2007, when he gave 34 interviews in three days.

The change has fueled speculation in Washington about whether General Petraeus might seek the presidency in 2012. His advisers say that it is absurd — but in immediate policy terms, it means there is one less visible advocate for the military in the administration’s debate over whether to send up to 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

General Petraeus’s aides now privately call him “Dave the Dull,” and say he has largely muzzled himself from the fierce public debate about the war to avoid antagonizing the White House, which does not want pressure from military superstars and is wary of the general’s ambitions in particular.

The general’s aides requested anonymity to talk more candidly about his relationship with the White House.

“General Petraeus has not hinted to anyone that he is interested in political life, and in fact has said on many occasions that he’s not,” said Peter Mansoor, a retired Army colonel and professor of military history at Ohio State University who was the executive officer to General Petraeus when he was the top American commander in Iraq.

“It is other people who are looking at his popularity and saying that he would be a good presidential candidate, and I think rightly that makes the administration a little suspicious of him.”

General Petraeus’s advisers say he has stepped back in part because Mr. Obama has handpicked his own public face for the war in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who last week gave an interview to CBS’s “60 Minutes,” met with Mr. Obama on Air Force One and used a speech in London to reject calls for scaling back the war effort.

If anything, General McChrystal’s public comments may prove that General Petraeus might be prudent to take a back seat during the debate. On Sunday, when CNN’s John King asked Gen. James L. Jones, the national security adviser, if it was appropriate for a man in uniform to appear to campaign so openly for more troops, General Jones replied, “Ideally, it’s better for military advice to come up through the chain of command.”

How much General Petraeus’s muted voice will affect Mr. Obama’s decision on the war is unclear, but people close to him say that stifling himself in public could give him greater credibility to influence the debate from within. Others say that his biggest influence may simply be as part of a team of military advisers, including General McChrystal and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The men are united in what they see as the need to build up the American effort in Afghanistan, although General Petraeus, who works closely with General McChrystal, said last week that he had not yet endorsed General McChrystal’s request for more troops.

Together the three are likely to be aligned against Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., as well as other administration officials who want to scale back the effort. In that situation, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who has worried about a big American presence in Afghanistan but left the door open to more troops, could be the most influential vote.

What is clear is that General Petraeus’s relationship with Mr. Obama is nothing like his bond with Mr. Bush, who went mountain biking with the general in Washington last fall, or with Mr. Obama’s opponent in the 2008 presidential campaign, Senator John McCain of Arizona, whose aides briefly floated the general’s name last year as a possible running mate.

By then the general had been talked about as a potential presidential candidate himself, which still worries some political aides at the White House.

But not Mr. Obama, at least according to one of his top advisers. “The president’s not thinking that way, and the vice president’s not thinking that way,” said Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff. “The president values his insights in helping to turn around an eight-year-old war that has been neglected.”

General Petraeus’s advisers say that to preserve a sense of military impartiality, he has not voted since at least 2003, and that he is not sure if he is still registered in New Hampshire, where he and his wife own property. The general has been described as a Republican, including in a lengthy profile in The New Yorker magazine last year. But a senior military official close to him said last week that he could not confirm the general’s political party.

In the meantime, General Petraeus travels frequently from his home in Tampa to Washington, where he met last week with the Afghan foreign minister. He also had dinner with Richard C. Holbrooke, the administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The general also makes calls on Capitol Hill.

“He understands the Congress better than any military commander I’ve ever met,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, who said that General Petraeus had the nationwide influence to serve as a spokesman for the administration’s policy on the Afghan war.

But until the president makes a decision, and determines if he wants to deploy General Petraeus to help sell it, the commander is keeping his head down. “He knows how to make his way through minefields like this,” said Jack Keane, the former vice chief of staff of the Army.

White House angry at General Stanley McChrystal speech on Afghanistan

The relationship between President Barack Obama and the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan has been put under severe strain by Gen Stanley McChrystal’s comments on strategy for the war.

Telegraph.co.uk

By Alex Spillius in Washington

According to sources close to the administration, Gen McChrystal shocked and angered presidential advisers with the bluntness of a speech given in London last week.

The next day he was summoned to an awkward 25-minute face-to-face meeting on board Air Force One on the tarmac in Copenhagen, where the president had arrived to tout Chicago’s unsuccessful Olympic bid.

In an apparent rebuke to the commander, Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary, said: “It is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations, civilians and military alike, provide our best advice to the president, candidly but privately.”

Tensions rise over Afghanistan war strategy

As Obama's team works on its plans, McChrystal and other advisors are asked to keep the process more private.

Los Angeles Times

By Christi Parsons October 5, 2009

Reporting from Washington - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that President Obama's advisors should keep their guidance private, in effect admonishing the top U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan for publicly advocating a troop-intensive military approach at a time when the White House is considering an overhaul of its strategy.

The comment by Gates came a day after a top White House official, national security advisor James Jones, said military commanders should convey their advice through the chain of command, a sharp reaction to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's call in a speech in London last week for a strategy aimed at stabilizing Afghanistan.

The exchanges suggested a certain disarray in the Obama administration attempt to forge a new policy on Afghanistan and underscored the wide differences among top officials over the correct approach after eight years of failed efforts.

The controversy centered on McChrystal, a special forces commander tapped by Obama to take charge of the Afghanistan effort in June to institute a sweeping counterinsurgency strategy. Obama and McChrystal spoke Friday aboard Air Force One on an airport tarmac in Copenhagen, and White House officials did not detail what the two talked about.

Gates' comments, in an address before an Assn. of the U.S. Army meeting, came in the midst of what the Pentagon chief called a "hyper-partisan" debate over Afghanistan policy. Many Republicans and even some leading Democrats demand the president comply with commanders' troop requests.

Wild Thing's comment..........

First, they are ignoring Petraeus. Second, they are out to get McChyrstal. What is next? I think we will be seeing a lot of stories in print and in the TV meida the losses of Russia in Afghanistan .

This is worse then if Obama was simply confused and being out of his realm, this is by design by Obama.

I am grateful to Gen. David H. Petraeus and General Stanley McChrystal for their service and these articles that slander them and Obama doing all he can to put them under the bus is unforgivable. These POS would not be living in a free land if it were not for our military. With Bush our military got treated with respect and also received timely answers. With Obama there is no respect and obviously disarray. Not good and even worse with a hot war going on and our troops dying on the battle field.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (11)

October 05, 2009

Obama As CIC Is Dangerous For Troops

WASHINGTON

By openly declaring their views on the Afghan war, US military leaders have placed President Barack Obama in a bind as he faces a fraught decision over the troubled US-led mission.

Obama has refused to quickly approve a request from his commanders for a major troop build-up in Afghanistan, insisting first on a full vetting of the current strategy.

But while a war council takes place behind closed doors at the White House, top military officers have made no secret of their view that without a vast ground force, the Afghan mission could end in failure.

If Obama chooses to change course in Afghanistan or decline a request for large numbers of troops, he will be rejecting the advice of the US military, raising the political stakes.

Commentators on the left say the military ought to keep its advice private without trying to influence public debate, with New York Times columnist Frank Rich accusing the generals of an attempt to "try to lock him (Obama) in" on Afghanistan.

Drawing on blood-soaked experience in Iraq, military commanders now fervently embrace counter-insurgency doctrine, which calls for large numbers of troops providing security and winning the trust of the local population.

Amid rising casualties and a spreading insurgency, skeptics in Congress and the White House have floated proposals to freeze or even reduce the 65,000-strong force.

"You can't hope to contain the fire by letting just half the building burn," McChrystal told Newsweek.

Top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen and the head of the regional Central Command, General David Petraeus, have publicly endorsed the manpower-intensive strategy set out in a report by McChrystal.

The heated debate over war strategy mostly pits hawks on the right demanding Obama promptly endorse the commander's request for more troops against voices on the left who raise the specter of a quagmire akin to Vietnam.

The British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told Obama to back your generals and send more troops to Afghanistan.

Back your general and send more troops, David Miliband urges Barack Obama

Times Online.co.uk

David Miliband urged President Obama to embrace a renewed “hearts and minds” strategy in Afghanistan as ministers indicated that they would not send more British troops unless the US adopted such an approach.

The Foreign Secretary did not mention America by name but called on every government in the coalition to back troops, aid workers and diplomats in support of a clear plan. “We came into this together. We see it through — together,” he told the Labour conference in Brighton.

His words reflect a growing concern in the Government over Mr Obama’s apparent reluctance to garner political consent for a troop “surge”, which commanders say is needed to build up the Afghan Army and defeat the Taleban insurgency. General Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, wants a revamped counter-insurgency — more forces on the ground engaging civilians and persuading the Taleban to switch sides — as opposed to a counter-terrorism strategy focused on al-Qaeda — reducing troop numbers and attacking militants mostly with drone missile strikes.

General McChrystal, speaking in London at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that the campaign had been underresourced in the past. “The situation is serious — and I choose that word very, very carefully.

Army chief warns of 'terrifying prospect' of failure in Afghanistan

Telegraph.co.uk

The head of the British Army, General Sir David Richards, has issued a wake-up call to the public by warning of the "terrifying prospect" of a defeat in Afghanistan.

In an unprecedented intervention, the chief of the general staff described the conflict as "this generation's war" and added that failure by Nato would have an "intoxicating effect" on militant Islam.

In his first interview as the head of the Army, Sir David told The Sunday Telegraph that if Britain and Nato failed in Afghanistan the risks to the western world would be "enormous" and "unimaginable".

The general's intervention comes at a crucial time, with the US General in charge of operations in Afghanistan calling for more troops to be sent to the country to fight the Taliban.

He said: "If al-Qaeda and the Taliban believe they have defeated us – what next? Would they stop at Afghanistan? Pakistan is clearly a tempting target not least because of the fact that it is a nuclear-weaponed state and that is a terrifying prospect. Even if only a few of those (nuclear) weapons fell into their hands, believe me they would use them. The recent airlines plot has reminded us that there are people out there who would happily blow all of us up."

At home, the Government has come under increasing pressure for the way it has handled the war, with critics saying the armed forces have been under-resourced.

Obama's National Security Advisor publicly undercuts the general Obama selected for Afghanistan

Obama's National Security Adviser James L. Jones suggested Sunday that the public campaign being conducted by the U.S. commander in Afghanistan on behalf of his war strategy is complicating the internal White House review now underway, saying that "it is better for military advice to come up through the chain of command."

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who commands the 100,000 U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, warned bluntly last week in a London speech that a strategy for defeating the Taliban narrower than the one he is advocating would be ineffective and "short-sighted." The comments effectively rejected a policy option that senior White House officials, including Vice President Biden, are seriously considering nearly eight years after the U.S. invasion.

SEND MORE SOLDIERS, FURIOUS FRONTLINE TROOPS TELL MINISTER

Daily Express

MILITARY anger boiled over last night after Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth rebuffed a plea from front-line soldiers for immediate reinforcements in Afghanistan.

Mr Ainsworth had asked soldiers who have just endured a gruelling and bloody six-month tour what they needed. Without hesitation he was told: “More troops”.

But the Defence Secretary – in Afghanistan with Home Secretary Alan Johnson, ironically to boost morale – merely replied that reinforcements would “take time”.

Staff Sgt Kim Hughes, who will shortly return to his family in Shropshire, said: “It’s been a ridiculously busy, ridiculously hard tour. We have lost two guys.

“Clearly more troops are needed on the ground, but then the same could be said for equipment.”

British troops complain that they can take ground from the Taliban but do not have enough men to hold it. They have to keep retaking areas over and over again, increasing the risk of casualties.

Wild Thing's comment.......

"Commentators on the left say the military ought to keep its advice private without trying to influence public debate, with New York Times columnist Frank Rich accusing the generals of an attempt to "try to lock him (Obama) in" on Afghanistan."

OMG what a vile horrible, thing to say about our military. Whoever these "Commentators" are hell has a place for these kind of people and I wish they could go there NOW!

And the crap ROE do not help matters one bit. Obama wants to parley with the enemy and bow to them instead of making life painful for them. Our brave people fight with their hands chained behind their back ALL BECAUSE OF OBAMA'S rules of engagement.

My blood is boiling how angry I am with Obama and anyone in our government that think they know better then our troops how to fight a war, how to man it and provide equipment. They want death of our troops NOT the enemy.

God protect these brave man and women.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (9)

Obama to Take on Military Gay Ban at 'Right Time'

newsmax

Obama will focus "at the right time" on how to overturn the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays serving openly in the military, his national security adviser said Sunday.

"I don't think it's going to be — it's not years, but I think it will be teed up appropriately," James Jones said.

The Democratic-led Congress is considering repealing the 1993 law. Action isn't expected on the issue until early next year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., recently wrote Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked to share their views and recommendations on the contentious policy. In Sept. 24 letters, Reid also asked for a review of the cases of two U.S. officers who were discharged from the military because of their sexuality.

"At a time when we are fighting two wars, I do not believe we can afford to discharge any qualified individual who is willing to serve our country," Reid wrote.

Jones said Obama "has an awful lot on his desk. I know this is an issue that he intends to take on at the appropriate time. And he has already signaled that to the Defense Department. The Defense Department is doing the things it has to do to prepare, but at the right time, I'm sure the president will take it on."

As a candidate, Obama signaled support for repealing the law. To the disappointment of gay-rights supporters, he has yet to made a move since taking office in January. The White House has said it will not stop the military from dismissing gays and lesbians who acknowledge their sexuality.

Last year, 634 members of the military were discharged for being gay, or .045 percent of the active-duty U.S. force, according to an Aug. 14 congressional report.

The largest number of gays who were ousted under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy came in 2001, when 1,227 were discharged, or .089 of the force.

The House is considering legislation to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and allow people who have been discharged under the policy to rejoin the military.

Jones appeared on CNN's "State of the Union."

Wild Thing's comment........

IMO Military should make the decisions for the Military. Those without Military experience should butt out.

I think the days of presidential candidates having served in the military are pretty much over.That's sad because being in command of that military is such an important part of the job.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (3)

Virginia Argues They Don't Need to Send Out Military Absentee Ballots in Time to Vote

Virginia argues that they don't need to send out military absentee ballots in time to vote ....for complete article

Last year, we covered some of the problems in the counting of military absentee ballots in Virginia, as did others. This problem has not gone away. It has just moved. The day before election day 2008, the McCain campaign filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia to force Virginia to count military absentee ballots that came in after election day. McCain lost Virginia by more than enough votes, but the case went on with the Department of Justice replacing the McCain campaign.There were filings last month and will likely be a hearing this month. So what?

The Virginia State Board of Elections argued in their most recent filing that they have no legal obligation to send out military absentee ballots in a timely manner. Restated, the State of Virginia has argued in a federal court filing that they can legally send out absentee ballots to active duty soldiers the day before an election.

Restated again, the Democratic Chairwoman of the Virginia State Board of Election (appointed by the Democratic National Committee Chair Tim Kaine, in his capacity as Virginia Governor) Jean Cunningham just claimed a legal basis for massively raising the barrier to voting for soldiers at war.

Wild Thing's comment.........

They really really hate this country and our troops. And Virginia has a huge military population. Many of them at sea.

And the article says there is legislation that passed the senate to keep this from happening at the state level. Nancy Pelosi will not let the legislation be presented in the House.

"The State of Virginia has argued in a federal court filing that they can legally send out absentee ballots to active duty soldiers the day before an election."

Bastards. They are trying to undermine the morale of the troops from every direction they can come up with. I wish the earth would open and swallow them.

They want to guarantee the military does not get to vote.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:44 AM | Comments (6)

October 04, 2009

Eight U.S. Troops Die in Attacks in Afghanistan

8 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan

Eight U.S. troops killed in east Afghan battle

Eight U.S. service members and two members of the Afghan National Security Force were killed Saturday in a battle with militants in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

Tribal militants attacked two security outposts in the Nuristan province, said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The militants launched their attack from a local mosque and a nearby village, the international alliance said.

Coalition forces repelled the attack, inflicting "heavy enemy casualties," the alliance said without offering details.

All eight service members killed were Americans, the U.S. military said.

"My heart goes out to the families of those we have lost and to their fellow soldiers who remained to finish this fight," said Col. Randy George, commander of Task Force Mountain Warrior. "This was a complex attack in a difficult area. Both the U.S. and Afghan soldiers fought bravely together; I am extremely proud of their professionalism and bravery."

ISAF withheld the identities of the deceased until family members were notified.

Attack near Pakistan border was one of fiercest in troubled eight-year war

KABUL - Militant fighters streaming from a village and a mosque attacked a pair of remote outposts near the Pakistan border, killing eight American soldiers and as many as seven Afghan forces in one of the fiercest gunbattles of the troubled eight-year war.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack for coalition forces since a similar raid in July 2008 killed nine American soldiers in the same mountainous region known as a haven for al-Qaida militants. The U.S. has already said it plans to leave the remote area to focus on Afghan population centers.

Fighting began around dawn Saturday and lasted several hours, said Bandar, governor of Nuristan province. Badar said the two outposts were on a hill — one near the top and one at the foot of the slope — flanked by the village on one side and the mosque on the other.

Nearly 300 militant fighters flooded the lower, Afghan outpost then swept around it to reach the American station on higher ground from both directions, said Mohammad Qasim Jangulbagh, the provincial police chief. The U.S. military statement said the Americans and Afghans repelled the attack by tribal fighters and "inflicted heavy enemy casualties."

Jangulbagh said that the gunbattle was punctuated by U.S. airstrikes and that 15 Afghan police were captured by the Taliban, including the local police chief and his deputy. Afghan forces were sent as reinforcements, but Jangulbagh said all communications to the district, Kamdesh, were severed and he had no way of knowing how they were faring Sunday.

"This was a complex attack in a difficult area," Col. Randy George, the area commander, said in the U.S. statement. "Both the U.S. and Afghan soldiers fought bravely together."

Obamas celebrate anniversary with dinner out

First celebration of their marriage since entering the White House

WASHINGTON - There was no trip to New York and no fancy outing as the Obamas celebrated their first wedding anniversary since they moved to the White House.

Instead they kept it simple, with a dinner out Saturday night at an elegant, American-fare restaurant near Georgetown. The evening was balmy and the moon almost full.

President Barack Obama stayed in all day before taking a motorcade with Michelle Obama to the Blue Duck Tavern to mark their 17th wedding anniversary.

Mrs. Obama stepped into the restaurant wearing a backless knee-length dress while the president wore a dark suit.

Last year, the Obamas also had an understated anniversary with a simple dinner out in downtown Chicago. The Obamas were married Oct. 3, 1992, in a ceremony at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

Wild Thing's comment...........

Someone has to take the reigns from obama!! So now at least 51 have died, not counting the Afghans, since McChrystal requested more troops. Obama is sitting their twiddling his thumbs, trying not to offend the lunatics on the left, while our troops die. Obama’s ROE’s strike again!

Fly over and the mosque!!!!!!

Prayers for the soldiers and their families. Our young men and women should not be sent into harm’s way without full support, and definitely not with ‘rules of engagement’ that will surely end up with more totally unnecessary deaths.

And Michelle and Barack go out, ok but did he return back when hearing this news and realize the 17th anniversary dinner had to wait. That he had to do something NOW! Damn them ...damn him for his despicably disdainful, nonchalant treatment of our troops and their urgent needs.

Dear God. I’m heartsick. I’m in tears. My heart is breaking for our brave troops, andn to have this vile person for their CIC.

"This attack was launched from inside a mosque that was considered off-limits for US forces."

Just as we thought--freakin' "Obama Rules".

That’s TWENTY-FOUR United States Soldiers killed in Afghanistan in the last 9 days!!

Obama’s rules of engagement are turning this place into a SHOOTING GALLERY, with our family’s soldiers as the targets!!!

This is war and our troops are supposed to be kill what's trying to kill you.

Prior to August 30, 2009, the USA has averaged 66 Military deaths per year in Afghanistan. Since August 30, 2009 ALONE, under General McChrystal and the new Rules of Engagement established by the obama administration, the USA has lost 51 of our Finest and Best. That is ALMOST an ENTIRE year's average in ONE MONTH!

8 members of our armed forces gave up their lives for our country while he went out to dinner. While he did nothing to support them or provide for their success. Today 8 families lost loved ones because Obama doesn't know what he is doing. I'd bet he is sleeping just fine tonight

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (11)

October 03, 2009

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal Given Short Meeting By Obama on Tarmac

Can you feel the love in the room.??.... “A picture is worth a thousand words...”

Obama Meets Top Afghan Commander as He Mulls Change in War Strategy

COPENHAGEN

President Obama held an unannounced meeting here on Friday with Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, his Afghanistan commander, to discuss a possible change in strategy and a proposed troop buildup in the eight-year-old war.

General McChrystal flew here from London, where he gave a speech on Thursday affirming the need for a military buildup in Afghanistan. He joined Mr. Obama in the forward cabin of Air Force One on the tarmac of the Copenhagen airport for 25 minutes after the president finished his presentation to the International Olympic Committee on behalf of Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Games.

It was the men’s first meeting in person since General McChrystal took over all American and NATO forces on the ground in June. They spoke only once after that, in a videoconference call in August, until this week, when the general joined a video conference with the president to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. Mr. Obama spoke with the general by phone on Wednesday and suggested they meet in Copenhagen.

Wild Thing's comment........

They met for 25 minutes. Glad the President could squeeze in such an important meeting. sheesh Just 25 minutes to discuss the lives of our troops and the plans of what to do.

T-shirt idea ... McCrystal had a T-shirt that said: “I came to Copenhagen and all I got was this T-shirt ... Chicago got squat” ...

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (14)

September 29, 2009

U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Talked with Obama Only ONCE!

U.S. commander in Afghanistan talked with Obama only once

By Amanda Carpenter

The military general credited with capturing Saddam Hussein and killing the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, says he has spoken with President Obama only once since taking command in Afghanistan.

"I’ve talked to the president, since I’ve been here, once on a VTC [video teleconference]," Gen. Stanley McChrystal told CBS reporter David Martin in a television interview that aired Sunday.

"You’ve talked to him once in 70 days?" Mr. Martin followed up.

"That is correct," the general replied.

This revelation comes amid the explosive publication of a classified report written by the general that said the war in Afghanistan "will likely result in failure" if more troops are not added next year. Yet, the debate over health care reform continues to dominate Washington’s political discussions.

On Monday, the White House announced President Obama would travel to Denmark to lobby the International Olympic Committee to select his hometown of Chicago for the 2016 summer games.

Former U.S. Ambassador for the United Nations John R. Bolton said the lack of communication with the general was indicative of Mr. Obama’s misplaced priorities.

Here is video of GOP Sen. Judd Gregg saying it is "startling" that President Obama has only talked "once" to top U.S. Commander in Afghanistan - Gen. Stanly McChrystal - since he has been on the ground there. This, despite the fact Obama is supposed to be trying to decide our stretegy going forward there, and whether or not to give McChrystal the 30,000-40,000 additional troops he needs.

Gregg said President Bush "spoke very regularly" with Gen. David Petraeus about Iraq. He said you would think the President would want to talk to his commander on the ground more often than "once."

Wild Thing's comment..............

Obama, his wife and every person in his adminstration hate our military! And Obama doesn’t care about combat deaths either. I am convinced of that, he could care less. He is a disgrace to what CIC is all about.

Community Organizers do not govern. They go around complaining about things and blaming other people for problems.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (10)

Plan to Boost Afghan Forces Splits Obama Advisers

This video from 2006 was Powell back when he said we were not winning in Iraq and how the surge would not work. He was WRONG the surge DID work.

Plan to Boost Afghan Forces Splits Obama Advisers

NY Times

Obama weighs sending more troops to Afghanistan, one of the most consequential decisions of his presidency, he has discovered that the military is not monolithic in support of the plan and that some of the civilian advisers he respects most have deep reservations.

~snipet~

The competing advice and concerns fuel a pivotal struggle to shape the president’s thinking about a war that he inherited but may come to define his tenure. Among the most important outside voices has been that of former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, a retired four-star Army general, who visited Mr. Obama in the Oval Office this month and expressed skepticism that more troops would guarantee success. According to people briefed on the discussion, Mr. Powell reminded the president of his longstanding view that military missions should be clearly defined.

Mr. Powell is one of the three people outside the administration, along with Senator John F. Kerry and Senator Jack Reed, considered by White House aides to be most influential in this current debate. All have expressed varying degrees of doubt about the wisdom of sending more forces to Afghanistan.

Mr. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has warned of repeating the mistakes of Vietnam, where he served, and has floated the idea of a more limited counterterrorist mission.

In the West Wing, beyond Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has advocated an alternative strategy to the troop buildup, other presidential advisers sound dubious about more troops, including Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff, and Gen. James L. Jones, the national security adviser, according to people who have spoken with them.

At the same time, Mr. Obama is also hearing from more hawkish figures, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Richard Holbrooke, the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Musharraf: Afghan debate shows U.S. weak

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Monday that the U.S. would make a "disastrous" mistake if it withdrew from Afghanistan and warned that a delay in sending more troops would be seen as a sign of weakness.

Mr. Musharraf also denied that Pakistan's elite Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was giving secret support to the Taliban, which the ISI helped build in the 1980s to confront the Soviet Union.

Asked by reporters and editors at The Washington Times whether the U.S. and its allies might be seen as weak because of the prolonged debate over whether to send more forces to Afghanistan, Mr. Musharraf said,

"Yes, absolutely. ... By this vacillation and lack of commitment to a victory and talking too much about casualties it shows weakness in the resolve."

Mr. Musharraf, a former army chief of staff who seized power in a 1999 coup and resigned last year under threat of impeachment, now resides in London and is on a speaking tour in the U.S.

He said al Qaeda was less of a threat than the Taliban, which he said is growing in strength among ethnic Pashtuns who straddle the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"We must win in Afghanistan," Mr. Musharraf said, warning that otherwise it would become a haven again for al Qaeda as it was before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"Quitting is not an option," he said. "We should not delay. Earlier the better."

Wild Thing's comment.......

What a mess ....a total mess in Washington.

God help our troops!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (3)

September 21, 2009

McChrystal: More Forces or 'Mission Failure'

Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal

McChrystal: More Forces or 'Mission Failure'

Top U.S. Commander For Afghan War Calls Next 12 Months Decisive

Washington Post

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict "will likely result in failure," according to a copy of the 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post.

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal says emphatically: "Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) -- while Afghan security capacity matures -- risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible."

His assessment was sent to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Aug. 30 and is now being reviewed by President Obama and his national security team.

McChrystal concludes the document's five-page Commander's Summary on a note of muted optimism: "While the situation is serious, success is still achievable."

But he repeatedly warns that without more forces and the rapid implementation of a genuine counterinsurgency strategy, defeat is likely. McChrystal describes an Afghan government riddled with corruption and an international force undermined by tactics that alienate civilians.

He provides extensive new details about the Taliban insurgency, which he calls a muscular and sophisticated enemy that uses modern propaganda and systematically reaches into Afghanistan's prisons to recruit members and even plan operations.

McChrystal's assessment is one of several options the White House is considering. His plan could intensify a national debate in which leading Democratic lawmakers have expressed reluctance about committing more troops to an increasingly unpopular war. Obama said last week that he will not decide whether to send more troops until he has "absolute clarity about what the strategy is going to be."

The commander has prepared a separate detailed request for additional troops and other resources, but defense officials have said he is awaiting instructions before sending it to the Pentagon.

Senior administration officials asked The Post over the weekend to withhold brief portions of the assessment that they said could compromise future operations. A declassified version of the document, with some deletions made at the government's request, appears at washingtonpost.com.

McChrystal makes clear that his call for more forces is predicated on the adoption of a strategy in which troops emphasize protecting Afghans rather than killing insurgents or controlling territory. Most starkly, he says: "[I]nadequate resources will likely result in failure. However, without a new strategy, the mission should not be resourced."

'Widespread Corruption'

The assessment offers an unsparing critique of the failings of the Afghan government, contending that official corruption is as much of a threat as the insurgency to the mission of the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, as the U.S.-led NATO coalition is widely known.

"The weakness of state institutions, malign actions of power-brokers, widespread corruption and abuse of power by various officials, and ISAF's own errors, have given Afghans little reason to support their government," McChrystal says.

The result has been a "crisis of confidence among Afghans," he writes. "Further, a perception that our resolve is uncertain makes Afghans reluctant to align with us against the insurgents."

McChrystal is equally critical of the command he has led since June 15. The key weakness of ISAF, he says, is that it is not aggressively defending the Afghan population. "Pre-occupied with protection of our own forces, we have operated in a manner that distances us -- physically and psychologically -- from the people we seek to protect. . . . The insurgents cannot defeat us militarily; but we can defeat ourselves."

McChrystal continues: "Afghan social, political, economic, and cultural affairs are complex and poorly understood. ISAF does not sufficiently appreciate the dynamics in local communities, nor how the insurgency, corruption, incompetent officials, power-brokers, and criminality all combine to affect the Afghan population."

Coalition intelligence-gathering has focused on how to attack insurgents, hindering "ISAF's comprehension of the critical aspects of Afghan society."

In a four-page annex on detainee operations, McChrystal warns that the Afghan prison system has become "a sanctuary and base to conduct lethal operations" against the government and coalition forces. He cites as examples an apparent prison connection to the 2008 bombing of the Serena Hotel in Kabul and other attacks. "Unchecked, Taliban/Al Qaeda leaders patiently coordinate and plan, unconcerned with interference from prison personnel or the military."

The assessment says that Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents "represent more than 2,500 of the 14,500 inmates in the increasingly overcrowded Afghan Corrections System," in which "[h]ardened, committed Islamists are indiscriminately mixed with petty criminals and sex offenders, and they are using the opportunity to radicalize and indoctrinate them."

Noting that the United States "came to Afghanistan vowing to deny these same enemies safe haven in 2001," he says they now operate with relative impunity in the prisons. "There are more insurgents per square foot in corrections facilities than anywhere else in Afghanistan," his assessment says.

McChrystal outlines a plan to build up the Afghan government's ability to manage its detention facilities and eventually put all such operations under Afghan control, including the Bagram Theater Internment Facility, which the United States runs.

For now, because of a lack of capacity, "productive interrogations and detainee intelligence collection have been reduced" at Bagram. "As a result, hundreds are held without charge or without a defined way-ahead. This allows the enemy to radicalize them far beyond their pre-capture orientation. The problem can no longer be ignored."

McChrystal's Plan

The general says his command is "not adequately executing the basics" of counterinsurgency by putting the Afghan people first. "ISAF personnel must be seen as guests of the Afghan people and their government, not an occupying army," he writes. "Key personnel in ISAF must receive training in local languages."

He also says that coalition forces will change their operational culture, in part by spending "as little time as possible in armored vehicles or behind the walls of forward operating bases." Strengthening Afghans' sense of security will require troops to take greater risks, but the coalition "cannot succeed if it is unwilling to share risk, at least equally, with the people."

McChrystal warns that in the short run, it "is realistic to expect that Afghan and coalition casualties will increase."

He proposes speeding the growth of Afghan security forces. The existing goal is to expand the army from 92,000 to 134,000 by December 2011. McChrystal seeks to move that deadline to October 2010.

Overall, McChrystal wants the Afghan army to grow to 240,000 and the police to 160,000 for a total security force of 400,000, but he does not specify when those numbers could be reached.

He also calls for "radically more integrated and partnered" work with Afghan units.

McChrystal says the military must play an active role in reconciliation, winning over less committed insurgent fighters. The coalition "requires a credible program to offer eligible insurgents reasonable incentives to stop fighting and return to normalcy, possibly including the provision of employment and protection," he writes.

Coalition forces will have to learn that "there are now three outcomes instead of two" for enemy fighters: not only capture or death, but also "reintegration."

Again and again, McChrystal makes the case that his command must be bolstered if failure is to be averted. "ISAF requires more forces," he states, citing "previously validated, yet un-sourced, requirements" -- an apparent reference to a request for 10,000 more troops originally made by McChrystal's predecessor, Gen. David D. McKiernan.

A Three-Headed Insurgency

McChrystal identifies three main insurgent groups "in order of their threat to the mission" and provides significant details about their command structures and objectives.

The first is the Quetta Shura Taliban (QST) headed by Mullah Omar, who fled Afghanistan after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and operates from the Pakistani city of Quetta.

"At the operational level, the Quetta Shura conducts a formal campaign review each winter, after which Mullah Omar announces his guidance and intent for the coming year," according to the assessment.

Mullah Omar's insurgency has established an elaborate alternative government known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, McChrystal writes, which is capitalizing on the Afghan government's weaknesses. "They appoint shadow governors for most provinces, review their performance, and replace them periodically. They established a body to receive complaints against their own 'officials' and to act on them. They install 'shari'a' [Islamic law] courts to deliver swift and enforced justice in contested and controlled areas. They levy taxes and conscript fighters and laborers. They claim to provide security against a corrupt government, ISAF forces, criminality, and local power brokers. They also claim to protect Afghan and Muslim identity against foreign encroachment."

"The QST has been working to control Kandahar and its approaches for several years and there are indications that their influence over the city and neighboring districts is significant and growing," McChrystal writes.

The second main insurgency group is the Haqqani network (HQN), which is active in southeastern Afghanistan and draws money and manpower "principally from Pakistan, Gulf Arab networks, and from its close association with al Qaeda and other Pakistan-based insurgent groups." At another point in the assessment, McChrystal says, "Al Qaeda's links with HQN have grown, suggesting that expanded HQN control could create a favorable environment" for associated extremist movements "to re-establish safe-havens in Afghanistan."

The third is the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin insurgency, which maintains bases in three Afghan provinces "as well as Pakistan," the assessment says. This network, led by the former mujaheddin commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, "aims to negotiate a major role in a future Taliban government. He does not currently have geographical objectives as is the case with the other groups," though he "seeks control of mineral wealth and smuggling routes in the east."

Overall, McChrystal provides this conclusion about the enemy: "The insurgents control or contest a significant portion of the country, although it is difficult to assess precisely how much due to a lack of ISAF presence. . . . "

The insurgents make money from the production and sale of opium and other narcotics, but the assessment says that "eliminating insurgent access to narco-profits -- even if possible, and while disruptive -- would not destroy their ability to operate so long as other funding sources remained intact."

While the insurgency is predominantly Afghan, McChrystal writes that it "is clearly supported from Pakistan. Senior leaders of the major Afghan insurgent groups are based in Pakistan, are linked with al Qaeda and other violent extremist groups, and are reportedly aided by some elements of Pakistan's ISI," which is its intelligence service. Al-Qaeda and other extremist movements "based in Pakistan channel foreign fighters, suicide bombers, and technical assistance into Afghanistan, and offer ideological motivation, training, and financial support."

Toward the end of his report, McChrystal revisits his central theme: "Failure to provide adequate resources also risks a longer conflict, greater casualties, higher overall costs, and ultimately, a critical loss of political support. Any of these risks, in turn, are likely to result in mission failure."

Wild Thing's comment.....

In my civilian opinion, NO amount of troops will help if they are not allowed to shoot at the enemy.

And when the Generals asked for troops Bush gave them troops because they knew best. You are either going to fight a war or you are not.

Obama is learning a hard lesson about screwing with the generals. Just last week he punted on McChrystal... now first thing Monday morning, the ...a-hem Washington Post has a copy of the general's assessment, warts and all.
Obama's not going to be able to hide from this one.

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:45 AM | Comments (8)

September 08, 2009

McChrystal Agreement with Karzai

U.S. forces in Afghanistan are now required to hand over insurgents to the Afghan authorities within 96 hours of detainment. This is according to a new rule inherited by Gen. McChrystal and by NATO member states .

McChrystal Agreement w/Karzai Hinders Troops

Special Report With Bret Baier

FOX NEWS

At the Pentagon, Jennifer Griffin, Fox News

SHANNON BREAM: The U.S. military says an American service member was killed today in a bomb blast in Afghanistan, making August the deadliest month for U.S. forces since the war began.

National security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports on growing dissatisfaction among the troops with one of the rules they have to live and possibly die by.

JENNIFER GRIFFIN: Not only did U.S. forces in Afghanistan inherit an enemy they cannot see, but now these troops are finding they’re required to hand over insurgents to Afghan authorities within 96 hours or release them, according to a restrictive rule agreed to by NATO member states and inherited by Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

According to one top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, quote, “It is a big limitation. In COIN [counterinsurgency operations] not being able to detain individuals to conduct interrogations and follow on exploitation is very restrictive. Something that we didn’t have to worry about in Iraq.”

MAJ. GEN. ROBERT SCALES (RET.) [Fox News Military Analyst]:This 96-hour NATO rule is driving the troops nuts. They call it the revolving door problem. And it goes like this: They’ll capture a prisoner and they have 96 hours to turn him over to the Afghan authorities.

GRIFFIN: Marines in Southern Helmand Province are balking and in some cases, Fox has learned, are stalling or refusing to send helicopters to pick up a detainee, knowing he will be released.

SCALES:The problem with that, particularly in the south, is that often it’s a 24-hour effort just to get a prisoner by helicopter to the Afghan authorities. In addition to that, the troops don’t have enough time to interrogate these prisoners when they follow the rules. And so what happens all too often is they’ll take a prisoner who knows something and they’ll put him on a helicopter and watch the information fly away. It’s absolutely outrageous.

GRIFFIN: A Marine spokesman in Afghanistan adds, quote, “The routine logistics of transporting people and materiel are extremely challenging. So the time-sensitive requirement for moving detainees adds another challenge to a situation that’s already pretty tough.”

McChrystal’s strategy review will be released by the Pentagon next week, but I’m told it does not demand the 96-hour rule be changed, even though it hampers U.S. troops’ ability to fight and win.

Wild Thing's comment......

This news is crazy and stupid to make our troops do such a thing. I worry about our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (9)

September 05, 2009

AP publishes photo of dying Marine even after family objects.

This undated photo provided Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009 by the US Marine Corps shows Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard, …

AP publishes photo of dying Marine even after family objects.

Politico

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is objecting “in the strongest terms” to an Associated Press decision to transmit a photograph showing a mortally wounded 21-year-old Marine in his final moments of life, calling the decision “appalling” and a breach of “common decency.”

The AP reported that the Marine’s father had asked – in an interview and in a follow-up phone call — that the image, taken by an embedded photographer, not be published.

The AP reported in a story that it decided to make the image public anyway because it “conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.”

The photo shows Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard of New Portland, Maine, who was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Aug. 14 in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, according to The AP.

Gates wrote to Thomas Curley, AP’s president and chief executive officer. “Out of respect for his family’s wishes, I ask you in the strongest of terms to reconsider your decision. I do not make this request lightly. In one of my first public statements as Secretary of Defense, I stated that the media should not be treated as the enemy, and made it a point to thank journalists for revealing problems that need to be fixed – as was the case with Walter Reed."

“I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard’s death has caused his family. Why your organization would purposefully defy the family’s wishes knowing full well that it will lead to yet more anguish is beyond me. Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling. The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”

The four-paragraph letter concluded, “Sincerely,” then had Gates’ signature.

The photo, first transmitted Thursday morning and repeated Friday morning, carries the warning, “EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT.”

The caption says: “In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard is tended to by fellow U.S. Marines after being hit by a rocket propelled grenade during a firefight against the Taliban in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Bernard was transported by helicopter to Camp Leatherneck where he later died of his wounds.”

Gates’ letter was sent Thursday, after he talked to Curley by phone at about 3:30 p.m. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Gates told Curley: “I am asking you to reconsider your decision to publish this graphic photograph of Lance Corporal Bernard. I am begging you to defer to the wishes of the family. This will cause them great pain.”

Curley was “very polite and willing to listen,” and send he would reconvene his editorial team and reconsider, Morrell said. Within the hour, Curley called Morrell and said the editors had reconvened but had ultimately come to the same conclusion.

Gates “was greatly disappointed they had not done the right thing,” Morrell said.

The Buffalo News ran the photo on page 4, and the The (Wheeling, W.Va.) Intelligencer ran an editorial defending its decision to run the photo. Some newspapers – including the Arizona Republic, The Washington Times and the Orlando Sentinel – ran other photos from the series. Several newspaper websites – including the Akron Beacon-Journal and the St. Petersburg Times – used the photo online.

Morrell said Gates wanted the information about his conversations released “so everyone would know how strongly he felt about the issue.”

The Associated Press reported in a story about deliberations about that photo that “after a period of reflection,” the news service decided “to make public an image that conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.

“The image shows fellow Marines helping Bernard after he suffered severe leg injuries. He was evacuated to a field hospital where he died on the operating table,” AP said. “The picture was taken by Associated Press photographer Julie Jacobson, who accompanied Marines on the patrol and was in the midst of the ambush during which Bernard was wounded. … ‘AP journalists document world events every day. Afghanistan is no exception. We feel it is our journalistic duty to show the reality of the war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is,’ said Santiago Lyon, the director of photography for AP.

“He said Bernard's death shows ‘his sacrifice for his country. Our story and photos report on him and his last hours respectfully and in accordance with military regulations surrounding journalists embedded with U.S. forces.’”

The AP reported that it “waited until after Bernard's burial in Madison, Maine, on Aug. 24 to distribute its story and the pictures.”

“An AP reporter met with his parents, allowing them to see the images,” the article says. “Bernard's father after seeing the image of his mortally wounded son said he opposed its publication, saying it was disrespectful to his son's memory. John Bernard reiterated his viewpoint in a telephone call to the AP on Wednesday. ‘We understand Mr. Bernard's anguish. We believe this image is part of the history of this war.

The story and photos are in themselves a respectful treatment and recognition of sacrifice,’ said AP senior managing editor John Daniszewski.

“Thursday afternoon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called AP President Tom Curley asking that the news organization respect the wishes of Bernard's father and not publish the photo. Curley and AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said they understood this was a painful issue for Bernard's family and that they were sure that factor was being considered by the editors deciding whether or not to publish the photo, just as it had been for the AP editors who decided to distribute it.”

The image was part of a package of stories and photos released for publication after midnight Friday. The project, called “AP Impact – Afghan – Death of a Marine,” carried a dateline of Dahaneh, Afghanistan, and was written by Alfred de Montesquiou and Julie Jacobson:

“The U.S. patrol had a tip that Taliban fighters were lying in ambush in a pomegranate grove, and a Marine trained his weapon on the trees. Seconds later, a salvo of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades poured out, and a grenade hit Lance Cpl. Joshua ‘Bernie’ Bernard. The Marine was about to become the next fatality in the deadliest month of the deadliest year of the Afghan war.”

The news service also moved extensive journal entries AP photographer Julie Jacobson wrote while in Afghanistan. AP said in an advisory: “From the reporting of Alfred de Montesquiou, the photos and written journal kept by Julie Jacobson, and the TV images of cameraman Ken Teh, the AP has compiled ‘Death of a Marine,’ a 1,700 word narrative of the clash, offering vivid insights into how the battle was fought, and into Bernard's character and background. It also includes an interview with his father, an ex-Marine, who three weeks earlier had written letters complaining that the military's rules of engagement are exposing the troops in Afghanistan to undue risk.”

WASHINGTON,

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates used the strongest terms in trying to persuade the Associated Press to refrain from running a graphic picture of a Marine taken shortly after the servicemember was wounded in southern Afghanistan, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said here today.

Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard later died on the operating table Aug. 14.

The Marine’s family in New Portland, Maine, asked the Associated Press not to run the photo, which was taken by Julie Jacobson, who was embedded with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

The AP put out a series of photographs of the Marine patrol, and Gates objected to one showing Bernard clearly in anguish while being treated. He had just been hit in the legs by a rocket-propelled grenade.

When Gates heard the AP was going to send the photo to its subscribers, he called Thomas Curley, president and chief executive officer of the news service, asking him to pull the photo, Morrell said.

Morrell quoted the secretary as saying to Curley, “I’m begging you to defer to the wishes of the family. This will cause them great pain.”

Curley told the secretary he would reconvene his editorial team to re-examine the release. The secretary followed his call with a letter to AP.

“I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard’s death has caused his family,” the secretary wrote. “Why your organization would purposefully defy the family’s wishes knowing full well that it will lead to more anguish is beyond me. Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling. The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”

Curley got back to Morrell later yesterday afternoon and said his crew had “seriously considered the secretary’s concerns and the families concerns … but ultimately decided that they wanted to proceed with pushing out this image to their clients,” Morrell said.

Morrell said Gates was extremely disappointed that the Associated Press did not adhere to the wishes of the family. The vast majority of news outlets did not run the photo, he added.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This sickens me so much, I honestly have no words other then total anger.

AP has opted for profit over compassion. If after reading the article you wish to contact the AP here is the contact info -

Headquarters
450 W. 33rd St.
New York, NY 10001

Main Number
1-212-621-1500

For comments - info@ap.org

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:18 PM | Comments (3)

September 03, 2009

V-J Day Remembered

Richard Ira Bong

Richard Bong was a red haired Wisconsin farm kid like most of the farm kids who became heroes in World War II. Major Bong would go on in the Pacific to shoot down 40 Japanese aircraft with the wonderful P 38, which was a twin engine fighter.

The tale of this is simple. He was a natural pilot just like all of America's best in those we knew. Chuck Yeager had that horizon eyesight where he could spot planes before others could see them. Pappy Boyington and Joe Foss were just good hunters.
Richard Bong was not flashy. He simply knew his plane, flew it well, studied the situation he was in and then struck the enemy.

His first combat in America though was with an American housewife in California who Bong decided to play with as she was hanging out her clothes. Bong would fly so low he blew her laundry off the line.
His General, Kenney, after getting an ear full, called Bong into his office and told him that he was going to go to that woman's house, do her laundry, put it up, hang around and mow the lawn, take down the laundry and not drop any on the ground.

Richard Bong did all of that and proved the Army Air Corp was good for something other than annoying housewives.

He would complete the war covered with medals including the Medal of Honor. He would die though in serving America in America on of all days, the day America dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.
He was test flying a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star in jet propulsion when the plane malfunctioned and crashed too close to the ground.

Wild Thing's comment........

September 2 yesterday was V-J Day.....VJ Day, when Japan surrendered

Each person that has served our country is so important, each one has a story, and we must never forget our Heroes. We must never forget those that have sacrificed and served our country, to me they are the Stars that shine and light the way for freedom. Because without them, the Stars they would not really shine as brightly , and we would not know the Freedom we have been so blessed to have.

.... Thank you Eden for sending this to me.

H/t to Lame Cherry for a beaurtiful write up about Richard Ira Bong.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (9)

August 16, 2009

An Interview Inside the Taliban

A Taliban fighter loyal to Jalaluddin Haqqani, whose operations also include suicide bombers. Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad

Inside the Taliban: 'The more troops they send, the more targets we have'

In the first of a series of exclusive reports in the run-up to next week's Afghan elections, award-winning correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad meets a group of Taliban in their mountain stronghold

The Guardian.co.uk ....for complete article

The provinces of Khost, Paktia and Paktika in south-eastern Afghanistan are dominated by one name: Jalaluddin Haqqani. A famous commander, tribal chief and cleric, Haqqani came to prominence during the war against the Soviets. In more than 20 years of fighting, he built an extensive network of influence that covered eastern Afghanistan and the tribal area of Waziristan in Pakistan, and reached as far abroad as the Gulf states, which he visited often.

Once a minister in the Taliban government, he is now aligned with their leader, Mullah Omar, but has retained independence and control over his men. His operations have struck deep into the territory controlled by Hamid Karzai's government, reaching targets in Kabul. The movement's signature attack is well co-ordinated and includes several suicide bombers, who storm into buildings before detonating their bombs.

~ snipets~
It was noon and we had a few hours to kill. Like everywhere in Afghanistan, there was road etiquette to respect. From nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, the government controls the country's main arteries. The rest of the time they belong to the Taliban.

"The situation is very simple here," he continued. "We are Muslims and tribal people, the Taliban are Muslim and from the same tribes, the foreign troops are non-Muslims and there was no referendum from the people to ask them to come here. God told us to fight the occupation so the people are against the occupation. The people are ideologically similar to the Taliban, so the Taliban don't hide, they live with the people."

Instead of the trademark Taliban uniforms of turbans, eyeliner and flip-flops, these men wore Russian and Nato poncho raincoats over their shalwars, and boots and trainers. Most striking was the way they held their guns. Instead of carrying them in the standard militia style, on their shoulders or holding them like walking sticks, they wore them strapped around their chests, one hand by the trigger and the other holding the muzzle down. They stood just like the Americans.

The stout commander, Mawlawi Jalali, sat surrounded by his men. One carried the white flag of the Taliban and another a video camera, which he kept pointed at me at all times.

What about the new American surge, I asked. Did it concern him?

"We attack the towns, like in Wazi Zadran, where there is a strong American and Afghan garrison, and mine the streets every day. We average two or three attacks a day against the Americans and their allies. The more troops they send, the more targets we have, so it's good."

Allahu akbar, the men around him murmured in response.

He went on to explain the difference between his men and the average Taliban.

"We follow Haqqani. He was a smart mujahid against the Soviets and during all his wars he taught us how to focus on training and teaching. I was taught by him and most of our men were trained by him and his commanders. We have order, because we had good teaching and good training."

"We have mujahideen from the time of the emirate, but we have new fighters too," Mawlawi Jalali told me. "The young are keen to join, but we tell them stay put, finish your madrasa now and then come. We can't provide for all of them now and we can't get them supplies. The government and the Americans control the streets and the cities because of the planes, but the mountains are for us."

The hum of a generator rose and fell in the background, sometimes drowning our conversation. I looked for signs of electricity, but apart from a few flickering oil lamps in a faraway village, there was nothing but darkness for kilometres on each side of the valley. I realised suddenly what a "generator hum" meant on a mountain in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Drone … plane … sky …" I mumbled my words, closed my eyes and waited for the whoosh of a missile.

The commander and his men laughed. "These are media lies, that Americans can see us," he said. "Look now, we are a big group of Taliban. There are 200 men here and they can't see us. We believe in God, so don't be scared."

Another fighter spoke up: "If you stand still in the dark and not move they can't see you. It's written in the Qu'ran."

On the way to the camp I had been told of other drone-dodging techniques. If you are on a motorcycle and the drone fires a missile, jump off and the missile will follow the motorcycle. If you are with a large group, stop, like musical statues, and the drone will confuse you with the trees.

A young fighter called for prayer and the commander and half his men lined up to pray, their guns on the ground in front of them. When they had finished, the other half began to pray.

"We are Afghans, we have lived all our lives in the trenches and caves," said the commander as he shook my hand. "We tell the Americans to stop this war, we are not tired." His fatigued voice, however, told a different story.

"You are not the first Iraqi here," said one of the fighters. He was tall and thin and poor-looking, with a big beard and clothes that were a faded grey. "There is an Iraqi commander who is fighting in the mountains. He has been here for many years and he is very good." He scooped up bits of eggs and tomatoes with a piece of bread.

He positioned a glass and a piece of bread and a cucumber in a triangle. The glass represented the target.

"We hit them [the glass] with a mine and we position ourselves here [bread and cucumber] and shoot. Then when the attack is over we move towards the woods before the helicopters arrive."

After dinner the men wrapped themselves in their blankets and scarves and slept.

Men squatted in the fields, relieving themselves. We walked in the muddy lanes. Women with heads wrapped loosely in colourful scarves walked in small groups carrying buckets of water.

On a mountain road outside the valley, a group of contractors and their heavily-armed security escorts were clearing the road of debris. It was the wreckage of one of their cars, an SUV that had been blown in half earlier in the week. Bits of blackened flesh lay on the road and a piece of blue cloth hung from a bush.

We drove on, down from the high mountains of eastern Afghanistan towards Kabul.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Interesting interview, so they wear eyeliner? Never knew that before. LOL

I get it, they wear eyeliner, they cover their faces like cowards, they hide behind women and children, they dress in Burka's to mix in with the village people so our troops ONLY because of the Muslim freak in the White House and his ROE not to shoot if you 'might' hit a civilian.... protects them, their claim to fame is they can get off a bicycle fast so a drone goes after the bike and not them, ( pssst we have many more that WILL kill your smelly ass you terrorist! and you only had ONE bike).

Can you imagine all the things our troops know about these human flesh from hell? Our troops are so well trained and knowledgeable of the enemy.

A little song and some imagery for this terrorist in the article.

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:48 AM | Comments (6)

August 09, 2009

Obama Says War On Terror Is Over ~ Replaced With " kiss terrorist ass"

White House: 'War on terrorism' is over

It's official. The U.S. is no longer engaged in a "war on terrorism." Neither is it fighting "jihadists" or in a "global war."

President Obama's top homeland security and counterterrorism official took all three terms off the table of acceptable words inside the White House during a speech Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

"The President does not describe this as a 'war on terrorism,'" said John Brennan, head of the White House homeland security office, who outlined a "new way of seeing" the fight against terrorism.

The only terminology that Mr. Brennan said the administration is using is that the U.S. is "at war with al Qaeda."

"We are at war with al Qaeda," he said. "We are at war with its violent extremist allies who seek to carry on al Qaeda's murderous agenda."

Mr. Brennan said that to say the U.S. is fighting "jihadists" is wrongheaded because it is using "a legitimate term, 'jihad,' meaning to purify oneself or to wage a holy struggle for a moral goal"

"Worse, it risks reinforcing the idea that the United States is somehow at war with Islam itself," Mr. Brennan said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in March that the administration was not using the term "war on terror" but no specific directive had come from the White House itself. Mr. Obama himself used the term "war on terror" on Jan. 23, his fourth day as president, but has not used it since.

Mr. Brennan's speech was aimed at outlining ways in which the Obama administration intends to undermine the "upstream" factors that create an environment in which terrorists are bred.

The president's adviser talked about increasing aid to foreign governments for building up their militaries and social and democratic institutions, but provided few details about how the White House will do that.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Did anyone tell the Taliban and Al Qiada or the US military? This is more than appeasment and stupidity, that is total insanity. We are now ruled by insane people....this is surrender or as close it it can get to surrender.

Then why the he** are we still in Iraq and Afghanistan? What are our troops doing there if not fighting Jihadist and terrorists?

Obama sees us as the enemy, not the Jihadists. So, what are we gonna call it from now: “The War Against Really Mean and Smelly People?”

If the war on terror is over then we sure as hell don't need Homeland Security. Let's get rid of that too. Fire that Bitch Janet and tear up the stupid possible terrorists list Veterans are on and Tea Party people are on.

"The president's adviser talked about increasing aid to foreign governments for building up their militaries and social and democratic institutions"....

Unbelievable. He is going to throw more away overseas with much going to our enemies. Obama has got got some extra money from cutting military spending.

I hope that someone in the White house remembered to give this memo to the various Jihadists groups around the globe. They all need to know that they must be affiliated with al Qaeda to attack the United States under the current Obama administration. I know they would all like to avoid the embarrassment of following improper procedure while employing terrorism.

Sheesh!

But al-Qaeda is only one of many organizations committed to using the tools of terror against America and its citizens. To call it a "War on al-Qaeda" is not accurate either, for it omits other such organizations equally at war with us. So the Taliban is not a terrorist group but Veterans are??????

And what is it that links and motivates all of these groups but must yet remain unexpressed by our leaders in Washington? Why must we play these games? Because our President is a MUSLIM and has already had a terrorist as a friend ( Ayers) and has already made it clear to Hamas and other terrorists that he is on their side against Israle so why not also against the USA.

Nice how he respect our troops isn't it, the lives we have lost the wounded. Yes Obama is a reall class act.........NOT!

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (15)

July 29, 2009

Barack FONDA Obama and UK Gordon Brown Want Talks With " Moderate" Taliban

A soldier in Gereshk, Afghanistan. Gordon Brown has signalled the end of the first phase of Operation Panther's Claw, aimed at driving back the Taliban. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

Britain and US prepared to open talks with the Taliban

Negotiating with Terrorists

A concerted effort to start unprecedented talks between Taliban and British and American envoys was outlined yesterday in a significant change in tactics designed to bring about a breakthrough in the attritional, eight-year conflict in Afghanistan.

Senior ministers and commanders on the ground believe they have created the right conditions to open up a dialogue with "second-tier" local leaders now the Taliban have been forced back in a swath of Helmand province.

They are hoping that Britain's continuing military presence in Helmand, strengthened by the arrival of thousands of US troops, will encourage Taliban commanders to end the insurgency. There is even talk in London and Washington of a military "exit strategy".

Speaking at the end of the five-week Operation Panther's Claw in which hundreds of British troops were reported to have cleared insurgents from a vital region of Helmand province, Lieutenant-General Simon Mayall, deputy chief of defence staff, said: "It gives the Taliban 'second tier' room to reconnect with the government and this is absolutely at the heart of this operation."

The second tier of the insurgency are regarded as crucial because they control large numbers of Taliban fighters in Pashtun-dominated southern Afghanistan. The first tier of Taliban commanders – hardliners around Mullah Omar – could not be expected to start talks in the foreseeable future. The third tier – footsoldiers with no strong commitments – are not regarded as influential or significant players.

The change in tactics was revealed as the Ministry of Defence announced that two more British soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan. One, from the Light Dragoons, was on patrol in Operation Panther's Claw; the other, a soldier from the Royal Artillery, was killed on foot patrol in Sangin. Ten soldiers have died in Operation Panther's Claw.

A ComRes poll in today's Independent suggests most people now believe British troops should be pulled out of Afghanistan. Most of those who responded (58%) said the Taliban could not be defeated militarily, and 52% of those surveyed said troops should be withdrawn immediately.

America's priorities in Afghanistan will be spelled out in a briefing paper drawn up by General Stanley McChrystal, the new US commander in the country, due to be handed to Barack Obama tomorrow.

He will emphasise the need for speeding up the training of Afghan troops, according to defence sources. He is also expected to ask for more troops from Nato allies. British military commanders are drawing up contingency plans to increase the number of British forces to more than 10,000 from the current 9,000.

Miliband's call for talks with more moderate Taliban elements was echoed later by Gordon Brown, who said: "Our strategy has always been to complement the military action that we've got to take to clear the Taliban, to threaten al-Qaida in its bases – while at the same time we put in more money to build the Afghan forces, the troops, the police."

Wild Thing's comment......

OMG The United States and Great Briatian are not opening negotiations with the very enemy they were supposed to purge off the face of the earth??? would a winning military force want to open up negotiations? This will embolden our enemy.

"call for talks with more moderate Taliban "

I don't care what level they want to split the Taliban into there is NO moderate Taliban . Remember how the the Taliban laughed at the idea that there are moderate Taliban’s spoken of by Obama when he said he wanted to sit down with the moderate Taliban. Obama: 'Victory' Not Necessarily Goal in Afghanistan

"Our enemies may be irrational, even outright insane, driven by nationalism, religion, ethnicity or ideology. They do not fear the United States for its diplomatic skills or the number of automobiles and software programs it produces. They respect only the firepower of our tanks, planes and helicopter gunships." ~ Ronald Reagan

It won't change the fact that they want kill us. It will give them breathing room, an air of respectability with those that may have opposed them otherwise, and of course obama will throw in funding from our tax dollars to them. This bad, this is real bad.

I think it's going to take years to reverse the damage that this asshole has already done...and he's just getting started. Obama's history is he will apologize, we all know that. He will slam our country for going to Afghanistan after 9-11 to hunt down the terrorists, and ‘causing’ this war to begin and continue.

So now we know, Obama did say he was not interested in VICTORY now we know what he is interested in ......talking., more of his insane speeches..........

I can see it now, limp wristed Obama and his teleprompter, turning his head side to side with his ugly chin raised just a tad to let them know he thinks he is the future ruler of the world. The Taliban with visions of not sugar plums dancing in their head but nice shiny sharp swords and knives being turned by the handle around and around as they pretend to be "moderate" as they listen to him say...... " Let me make this very clear......eh ah let me make this clear........I can offer you free medical insurance just like the other illegals and did I tell you I am a Muslim and the call to prayer in Islam is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard, did you hear my speech in Cairo?"

Fade to black screen and sounds of.......... " but what if I show you my real birth certificate?"....

....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 08:48 AM | Comments (9)

July 28, 2009

President Hamid Karzai Wants New ROE for US Troops

Karzai: Afghans want rules for troops changed

KABUL

President Hamid Karzai said Monday he wants new rules governing the conduct of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan and would be willing to talk with Taliban leaders who publicly renounce violence and endorse peace.

But Karzai, acknowledging shaky relations with his international partners in the war on terror, told The Associated Press in an interview that he was not prepared at this time to discuss the key Taliban demand - a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops.

Karzai said the presence of U.S. and international forces was in the Afghan national interest but should be "based on a new contract" that would minimize civilian casualties, limit searches of private homes and restrict detaining Afghans indefinitely without charge.

He also said he wants the U.S.-run prison at Bagram Air Base, where about 600 Afghans are held, re-evaluated and inmates released unless there is evidence linking them to terrorist affiliation. He said arrests are turning ordinary Afghans against U.S. and NATO forces.

Karzai has promised to pursue those demands for changes in the relationship with foreign forces if he wins a second term in the Aug. 20 presidential election. He is considered the leading contender in the 39-candidate field, though he would be forced into a runoff if he fails to win a majority of votes in the first round.

"The Afghan people still want a fundamentally strong relation with the United States," Karzai said. "The Afghan people want a strategic partnership with America" based on fighting Islamic extremism.

But he added that the partnership must ensure "that the partners are not losing their lives, their property, their dignity as a consequence of that partnership."

The 91,000 international troops based in Afghanistan include about 65,000 under NATO's International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF. The rest are part of a U.S.-led coalition involved in counterterrorism and training Afghan forces. Both groups operate under different rules, which are kept secret for operational security reasons.

It is widely assumed, however, that the U.S.-led counter-terror command enjoys broader powers to search homes and detain people indefinitely if they are suspected of posing a security threat.

Last month, the new U.S. and NATO commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, issued new orders saying troops may attack insurgents hiding in Afghan houses only if international forces are in imminent danger. The measures were put into effect to quell a storm of criticism from Karzai's government about civilian casualties, which help fuel the Taliban insurgency.

During his interview, Karzai suggested those measures may not be enough to convince most Afghans to accept a long-term international role, which he said was in the interest of the Afghan people.

Karzai said no Afghan mother would weep over a son killed or wounded in the war "but that Afghan mother would very much want her other son, her husband or her daughter to be safe in their homes, to be safe in their communities, not to be bombed, not to be arrested, not to have their homes broken into at night with their front gate blown up by dynamite."

Karzai also said he wanted a dialogue with Taliban members not affiliated with al-Qaida or "in the grips of foreign intelligence agencies" in order to "reintegrate" them into Afghan society. He said those Taliban members must first repent "and announce that publicly."

He did not specify any foreign intelligence agency, but Afghan officials have in the past accused Pakistan of backing the Taliban, which Pakistan denies.

But Karzai also made clear he was not prepared to call for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces, which some key Taliban figures have demanded before they will enter peace talks.

Karzai acknowledged strong differences over the years with the NATO and U.S.-led forces "but I also know and the Afghan people also know that the presence of international troops in Afghanistan is bringing stability to Afghanistan."

"I would advise the Taliban not to ask for the exit of international forces in Afghanistan because that is not in the interest of the Afghan people," he said.

Instead, both sides should work toward a relationship in which foreign troops show greater sensitivity to Afghan culture and the Afghans display "better management of governmental affairs."

Karzai has come under criticism for embracing some of Afghanistan's most notorious warlords, including his vice presidential running mate Mohammad Qasim Fahim, and his defense adviser, Gen. Rashid Dostum, who has been accused of killing hundreds of Taliban prisoners in 2001.

Karzai defended those ties, saying many of those now branded as warlords had received "million and millions of dollars" from the United States for their help in fighting the Taliban in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

Wild Thing's comment........

What an idiot Karzai is! If we pulled our troops from Afghanistan, his life would not be worth a plug nickel.

Between this guy and the comment Obama made last week that didn't care about a victory in Afghanistan OMG!

What Obama and his like need to realise, is that the object of war, as Patton put it. “Is to kill the other guy before he can kill you" . As for the Afghan president, he should think long and hard about what position he would be in if we just decided to cut our losses and leave. He’d be so far up the proverbial creek without the proverbial paddle. You’d hear him begging us to stay on the moon. But none of this will happen because it means do to it right and keep our troops from being killed means we have to do what our troops do best and the Obamessiah can’t have that now can he.

....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.

United States Army
1965-1971
Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69

Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (7)

July 21, 2009

A Voice For Missile Defense

Meet America’s Top Missile-Defense Cheerleader

Bloomberg

Riki Ellison, the onetime NFL linebacker who hung up his cleats to become the one of the most prominent U.S. advocates for missile defense.

Bloomberg’s Curtis Eichelberger has an interesting profile of Ellison, who’s been busier than ever with his campaign to keep the missile-defense dollars flowing. And as an owner of three Super Bowl rings, Ellison can’t resist a football metaphor.

“Sometimes you play zone defense, other times you play man-to-man, the key is to layer your defense so you can protect your goal line no matter how they attack you,” Ellison told Eichelberger. “That’s essentially how a missile defense system works.”

With a belligerent North Korea brandishing missiles, Ellison has been particularly vocal about keeping alive some of the programs that have been targeted for cuts by the Obama administration. And before a recent North Korean missile test, Ellison wrote to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, urging the deployment of the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX), a powerful tracking and discrimination radar was undergoing repair in Hawaii. While the SBX was not diverted to track the missile, Ellison managed to get more attention to the program.

During his NFL career, Ellison held internships at Lockheed Martin where he met Edward Teller, who helped develop the first atomic bomb while working on the Manhattan Project and was the force behind Reagan’s missile defense initiative.

Following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, Ellison, a registered lobbyist, formed his organization to work for the deployment of a missile defense system.

It is funded by about 9,000 private donors, defense contractors and others interested in missile defense. He wouldn’t identify them.

“In football, you can’t win by building everything around your offense,” Ellison said. “In the real world, it’s imperative that you keep the opponent from reaching your end zone, even once.”

Wild Thing's comment......

Maybe this guy can convience Obama he is wrong. Obama doesn’t think the country should be allowed to defend itself.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (4)

July 16, 2009

Obama Betraying America's Soldiers: Iranian War Criminals Go Free

Betraying America's Soldiers: Iranian War Criminals Go Free

American Thinker

"The moment you give up your principles, and your values . . . the moment you laugh at those principles, and those values, you are dead, your culture is dead, your civilization is dead. Period." Orianna Fallaci

On Thursday, July 9th, the US released 4 Iranian detainees who are suspected of being members of an Iranian Special Forces team that facilitated the smuggling of explosives and explosive devices into Iraq, including shaped charges that could penetrate US armored vehicles. A recent article on the National Review Online, by Andrew C. McCarthy entitled "Negotiating with Terrorists" outlines one of the actions these men are suspected of planning, equipping and executing.

"On Jan. 20, 2007, five American soldiers were killed and three seriously wounded in Iraq. As Bill Roggio relates at the Long War Journal, it was a daring operation: a twelve-man terrorist team disguised as U.S. servicemen attacked our troops as they held a previously arranged meeting with local officials in Karbala. Four of the soldiers were alive when they were abducted from the scene. They were handcuffed and murdered in a remote location when the coalition forces attempting to rescue them closed in."

A few months later Qais Qazali, Laith Qazali and Ali Mussa Daqduq were captured, along with documents that confirmed they were agents of Iran responsible for organizing and directing terror cells in Iraq. Hundreds of US servicemen and women and thousands of innocent Iraqis died horribly because of them. What these Iranians did were war crimes, from the killing of civilians to the execution of prisoners. They likely took part in operations themselves; in fact the attackers in Karbala were so expertly disguised as American soldiers their equipment and vehicles were very likely supplied directly by Iran.

McCarthy continues;

"About two weeks ago, the Obama administration released Laith Qazali after extensive negotiations with the Asaib al-Haq terror network. That network has long been in negotiations with the fledgling Iraqi government, dangling the possibility of laying down its arms, renouncing violence, and integrating into Iraqi society, provided that its top members - particularly Qais and Laith Qazali, as well as Ali Mussa Daqduq - be released."

Now that has been done, below the radar, and over the graves of our soldiers. These war criminals are being called diplomats in an attempt to hide the release from the American public. They are being set free to reunite with friends and family and continue their work for a brutal murderous regime that is our mortal enemy.

What the US may receive in return is a temporary lull in terror attacks, so the precipitous withdrawal of US troops by the Obama administration won't be seen for the blunder that it is. Our soldiers and their grieving families will not receive justice; their murderers are now a tool of the Democrats, their release a stratagem for political gain.

All this should make Americans realize just what kind of people are in the White House and in Congress. They do not respect or honor our foundational principles; they do not respect or honor America's values. You do not let a crime go unpunished. You do not reward evil; it cannot be appeased. We will inherit no goodwill; we will enjoy no diplomatic concessions; we are the "great Satan" to the regime in Teheran and treating with us is an immoral act. Their ideology and their policies are based on hatred. To think otherwise is not merely naïve, it is idiotic.

We are in the awful situation were an American President and his administration sides with our enemies, where crimes against us are ignored for petty political gain. How much more American and Iraqi blood will be spilt because of their adolescent leftist ideology? Can they truly be so blind to the horrific consequences of releasing terrorists in an attempt to secure peace? Or do they hate our soldiers so completely that they do not care?

The Obama Administration has betrayed this nation's servicemen and women. They have sold our soldiers lives for a pittance, for short term political expediency. They are dealing with the devil, and are comfortable doing it. By their actions the Obama administration has set the stage for the killing of more brave young Americans and countless innocents.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Obama is in charge. This couldn’t happen without his direct involvement.

It is outrageous. The current White House occupants gave the OK. The Iranians had been trying to get these jihadis released since 2007 but got no where until now.

Here is Andrew's complete article about this.

The Obama administration ignores a longstanding — and life-saving — policy.........By Andrew C. McCarthy

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (9)

July 14, 2009

Tonight CBS News To Do a Report on Green Berets Operating in Afghanistan and Iraq

Tonight on CBS Evening News - a report on the Green Berets operating in Afghanistan and Iraq.

From CBS website

Probe of Cheney's Covert CIA Plan Urged

I just checked and on the Esst coast it comes on at 1830.

It looks like it is a half hour show.

Congressional Leaders Never Told about Operation Ordered by then-VP to Kill Al Qaeda at Close Range ~~~
and why on earth is that a bad thing. Dead is dead at any range. And God bless the soldier, sniper, Special Forces, Marine, Saiilor, Air Force whoever does it. K-POW bye bye terrorist! ~ Wild Thing

HERE IS THE VIDEO .......CBS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVnHLEfNWXc

Wild Thing's comment........

giggle. This is a quickie post, I just got home and wanted to let you all know right away in case you wanted to see it too.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:06 PM | Comments (4)

Thank You America – And Damn You, You Bastards

Iraqi Columnist: Thank You, America

Weekly Standard

Our contributor Stephen Schwartz points out a recent editorial from a Baghdad newspaper that provides an interesting Iraqi perspective:

Translated from this newspaper
http://www.albayyna-new.com/

Thank You America – And Damn You, You Bastards

By Jabr Al Jabouri
Al-Bayyna Al-Jadida [Baghdad]
July 1, 2009

America chose to save us from the most evil party, and the most despicable President in the universe [Saddam]. Meanwhile, the Arab powers stood firmly against the American project. They used all means to thwart them, but Allah’s will had another say in this matter. America turned the Ba’athists into the world’s laughing stock by showing them fleeing in their underwear on live television. Meanwhile, the Arab powers turned those cowards into national heroes on their satellite channels.

America gave the lives of 4,000 of its people to Iraq’s land to instill security and democracy, while the Arabs sent us their filthy mercenaries who mercilessly murdered, bombed, and slaughtered the Iraqi people.

America came bearing democracy for Iraq, while the Arabs brought us the new religion of the Wahhabis and Salafists. This religion aims to destroy Iraq and return it to the days of minority rule.

America canceled all of our debts and urged the rest of the world to do so, while the Arabs refused to do so and they even demanded payment for every Iraqi citizen living in their countries.

America allowed Shias to practice their religion while the Arabs bombed the Askari shrine. America proposed that the Iraqi President be Kurdish – so that we can prove to the world that Iraq has entered an age of freedom and respect for ethnic minorities. Yet, the Arabs have “removed Iraq from the Arab map,” pointing to the fact that the President is a non-Arab. America urged all honorable Sunnis to take part in the political process, while the Arabs issued a fatwa to kill every Sunni Iraqi who works with the government.

America opened the world to us, while the Arabs slammed their doors in our faces. America urged the world’s countries to open embassies in Iraq. Thus far, the Arabs have not opened embassies… or even acknowledged Iraq’s new democratic regime. America is carrying the burden of removing Iraq from Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, while the Arabs – led by Saudi Arabia – are doing their best to obstruct these efforts.

America urged the Gulf States to allow Iraq to return to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), while the Arabs refused to allow Iraq to join the GCC. The Americans sponsored Iraq membership in international, political, and cultural organizations, while the Arabs expelled the Iraqi Authors and Writers Union from the Arab Writers Union.

America decided to withdraw from Iraq cities and hand these cities over to the Iraq forces on June 30 in preparation for the final withdrawal from Iraq. The Arabs decided to hinder the withdrawal so that their excuse for fighting the occupier and killing the Iraq people can remain. America signed the Strategic Framework Agreement with Iraq, which includes all political, cultural, military, and technological fields. The Arabs issued a decision stating that Iraq is “officially occupied” because we signed the security agreement. Never mind that all these Arab countries have agreements with America. The Arabs decided that every American soldier in Iraq is an occupier that must be killed, while if an American soldier was to be in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, or Egypt he would be considered as a friendly ally that must be treated with respect. The Arabs decided to consider every Iraqi living in America to be a traitor and spy, even though Iraqi people living in America are fewer in numbers than all other Arab nationalities. The Arabs consider every Iraqi who works as a translator for the American forces to be a traitor…

This is how Arabs are, and this is just a drop in a vast ocean. All this is what the Arabs do in public. What they do behind the walls is another matter entirely.

According to American news sources, Saudi Arabia has been trying hard to convince America to return the Ba’athists to power in Iraq. However, the American Administration does not care about what Saudi Arabia thinks or wants in this country.

Today, our American friends are true to their word. They have handed over security responsibilities to the Iraq forces, and they decided to withdraw from the Iraqi cities.

I wonder when the American forces in Saudi Arabia – estimated at 80,000 troops – are going to withdraw. When are the 30,000 U.S. soldiers in Kuwait going to withdraw? When are the American bases in Qatar, Egypt, Oman, Yemen, and all other Arab countries that live off American aid going to be shut down?

The geographically close, but, in humanitarian terms, distant Arab Nation does not deserve any political, cultural and commercial ties with us. Nations that are completely different from and unrelated to us are racing to assist us.

After six years of liberation, we now know who our friend is and who our foe is. We should not give a chance to those idiots who claim that Iraq is part of the Arab Nation. These idiots should understand that Iraq is part the federal, free and democratic world.

Wild Thing's comment......

This is wonderfull , oh how I wish our troops could see this. Wow this is very special.

....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.

Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (11)

July 07, 2009

Obama's Stupid New ROE As Taliban Fighters Dress As Women To Escape Marines

Wild Thing's comment.........

Stupid, STUPID and dangerous for our troops!

So much for reading history and why being soooooo careful ONLY kills our troops. And of course it would be too much to ask Obama to actually do some istening of our military and what would work best for them.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (4)

Mullah Sprung From GITMO Jail Now Leads Taliban Fighting US Troops in Afghanistan

A former Gitmo detainee is leading the Taliban in Afghanistan in fighting the US in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

New York Post

KABUL, Afghanistan

As Marine Corps forces roll into southern Afghanistan, they face an enemy familiar to US officials -- Mullah Zakir, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who now leads a reconstituted Taliban.

Abdul Qayum Zakir, also known as Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, is from Helmand Province and has taken a circuitous route to become head of the radical Islamic group.

Zakir was a senior fighter during the Taliban regime in the 1990s. In a memorandum prepared for his administrative review board at Guantanamo, Zakir apparently "felt it would be fine to wage jihad against Americans, Jews, or Israelis if they were invading his country."

And he acknowledged that he was "called to fight jihad in approximately 1997," when he joined the Taliban.

In 2001, he surrendered to US and Afghan forces in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif as the regime was collapsing. He spent the next several years in custody, was transferred to Guantanamo around 2006, then to Afghanistan government custody in late 2007, and was eventually released around May 2008. American officials won't say why he was let go and have not released a photograph of him.

Zakir wasted little time rekindling his relationship with the Taliban, especially its inner shura, or leadership council, based in Pakistan. According to some accounts, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar appointed Zakir as a senior military commander in mid-2008. He quickly developed a reputation as a charismatic leader.

The Taliban, apparently concerned that some governors and military commanders had become ineffective and bracing for the growing US military presence, announced its own new strategy in April.

They called it Operation Nasrat ("victory") and pledged to use "ambushes, offensives, explosions, martyrdom-seeking attacks, and surprise attacks." The Taliban also warned that they would attack "military units of the invading forces, diplomatic centers, mobile convoys and high-ranking officials" of the Afghan government.

As Marines move through Helmand, they will be on the lookout for Zakir and his support network. But like many senior Taliban leaders, Zakir spends a lot of time in Pakistani cities like Quetta and Karachi, frightened he'll be killed in an attack.

OH But that is not enough , because you see Obama wants to make sure the Taliban has every chance possible not to be taken out. ~ Wild Thing

Directive Re-emphasizes Protecting Afghan Civilians

Thousands Fan Out in Afghanistan's South in Crucial Test for Revised U.S. Strategy

WASHINGTON

A new tactical directive for coalition forces serving in Afghanistan re-emphasizes the importance of preventing civilian casualties.

Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, released the directive July 2. It builds on previous tactics and is much clearer about use of close-air support, searching Afghan houses and protecting Afghan cultural and religious sensitivities. All coalition forces in Afghanistan must follow the directive.

Taliban fighters use a tactic of engaging coalition forces from positions that expose Afghan civilians to danger. Close-air support of coalition and Afghan personnel engaged in a May 4 firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Farah province killed numerous civilians. The Taliban cite such incidents to lead people to believe the NATO-led force does not care for Afghan civilians.

McChrystal’s tactical directive emphasizes that ISAF is in Afghanistan to protect the people from the insurgents. “Like any insurgency, there is a struggle for support and will of the population,” he wrote. “Gaining and maintaining that support must be our overriding operational imperative – and the ultimate objective of every action we take.”

Still, the directive does not prevent commanders from protecting the lives of their troops engaged in direct combat.

The directive is general because the nature of a counterinsurgency is complex and no one can foresee all eventualities, officials said. McChrystal expects commanders at all levels to understand the directive and use it when planning and conducting operations.

“Following this intent requires a cultural shift within our forces – and complete understanding at every level,” he wrote.

The tactical guidance takes the new strategy for Afghanistan as its base, recognizing that ISAF and Afghan forces may win tactical victories against the Taliban, but lose the war. “We must avoid the trap of winning tactical victories – but suffering strategic defeats – by causing civilian casualties or excessive damage and thus alienating the people,” McChrystal wrote.

Specifically, the directive calls on commanders “to scrutinize and limit the use of force like close air support against residential compounds and other locations likely to produce civilian casualties.” Bombing residential compounds will be allowed only under very limited conditions, the directive says. For example, if a coalition force comes in contact with Taliban fighters and the enemy takes cover in a residential compound, the NATO force can break contact and wait out the enemy rather than calling for close-air support.

Another portion of the directive states that any search of Afghan homes will be done by Afghan security forces with the support of local authorities.

“No ISAF forces will enter or fire upon, or fire into a mosque or any religious or historical site except in self-defense,” McChrystal wrote in the directive. “All searches and entries for any other reason will be conducted by the Afghan National Security Forces.”

The directive is not a departure from past practices, officials said, noting that killing civilians never has been an International Security Assistance Force tactic.

“Working together with our Afghan partners, we can overcome the enemy’s influence and give the Afghan people what they deserve: a country at peace for the first time in three decades, foundations of good governance and economic development,” McChrystal said.

Wild Thing's comment......

I blame Obama this comes from him, he is the CIC and he may not have let the prisoner out, that was under Bush. BUT Obama is the one that has chnged the ROE.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (2)

July 02, 2009

Camp Leatherneck Marines Deploy on Major Mission Afghanistan

U.S. Marine Corps file photo by Sgt. Freddy G. Cantu

Largest Marine Offensive since Vietnam -Operation Khanjar - “Strike of the Sword” Begins

Operation Khanjar (Strike of the Sword) involved nearly 4,000 US forces as well as 650 Afghan police and soldiers, the Marine Expeditionary Brigade said, announcing the pre-dawn launch of the drive in southern Helmand province… Deploying about 50 aircraft, the air and land assault was to push troops into insurgent strongholds in what officers said was the biggest offensive airlift by the Marines since Vietnam… "What makes Operation Khanjar different from those that have occurred before is the massive size of the force introduced, the speed at which it will insert," MEB commander Brigadier General Larry Nicholson said in a statement… Troops would hold areas they take until they could transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces, said Brigadier General Larry Nicholson .

Marines Deploy on Major Mission

CAMP LEATHERNECK

Afghanistan

July 2

Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military's new counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.

The operation will involve about 4,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was dispatched to Afghanistan this year by President Obama to combat a growing Taliban insurgency in Helmand and other southern provinces. The Marines, along with an Army brigade that is scheduled to arrive later this summer, plan to push into pockets of the country where NATO forces have not had a presence. In many of those areas, the Taliban has evicted local police and government officials and taken power.

Once Marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the local population. The brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his Marines will focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of mounting a series of hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents.

"We're doing this very differently," Nicholson said to his senior officers a few hours before the mission began. "We're going to be with the people. We're not going to drive to work. We're going to walk to work."

Similar approaches have been tried in the eastern part of the country, but none has had the scope of the mission in Helmand, a vast province that is largely an arid moonscape save for a band of fertile land that lines the Helmand River. Poppies grown in that territory produce half the world's supply of opium and provide the Taliban with a valuable source of income.

The operation launched early Thursday represents a shift in strategy after years of thwarted U.S.-led efforts to destroy Taliban sanctuaries in Afghanistan and extend the authority of the Afghan government into the nation's southern and eastern regions. More than seven years after the fall of the Taliban government, the radical Islamist militia remains a potent force across broad swaths of the country. The Obama administration has made turning the war around a top priority, and the Helmand operation, if it succeeds, is seen as a potentially critical first step.

Traveling through swirling dust clouds under the light of a half-moon, the first Marine units departed from this remote desert base shortly after midnight on dual-rotor CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters backed by AH-64 Apache gunships and NATO fighter jets. Additional forces poured into the valley during the pre-dawn hours on more helicopters and in heavy transport vehicles designed to withstand the makeshift but lethal bombs that Taliban fighters have planted along the roads.

The initial Marine units did not face resistance as they converged on their destinations. Marine commanders said before the start of the operation that they expected only minimal Taliban opposition at the outset but that assaults on the forces would probably increase once they moved into towns and began patrols. Field commanders have been told to prepare for suicide attacks, ambushes and roadside bombings.

Officers here said the mission, which required months of planning, is the Marines' largest operation since the 2004 invasion of Fallujah, Iraq. In the minutes after midnight, well-armed Marines trudged across the tarmac at this sprawling outpost to board the Chinooks, which lumbered aloft with a burst of searing dust. A few hours later, another contingent of Marines boarded a row of CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters packed onto a relatively small landing pad at a staging base in the desert south of here. As the choppers clattered through the night sky, dozens of armored vehicles rolled toward towns along the river valley.

The U.S. strategy here is predicated on the belief that a majority of people in Helmand do not favor the Taliban, which enforces a strict brand of Islam that includes an-eye-for-an-eye justice and strict limits on personal behavior. Instead, U.S. officials believe, residents would rather have the Afghan government in control, but they have been cowed into supporting the Taliban because there was nobody to protect them.

In areas south of the provincial capital, local leaders, and even members of the police force, have fled. An initial priority for the Marines will be to bring back Afghan government officials and reinvigorate the local police forces. Marine commanders also plan to help district governors hold shuras -- meetings of elders in the community -- in the next week.

"Our focus is not the Taliban," Nicholson told his officers. "Our focus must be on getting this government back up on its feet."

But Nicholson and his top commanders recognize that making that happen involves tackling numerous challenges, starting with a lack of trust among the local population. That mistrust stems from concern over civilian casualties resulting from U.S. military operations as well as from a fear that the troops will not stay long enough to counter the Taliban. The British army, which had been responsible for all of Helmand since 2005 under NATO's Afghan stabilization effort, lacked the resources to maintain a permanent presence in most parts of the province.

"A key to establishing security is getting the local population to understand that we're going to be staying here to help them -- that we're not driving in and driving out," said Col. Eric Mellenger, the brigade's operations officer.

With the arrival of the Marines, British forces have redeployed around the capital of Helmand, Lashkar Gah, where they are conducting a large anti-Taliban operation designed to complement the Marine mission. Two British soldiers were reported killed in fighting in the province Wednesday.

The Marines have also been vexed by a lack of Afghan security forces and a near-total absence of additional U.S. civilian reconstruction personnel. Nicholson had hoped that his brigade, which has about 11,000 Marines and sailors, would be able to conduct operations with a similar number of Afghan soldiers. But thus far, the Marines have been allotted only about 500 Afghan soldiers, which he deems "a critical vulnerability."

"They see things intuitively that we don't see," he said. "It's their country, and they know it better than we do."

Despite commitments from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development that they would send additional personnel to help the new forces in southern Afghanistan with reconstruction and governance development, State has added only two officers in Helmand since the Marines arrived. State has promised to have a dozen more diplomats and reconstruction experts working with the Marines, but only by the end of the summer.

To compensate in the interim, the Marines are deploying what officers here say is the largest-ever military civilian-affairs contingent attached to a combat brigade -- about 50 Marines, mostly reservists, with experience in local government, business management and law enforcement. Instead of flooding the area of operations with cash, as some units did in Iraq, the Marine civil affairs commander, Lt. Col. Curtis Lee, said he intends to focus his resources on improving local government.

Once basic governance structures are restored, civilian reconstruction personnel plan to focus on economic development programs, including programs to help Afghans grow legal crops in the area. Senior Obama administration officials say creating jobs and improving the livelihoods of rural Afghans is the key to defeating the Taliban, which has been able to recruit fighters for as little as $5 a day in Helmand.

In meetings with his commanders at forward operating bases over the past three days, Nicholson acknowledged that focusing on governance and population security does not come as naturally to Marines as conducting offensive operations, but he told them it is essential that they focus on "reining in the pit bulls."

"We're not going to measure your success by the number of times your ammunition is resupplied. . . . Our success in this environment will be very much predicated on restraint," he told a group of officers from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines on Sunday. "You're going to drink lots of tea. You're going to eat lots of goat. Get to know the people. That's the reason why we're here."

Wild Thing's comment.....

Prayers for their safety and a successful mission. Chesty is cheering them on!!

I am not sure how true this is. "officers said was the biggest offensive airlift by the Marines since Vietnam". The Marines were also in Iraq. But I forget how many but I do remember we had a lot of Marines and Army in Iraq.....a lot of each.

When the articles are not written by the DOD I want to make sure it is accurate, but no way to check right now as these are the only links right now.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)

July 01, 2009

U.S. Combat Forces Turning Over Security of Cities in Iraq

Army Capt. Rich Turvey, commander of 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, signs over Joint Security Station Salaam to Iraqi army 1st Lt. Jassim Abbas at a transfer ceremony near Numaniyah, Iraq, June 20, 2009. In accordance with the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, Iraqi security forces took full ownership of security in their cities, towns and villages on June 30, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson

Withdrawal Marks Historic Day for Future of Iraq, General Says

By Army Staff Sgt. Dave Lankford

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, June 30, 2009

In accordance with Article 5 of the security agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi governments, Iraqi security forces now have full ownership of security in their cities, towns and villages.

“As of today, U.S. combat forces will turn over the security of cities to Iraqi security forces, and begin a period where our primary security role is one of training, mentoring and advising the ISF,” said Army Maj. Gen. Rick Nash, Multinational Division South commander. “Today’s ISF is capable, ready and dedicated to keeping the people of Iraq safe.”

Nash praised the dedication of the Iraqi security forces as well as the proficiency of U.S. and coalition forces, and attributed the successful implementation of the security agreement to their actions.

“Iraq’s successes and significantly improved security are a testament of the ISF’s progress and its dedication to Iraq’s sovereignty,” Nash said. “The Iraqis have made strides in their ability to protect their citizens, and our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are doing a great job in helping them build both their security forces and their civil capacity.”

Though U.S. and coalition forces no longer will inhabit Iraqi cities, they will continue to support the Iraqi security forces within the parameters of the security agreement, Nash said.

“Leaving the cities does not mean that we are backing off,” he said. “Instead, it indicates our confidence in the Iraqis to safeguard their own citizens. Likewise, the security agreement is a tangible, positive sign of a mature relationship between two sovereign nations.”

In accordance with agreement, U.S. forces will withdraw from all Iraqi territory by Dec. 31, 2011. Today will be remembered as a significant step toward the realization of that objective, Nash noted.

“So, on this important day of transition in Iraq, our two nations move forward together as friends, with the shared goal of the safety and security of the Iraqi people,” he said. “I am very encouraged about the future success of Iraq.”

Gen. Raymon Oderno, commnading general, Multi-National Forces-Iraq pays tribute at the Monument of the Unkown Solidiers, June 30.

Iraqi officials and military commanders place flowers on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and to stand a minute to read (Surat Al-Fatihah) for the lives of the martyrs of Iraq.

As U.S. Meets Withdrawal Deadline, Baghdad Declares Holiday

As the United States completed its withdrawal of combat forces from Iraqi cities in accordance with today's deadline, Baghdad commemorated the milestone with a national holiday.

The departing American brigades and battalions leave behind a significantly smaller contingent of U.S. trainers and advisors in the cities, where Iraqi forces now have primary authority, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said.

Meanwhile, news reports from Baghdad describe Iraqis marking the day with a military parade attended by Iraqi reporters and dignitaries in the international area known as the "Green Zone" at the official monument to an unknown soldier.

Similar celebrations took place around the country in recent days as the American drawdown from cities neared completion.

But today's transfer of responsibility to Iraqi security forces represents a "significant milestone," Odierno said.

"It is a day when Iraqis celebrate as they continue to move towards exercising their full sovereignty," he said. "The Iraqi people should be very proud of the dedication, progress and sacrifice of the Iraqi security forces and the government of Iraq. Their accomplishments in preparing for this day are commendable."

As Iraqis secure the cities, Odierno said, U.S. forces are establishing a layer of defense outside the urban areas, conducting full-spectrum and stability operations alongside Iraqis to eliminate safe havens, crack down on insurgents and stem the flow of foreign fighters. U.S. forces also will support civil efforts led by the U.S. Embassy, the Iraqi government, and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, he said.

"Our combat forces, partnering with the Iraqi security forces, will secure the belts and borders in an attempt to eliminate safe havens and sanctuaries and to limit freedom of movement of insurgents and prevent the facilitation of foreign fighters through the borders," he said.

As Iraqis celebrate a nationwide holiday highlighting their added responsibility, Americans also can be proud of the efforts by U.S. forces to stabilize Iraq, which last month had the lowest levels of violence since the war began six years ago, the general noted.

"The American people can also be very proud, as well, of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as our civilians, who have worked so hard over the past years -- and tirelessly -- and sacrificed so much in helping the people of Iraq progress towards a peaceful and democratic society," Odierno said.

U.S. Soldiers with 1-150th Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division assist Iraqi Army Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Brigade, 17th Division, conduct checkpoint operations in Yusi Fiyah Nahia, Mahmudiyah, Baghdad, Iraq

Maj. Jacob Evans, team chief for Military Transition Team 0228, instructs an Iraqi Soldier on the proper placement of the flag on a uniform aboard Camp Hamza, Iraq

Wild Thing's comment.......

OK now I want to show you something, this was

June 30, 2009
Obama statement on Iraq
Transcript from President Obama's remarks on Iraq:Today American troops have transferred control of all Iraqi cities and towns to Iraq's government and security forces.

This transition was agreed to last year as part of our status of forces agreement with the sovereign Iraqi government. It's a part of our strategy to responsibly end the war by removing all American combat brigades from Iraq by next September and all of our troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.

So the Iraqi people are rightly treating this day as a cause for celebration. This is important step forward as a sovereign and united Iraq continues to take control of its own destiny.

With this progress comes responsibility. Iraq's future is in the hands of its own people, and Iraq's leaders must now make some hard choices necessary to resolve key political questions, to advance opportunity and to provide security for their towns and their cities.

In this effort America will be a strong partner to the Iraqi people on behalf of their security and prosperity.
Now, make no mistake, there will be difficult days ahead. We know that the violence in Iraq will continue. We see that already in the senseless bombing in Kirkuk earlier today. And there are those who will test Iraq's security forces and the resolve of the Iraqi people through more sectarian bombings and the murder of innocent civilians.
But I'm confident that those forces will fail.

The future belongs to those who build, not those who destroy. ( Obama has done nothing BUT try to destroy, That is all he has done with America since he was sworn in and that is all he has tried to do with the moral and non funding of our troops in the war. Destroy should be his middle name. ~ Wild Thing)

And today's transition is further proof that those who have tried to pull Iraq into the abyss of disunion and civil war are on the wrong side of history. ( that has Obama's name written all over it! ~ Wild Thing)

Finally, the very fact that Iraqis are celebrating this day is a testament to the courage, the capability and commitment of every single American who has served in Iraq. Through... That's worth applauding.

Through tour after tour of duty, our troops have overcome every obstacle to extend this precious opportunity to the Iraqi people. ( Obama get real , you are the big ole Muslim loving Military hating OBSTACLE!~ Wild Thing)

And these women and men are not always in the headlines, but they're our hearts and prayers. And we will forever honor their selfless service and sacrifice, as well as the service and sacrifice of their families.
There's more work to be done, but we've made important progress in supporting a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq. And everyone who's served there, both in uniform as well as our civilians, deserves our thanks.

Now, it's fitting that we're here today to talk about what each of us can do to lift up this nation, because our troops' sacrifice challenges all of us to do what we can do to be better citizens. That's what the people that you've heard from already are doing every single day.

Obama is so full of it! He makes my stomach turn.

NEVER FORGET....NEVER FORGET.....NEVER FORGET!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (10)

Biden to Take New Role Overseeing Iraq Policy

Biden to take new role overseeing Iraq policy....Biden's New Job: Beacon Of Bipartisanship

President Barack Obama has asked Vice President Joe Biden to take on a new role overseeing the US departure from Iraq and Washington's effort to promote internal political reconciliation there.

The White House said Tuesday that Biden would work closely with General Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq and US ambassador to Baghdad Christopher Hill as US forces prefer to leave for good by the end of 2011.

"The vice president has been asked by the president to oversee the policy," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.

Biden would work with Iraqis "toward overcoming their political differences and achieving the type of reconciliation that we all understand has yet to fully take place but needs to take place."

"Given his knowledge of the region, the number of times he's been there, he's perfectly suited for this type of role," Gibbs said.

Biden, who was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee before becoming vice president, has made repeated trips to Iraq, and is playing a similar role overseeing a 787 billion economic stimulus package.

Gibbs said that an idea once put forward by Biden, of dividing Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities into a federation of autonomous zones, was not on the table for the Obama administration.

He said the vice president's role would likely include travel to Iraq and also meetings with the key players on US Iraq policy.

Biden's new portfolio had been rumored for several days, and Gibbs confirmed the reports on the day that US troops withdrew from the center of Iraqi cities and towns under an agreement with the Baghdad government.

Wild Thing's commnet..........

LOL Obama has been getting ticked at Biden for his many gaffes. The last one I think was when he kidded about the birth certificate. So now he has planned for Biden to be as far away from 1600 Penn. Ave. as possible.

Talk about your disasters waiting to happen!

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (8)

June 15, 2009

Japan Apologizes for Bataan Death March

Military.com

SAN ANTONIO - Japan's ambassador to the United States apologized Saturday on behalf of his country for the 65-mile forced walk of U.S. troops and allies during World War II that left some 11,000 prisoners of war dead.

"As former prime ministers of Japan have repeatedly stated: The Japanese people should bear in mind that we must look into the past and to learn from the lessons of history," Ichiro Fujisaki said at the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

He said his country was extending a heartfelt apology for "having caused tremendous damage and suffering to many people, including prisoners of war, those who have undergone tragic experiences."

Although Fujisaki received a standing ovation from about half of the 400 to 500 attendees, others said the apology was overdue and didn't seem sincere.

Former POW Hershel C. Boushey told the ambassador that he did not accept "your apology," and that the atrocities and mistreatment many suffered was severe.

In 1942, Japanese captors marched about 78,000 prisoners of war - 12,000 Americans and 66,000 Filipinos - for six days on the Philippine island of Luzon to a prisoner-of-war camp in what became known as the Bataan Death March. Many prisoners were denied food, water or medical care, and some were stabbed or beheaded.

As many as 11,000 prisoners died, according to the U.S. Air Force.

Survivor Tony Montoya, of Woodland, Calif., also questioned Fujisaki's sincerity.

"This young man knows very little of the atrocities," Montoya said. "They probably rehearsed him on it."

Abie Abraham, of Renfrew, Pa., said it was time to move on.

"I was never one of those guys that worried about whether we got an apology or not," said Abraham, a 95-year-old vet.

"The way I look at it is - Japan is now our ally," Abraham said. "Why should we get an apology from them?"

Retired Tech Sgt. Joe Alexander, of San Antonio, said he was satisfied because "we finally got the apology that we wanted."

About 73 surviving Bataan Death March veterans of the Army and former Army Air Corps members attended the convention Saturday, which served as the march survivors' final reunion.

Wild Thing's comment.......

One of my Uncles was a Bataan survivor, he has since passed away. But I knew him well enough to know he would not accept Japan's apology, no way.

I wonder why they actually did this, they are always consumed with saving face and it is not like them to apologize for anything. The Japanese have not ever really SINCERELY apologized for anything they EVER did in WW2. Like the atrocities committed in Nanking, China and other places in Asia.

They are like a criminal that is more sorry for getting caught than the real act committed. They think that the suffering of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki wash away all their sins, when in fact they are just really sorry for losing.

I honestly think this has a lot more to do with more recent (or future) events that have little to do with Bataan.

......Thank you SSGT Steve

SSgt Steve
1st MarDiv, H Co., 2nd Bn, 5th Marine Regiment
2/5 Marines, Motto: "Retreat, Hell"
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (6)

June 11, 2009

Miranda Rights for Terrorists

The Weekly Standard

When 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was captured on March 1, 2003, he was not cooperative. “I’ll talk to you guys after I get to New York and see my lawyer,” he said, according to former CIA Director George Tenet.

Of course, KSM did not get a lawyer until months later, after his interrogation was completed, and Tenet says that the information the CIA obtained from him disrupted plots and saved lives. “I believe none of these successes would have happened if we had had to treat KSM like a white-collar criminal – read him his Miranda rights and get him a lawyer who surely would have insisted that his client simply shut up,” Tenet wrote in his memoirs.

If Tenet is right, it’s a good thing KSM was captured before Barack Obama became president.

For, the Obama Justice Department has quietly ordered FBI agents to read Miranda rights to high value detainees captured and held at U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan, according a senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.

“The administration has decided to change the focus to law enforcement. Here’s the problem. You have foreign fighters who are targeting US troops today – foreign fighters who go to another country to kill Americans. We capture them…and they’re reading them their rights – Mirandizing these foreign fighters,” says Representative Mike Rogers, who recently met with military, intelligence and law enforcement officials on a fact-finding trip to Afghanistan.

Rogers, a former FBI special agent and U.S. Army officer, says the Obama administration has not briefed Congress on the new policy. “I was a little surprised to find it taking place when I showed up because we hadn’t been briefed on it, I didn’t know about it. We’re still trying to get to the bottom of it, but it is clearly a part of this new global justice initiative.”

That effort, which elevates the FBI and other law enforcement agencies and diminishes the role of intelligence and military officials, was described in a May 28 Los Angeles Times article.

"The FBI and Justice Department plan to significantly expand their role in global counter-terrorism operations, part of a U.S. policy shift that will replace a CIA-dominated system of clandestine detentions and interrogations with one built around transparent investigations and prosecutions.

Under the "global justice" initiative, which has been in the works for several months, FBI agents will have a central role in overseas counter-terrorism cases. They will expand their questioning of suspects and evidence-gathering to try to ensure that criminal prosecutions are an option, officials familiar with the effort said."

Thanks in part to the popularity of law and order television shows and movies, many Americans are familiar with the Miranda warning – so named because of the landmark 1966 Supreme Court case Miranda vs. Arizona that required police officers and other law enforcement officials to advise suspected criminals of their rights.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense."

A lawyer who has worked on detainee issues for the U.S. government offers this rationale for the Obama administration’s approach. “If the US is mirandizing certain suspects in Afghanistan, they’re likely doing it to ensure that the treatment of the suspect and the collection of information is done in a manner that will ensure the suspect can be prosecuted in a US court at some point in the future.”

But Republicans on Capitol Hill are not happy. “When they mirandize a suspect, the first thing they do is warn them that they have the 'right to remain silent,’” says Representative Pete Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. “It would seem the last thing we want is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other al-Qaeda terrorist to remain silent. Our focus should be on preventing the next attack, not giving radical jihadists a new tactic to resist interrogation--lawyering up.”

According to Mike Rogers, that is precisely what some human rights organizations are advising detainees to do. “The International Red Cross, when they go into these detention facilities, has now started telling people – ‘Take the option. You want a lawyer.’”

Rogers adds: “The problem is you take that guy at three in the morning off of a compound right outside of Kabul where he’s building bomb materials to kill US soldiers, and read him his rights by four, and the Red Cross is saying take the lawyer – you have now created quite a confusion amongst the FBI, the CIA and the United States military. And confusion is the last thing you want in a combat zone.”

“The administration has decided to change the focus to law enforcement. Here’s the problem. You have foreign fighters who are targeting US troops today – foreign fighters who go to another country to kill Americans. We capture them…and they’re reading them their rights – Mirandizing these foreign fighters,” says Representative Mike Rogers, who recently met with military, intelligence and law enforcement officials on a fact-finding trip to Afghanistan.

One thing is clear, though. A detainee who is not talking cannot provide information about future attacks. Had Khalid Sheikh Mohammad had a lawyer, Tenet wrote, “I am confident that we would have obtained none of the information he had in his head about imminent threats against the American people.”

In a March 2003 interview aired on CBS' "60 Minutes" President Obama said Guantanamo detainees do not "deserve" to be read Miranda rights.

KROFT: Some of it being organized by a few people who were released from Guantanamo.

OBAMA: Well, there is no doubt that we have not done a particularly effective job in sorting rough who are truly dangerous individuals that weve got to make sure are not a threat to us, who are folks that we just swept up. The whole premise of Guantanamo promoted by Vice President Cheney was that, somehow, the American system of justice was not up to the task of dealing with these terrorists. I fundamentally disagree with that. Now, do these folks deserve miranda rights? Do they deserve to be treated like a shoplifter down the block? Of course not.

Wild Thing's comment.........

The media and the WH know this is not going to go over very well with the American people and were purposely trying to hide it. He hides almost everything. He is still hiding his so called statement about the terrorist attack in Little Rock at the Recruiting office. How crazy is that! It is NOT there! I have decided it was all BS that he made a statement even though so many of us had a link to what was supposed to be the statement. Obama absolutely hates our military PERIOD!

While working on this post, I have heard on the radio now during the news breaks three different times about this as well and each one said.....the troops are very confused about thie miranda rights and how the hell are they supposed to fight this war. My heart breaks, it hurts for how our troops are being treated by Obama.

So now we’ll have F.B.I. agents embedded with special forces every time we go after “high value” suspects.... I wonder if the F.B.I. agents are going to be ordered to write reports on the special forces operations- and will those reports be used to discipline or prosecute military personnel that kill or harm “high value” suspects they’re trying to capture?

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (13)

May 27, 2009

Visiting Our Troops Through Images

U.S. Army Spc. Rebecca Buck secures the perimeter of an Iraqi police station in Tarmiya Province, Iraq,

Buck is a medic with 25th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. William Greer

ROOFTOP SECURITY - U.S. Army Pfc. Paul Mandrell watches for possible enemy activity from the roof of Joint Security Station Oubaidy near Sadr City, Iraq, after a series of attacks. He is assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade.
by U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason T. Bailey

ZODIAC PATROL - U.S. Marines carry Zodiac boats into the Euphrates River below the Haditha Dam in Iraq to conduct security patrols with Provisional Security Forces. The Marines are assigned to Company W, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tyler Hil

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)

May 20, 2009

Democrats Won't Fund Guantanamo Closing for Now

Democrats won't fund Guantanamo closing for now

Pakistan Again Faces a Test It Has Often Failed Before

Barack Obama's allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison until the administration comes up with a satisfactory plan for transferring the detainees there, a top Democrat said Tuesday.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Obama's plan to close Guantanamo is not dead—only that the funding will have to wait until the administration devises an acceptable plan to handle the closure and transfer the detainees. Obama has promised to close the military prison by January.

"The administration has not come up with a plan at this point," said Durbin, who is the whip, or No. 2 Democrat in the Senate. He added that Democrats are likely to address the issue on later legislation. "I think Guantanamo should be closed and we have to wait for the president's direction on what happens to the detainees."

With debate looming on Obama's spending request to cover military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, says Democrats will deny the Pentagon and Justice Department $80 million to relocate Guantanamo's 240 detainees.

The administration has yet to develop a plan for what to do with the detainees, and Obama's promise to close the facility is facing strong GOP opposition.

It appears to be a tactical retreat. Once the administration develops a plan to close the facility, congressional Democrats are likely to revisit the topic, provided they are satisfied there are adequate safeguards.

Explaining the reversal, Durbin said: "The feeling was at this point we were defending the unknown. We were being asked to defend a plan that hasn't been announced. And the administration said, 'Understood. Give us time to put together that plan and we'll come to you in the next appropriations bill.'"

The developments on Capitol Hill came as the Pentagon said it still expects the prison at Guantanamo Bay to be closed by January 2010 as Obama has ordered.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters on Tuesday that he sees nothing to indicate the January 2010 deadline will be delayed.

Republicans are poised with an amendment by James Inhofe of Oklahoma that would block any of the Guantanamo detainees from coming to U.S. soil to stand trial or serve their sentences. A detainee was released to France last week, leaving 240 at Guantanamo.

"Shuttering this facility now could only serve one end: and that is to make Americans less safe than Guantanamo has," said GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

House Democrats also dropped funding to close Guantanamo when producing their version of the war funding bill, which easily passed last week.

The Guantanamo controversy has roiled Washington, with most Republicans adamantly opposed to closing the prison, which mostly holds enemy combatants captured in Afghanistan. Republicans say abuses at the facility are a thing of the past.

The Senate's massive war spending measure otherwise sticks closely to Obama's request. The House version effectively exceeds Obama's request by almost $12 billion, adding $2.2 billion for foreign aid and eight C-17 cargo planes despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates' desire to cease purchases of the aircraft as part of his effort to overhaul Pentagon procurement.

Wild Thing's comment......

The Democrats are scared to death that if the U.S. is victim of another major terrorist attack after Obama disarms our security apparatus their cushy gov’t jobs will be in serious jeopardy. As well they should be along with any Republican.

Obama spoke about closing GITMO and didn't even have a plan set up ahead of his announcement. Community Orangizers did not have the how to run a country in their help manual.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (8)

Soldiers to Test New Army Combat Pants

The new Army Combat Pants will be tested this fall by soldiers in Afghanistan, Army officials said

Soldiers to test new Army Combat Pants

Service could field trousers in 2010

Army Times

Soldiers in Afghanistan will test the new Army Combat Pants, which are rugged trousers designed to stand up to the mountainous country’s jagged terrain.

The pants will be tested this fall, Army officials said. Program Executive Office Soldier began developing the new pants last spring after soldiers complained the standard and fire-resistant versions of the Army Combat Uniforms were wearing out too quickly during mountain operations.

“They were not designed for that kind of environment,” said Jeff Myhre, assistant product manager for Fire Resistant clothing. “Really the only way to get down [steep slopes] is slide down on their rear end, and sometimes when they are climbing, it’s foot-knee, foot-knee to get up to altitude.”

The current version of the ACP features built-in hard kneepads that can be adjusted up or down and side to side for comfort. The material is heavy, 7.3-ounce fire-resistant twill compared to the 6.5-ounce fire-resistant fabric in the fire-resistant ACUs.

The back pockets have flaps with Velcro fasteners rather than buttons that can easily rip off when soldiers slide down steep rock faces on their backsides, Myhre said.

The reinforced seat is designed to stretch for better range of motion, and the cargo pocket on the calf of the leg is larger to hold more mission-essential items, Myhre said.

The ACP prototypes have been through two soldier evaluations, one with the 75th Ranger Regiment and one with the West Virginia Army National Guard.

Rangers tested them while training on airborne, air assault and shoot-house operations. Mounted cavalry soldiers from the West Virginia Guard wore them while climbing in and out of vehicles during training.

Equipment officials are preparing to have soldiers evaluate about 3,000 pairs of the latest prototype this fall in Afghanistan.

The evaluation is slated to last 30 to 45 days.

“Barring any small incremental changes we will do to the pants … we will look to the Army to determine is there is a requirement” to field the ACP, Myhre said.

If all goes as planned, the Army could decide to field the ACP sometime in mid-2010.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Any way they can improve on equipment and clothing for our troops I am all for it.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 AM | Comments (10)

May 14, 2009

Obama Fires Top General in Afghanistan

US fires top General in Afghanistan as war worsens

My Way News

Barack Obama fired the top U.S. general in Afghanistan on Monday, replacing him with a former special forces commander in a quest for a more agile, unconventional approach in a war that has gone quickly downhill. With the Taliban resurgent, Obama's switch from Gen. David McKiernan to Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal suggests the new commander in chief wants major changes in addition to the additional troops he's ordering into Afghanistan to shore up the war effort.

McKiernan, on the job for less than a year, has repeatedly pressed for more forces. Although Obama has approved more than 21,000 additional troops this year, he has warned that the war will not be won by military means.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates echoed that view at a grim Pentagon news conference announcing the leadership overhaul. "As I have said many times before, very few of these problems can be solved by military means alone," he said. "And yet, from the military perspective, we can and must do better."

"It's time for new leadership and fresh eyes."

A new team of commanders will now be charged with applying Obama's revamped strategy for challenging an increasingly brutal and resourceful insurgency. The strategy, still a work in progress, relies on the kind of special forces and counterinsurgency tactics McChrystal knows well, as well as nonmilitary approaches to confronting the Taliban. It would hinge success in the seven-year-old war to political and other conditions across the border in Pakistan.

McKiernan, named to his post by former President George W. Bush, had expected to serve into next year but was told he was out during Gates' visit to Afghanistan last week.

Gates said he asked for McKiernan's resignation "with the approval of the president." The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and McKiernan's military boss, Gen. David Petraeus, both said they supported the switch.

The White House said the recommended change came from the Pentagon.

"The president agreed with the recommendation of the secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the implementation of a new strategy in Afghanistan called for new military leadership," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

McChrystal is a former special forces chief credited with nabbing one of the most-wanted fugitives in Iraq. Taking a newly created No. 2 slot under his command will be Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, a veteran of the Afghanistan fight who has been Gates' military shadow, the top uniformed aide who travels with him everywhere.

Asked if McKiernan's resignation would end his military career, Gates said, "Probably." But he praised the general's long service, and when pressed to name anything McKiernan had failed to do, Gates demurred.

"Nothing went wrong, and there was nothing specific," he said.

McKiernan issued a short statement in Kabul.

"All of us, in any future capacity, must remain committed to the great people of Afghanistan," McKiernan said. "They deserve security, government that meets their expectations, and a better future than the last 30 years of conflict have witnessed."

In June 2006 Bush congratulated McChrystal for his role in the operation that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. As head of the special operations command, McChrystal's forces included the Army's clandestine counterterrorism unit, Delta Force.

He drew criticism for his role in the military's handling of the friendly fire shooting of Army Ranger Pat Tillman - a former NFL star - in Afghanistan. An investigation at the time found that McChrystal was "accountable for the inaccurate and misleading assertions" contained in papers recommending that Tillman get a Silver Star award.

McChrystal acknowledged he had suspected several days before approving the Silver Star citation that Tillman might have died by fratricide, rather than enemy fire. He sent a memo to military leaders warning them of that, even as they were approving Tillman's Silver Star. Still, he told investigators he believed Tillman deserved the award.

Wild Thing's comment..........

They dumped this guy for bombing the Taliban Insurgents. No kidding. He was killing the enemy so Obama puts him under his bus.

Why does this freaking idiot refuse to understand that the ONLY think Islam understands and fears is BRUTE FORCE!

This General has been asking for more troops as long as he has been there!!!!!!!! Now Obama/Gates say here are your troops and oh by the way, you are fired. Not transferred or re-assigned mind you but fired!!!! There is something we are not being told about GEN McKiernan.( just a gut feeling) Did he perhaps have something derogatory to say to or about the CIC? The truth will come out in time, and I’ll bet it wont make Obama look good. Four Stars don’t get fired everyday.

From what I have heard 65% of the active duty troops detest Obama!

This is nothing against Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal , I jsut feel badly about what Obama has done to Gen McKennan....to fire him that is horrible to do to him.

Here is something about Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. And a big God bless to our black ops people. I am not a fan of Newsweek and they did out this Gen. regarding the Black ops, but I hate to say this, but Bush outed him first , I will never forget that and I saw it live back in 2006, as well as poor Gen. Caldwell later trying to answer without answering.

Newsweek

The Hidden Genenral

June 26, 2006 issue

No one would have mentioned his name at all if President George W. Bush hadn't singled him out in public. Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, West Point '76, is not someone the Army likes to talk about. He isn't even listed in the directory at Fort Bragg, N.C., his home base. That's not because McChrystal has done anything wrong—quite the contrary, he's one of the Army's rising stars—but because he runs the most secretive force in the U.S. military. That is the Joint Special Operations Command, the snake-eating, slit-their-throats "black ops" guys who captured Saddam Hussein and targeted Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.

JSOC is part of what Vice President Dick Cheney was referring to when he said America would have to "work the dark side" after 9/11. To many critics, the veep's remark back in 2001 fostered his rep as the Darth Vader of the war on terror and presaged bad things to come, like the interrogation abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay. But America also has its share of Jedi Knights who are fighting in what Cheney calls "the shadows."

And McChrystal, an affable but tough Army Ranger, and the Delta Force and other elite teams he commands are among them.

After the Zarqawi strike, multinational forces spokesman Gen. Bill Caldwell refused to comment on JSOC's role, saying, "We don't talk about when special operating forces are involved." But when Bush revealed to reporters that it was McChrystal's Special Ops teams that had found Zarqawi, Caldwell had to gulp and say (to laughter), "If the president of the United States said it was, then I'm sure it was."

McChrystal has checked all the right career boxes, serving as an unflappable military briefer during the Iraq invasion, and doing fellowships at Harvard and at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York (where he would run to work from Brooklyn, about six miles away). Still, the secrecy surrounding McChrystal's role worries some who note that Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have given clandestine operations the lead in the war on terror--with little public accountability, including in the interrogation room.

Rumsfeld is especially enamored of McChrystal's "direct action" forces or so-called SMUs--Special Mission Units--whose job is to kill or capture bad guys, say Pentagon sources who would speak about Special Ops only if they were not identified. But critics say the Pentagon is short-shrifting the "hearts and minds" side of Special Operations that is critical to counterinsurgency--like training foreign armies and engaging with locals. (Special Operations Command spokesman Ken McGraw says the Pentagon is "significantly increasing" those units.)

Experts like former Deputy Defense secretary John Hamre are also concerned that Special Ops now has generic authority to deploy where it wants without case-by-case orders. Without proper civilian oversight, a Zarqawi-style success can easily become a "Black Hawk Down." Keeping that from happening is McChrystal's most important mission.

"Experts like former Deputy Defense secretary John Hamre are also concerned that Special Ops now has generic authority to deploy where it wants without case-by-case orders. Without proper civilian oversight, a Zarqawi-style success can easily become a "Black Hawk Down." Keeping that from happening is McChrystal's most important mission."

Screw this guy John Hamre! He is wrong, he was a typical Clintonoid social activist who found the military "distasteful" at best.

Leftist Political type, he is never willing to accept the blame for the consequences of his stupidity.

The Leftist Presidents from LBJ to Carter to Clinton fumbled just about EVERY time they demanded "Civilian Over Sight" of Operations.

What ever their other flaws, bless Bush 1 and 2 with the brains to manage the politics and leave Operations to the pros.

"Blackhawk Down" become a "Black Hawk Down" because of the "civilian oversight" not wanting to do soemthing un-PC, rather than just letting the military do its job! warriors kicked ass that day - When things went to sh*t our guys cowboy'd the hell up and took the fight to'em - They did not lose whatsoever that day or that battle - They got their marks that were at the hit location and they brought them in

OK so bottom line is, this guy will be great it seems. But I still am ticked about what they did to General McKiernan.

Just one more thing, General Petraeus endorsed this change. So again there may be things we don't know about. I trust Petraeus to know what is best.

....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.

Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69
United States Army
1965-1971
Vietnam
1968-1969

Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (9)

May 11, 2009

General Petraeus: Al Qaeda's Base is Pakistan

The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON

Senior leaders of al Qaeda are using sanctuaries in Pakistan's lawless frontier regions to plan new terror attacks and funnel money, manpower and guidance to affiliates around the world, according to a top American military commander.

Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in an interview that Pakistan has become the nerve center of al Qaeda's global operations, allowing the terror group to re-establish its organizational structure and build stronger ties to al Qaeda offshoots in Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, North Africa and parts of Europe.

The comments underscore a growing U.S. belief that Pakistan has displaced Afghanistan as al Qaeda's main stronghold. "It is the headquarters of the al Qaeda senior leadership," said the general, who took the helm of the military's Central Command last fall.

In the interview, Gen. Petraeus also warned of difficult months ahead in Afghanistan, saying Taliban militants are moving weapons and forces into areas where the U.S. is adding troops, planning a "surge" of their own to counter the U.S. plan.

The commander said the U.S. had intelligence showing that the Taliban were deploying new fighters to southern Afghanistan, appointing new local commanders, and prepositioning weapons and other supplies.

"We have every expectation that the Taliban will fight to retain the sanctuaries and safe havens that they've been able to establish," he said.

Gen. Petraeus said U.S. intelligence information suggested that al Qaeda has re-emerged as a centrally directed organization capable of helping to plan attacks in other countries. "There is a degree of hierarchy, there is a degree of interconnection, and there is certainly a flow of people, money, expertise, explosives and knowledge," he said.

Gen. Petraeus painted a picture of a globalized al Qaeda that maintains extensive logistical and communications links to terror groups in Morocco, Somalia and other countries. He said militants and supplies pass through southern Iran, helped by Sunni Arab "facilitators" in the predominantly Shiite Persian country.

A ring of Tunisian suicide bombers who were recently apprehended in Iraq appear to have received their directions from al Qaeda figures in Pakistan as well, he said. "There's absolutely no question about these links," he said.

The Pentagon has looked at possible changes in Afghanistan amid concern over the course of the conflict -- some of which have met resistance from current military leaders including Gen. Petraeus. A task force formed by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is conducting a broad review, according to a copy of its agenda. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to appoint an additional general to handle day-to-day operations there, senior defense officials say. A spokesman for Gen. Petraeus has declined to comment.

Gen. Petraeus spent the past week in Washington as part of the Obama administration's summit with presidents Karzai and Zardari.

Pakistani troops head towards the Swat Valley in Dargai

Pakistan faces a dual test it has often failed before as soldiers again square off against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley: The country is fighting a counterinsurgency campaign while caring for those displaced by the conflict.

For the past several days, Pakistan's army and the Taliban have been fighting sporadically along the mountain ridges of Swat after a peace deal collapsed. Pakistani officials say they are determined that the offensive will continue until the military asserts control over the 400-square-mile area.

The Pakistani army said Friday it had lost 13 of its own men in the past 24 hours and killed 143 militants. There was no word on civilian casualties. But front-line officers report only slight gains against the thousands of militants in Swat and two neighboring districts, Buner and Lower Dir.

"This is going to be hard fighting, no quarter here. These miscreants know the terrain. They are formidable," said an army major in a telephone interview.

Pakistan's military, built for tank battles and artillery duels against Indian forces on the plains of the subcontinent, has in the past four years struggled through a series of campaigns against the Taliban across the mountains of northwestern Pakistan. Most, like the 18-month battle in Swat, ended in standstill.

The U.S. is stepping up its efforts to try to reshape Pakistan's military into a force that can fight insurgents in the rugged terrain along the Afghan border, where the Taliban and al Qaeda have flourished.

U.S. and Pakistani officials say the Americans will provide night-vision goggles and more helicopters. There are also plans to train Pakistani soldiers in counterinsurgency doctrine and wean them from their reliance on artillery and air power, which often flattens villages and kills more civilians than insurgents.

Still, U.S. officials privately question whether Pakistan's top brass, many of whom still see India as the real threat, are committed to reorienting their forces.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Just a gut feeling here, but I honestly don't think Pakistan has been giving it i100% going after the Taliban. I see in the article it says they did not have all the right kind of equipment so I will give them a break on that. But still, these terrorists needed to be sought and taken out. And they have had so many years at least do even half of what was promised when Bush was President.

God bless General Petraeus for speaking up and sticking to his guns. I liked when it said that General Petraeus had no comment, that says all we need to know in how he felt about what was planned.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (6)

May 08, 2009

Iraq Blames Al Qaida Revival on U.S. Release of 4,000 Insurgents

Iraq blames Al Qaida revival on U.S. release of 4,000 insurgents

BAGHDAD

Iraq has launched another offensive against Al Qaida, raiding suspected AQI strongholds throughout the Diyala province, capturing insurgents and confiscating suicide vests.

The Iraqi offensive was launched amid an AQI suicide bombing campaign in Baghdad and Mosul. Officials said AQI has revived its operational cells and intensified operations as the U.S. military prepares to withdraw from cities by June 30.

Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Atta Qassim said the resurgence of Al Qaida was fueled by the U.S. release of nearly 4,000 insurgents in 2009. Qassim said the released insurgents have been returning to both Al Qaida and organized crime.

On May 6, at least 17 people were killed in a two car bombings at a market in southern Baghdad, populated mostly by Sunnis. Officials acknowledged that security at the market was light.
Officials said the Iraqi security forces were capable of battling AQI. But they acknowledged that authorities were hampered by a shortage of intelligence.

Officials said more than 50 suspected insurgents were killed in nearly one week of the Iraqi operation.

"We've seized weapons, included suicide vests," Iraqi Col. Salam Ahmed Naji said.

Security forces also captured more than 60 suspects, including three women, in Diyala. Officials said the province has been the launching pad for AQI insurgency attacks in Baghdad.

On May 4, 31 insurgency suspects were killed in Iraqi operations. Officials said scores more were injured and killed since the operation began on May 1.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Things in Iraq were calming down. Our troops were making huge progress with the surge........right up until the Obamaeffect! Yes the Obamaeffect, he just had to go further then speak of a withdrawal as Bush did, he had to give a date and top that off with releasing terrorists. Then in the next Obamaeffect he brings up the interrogation memos and then the photos.

Obama has empowered the terrorists with his Obamaeffect. And in doing so he has pulled the trigger aimed at our troops.

Dear God please make Obama let the military run this war and NOT Obama!!!

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (12)

May 07, 2009

Obama's Apology To Leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan

Barack Obama, meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, left, and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Wednesday, May 6, 2009, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington

Obama expresses regret for Afghan civilian deaths

My Way

Flanked by the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, President Barack Obama expressed deep U.S. regret Wednesday for civilian casualties in a deadly incident this week in western Afghanistan, promising "every effort" to avoid recurrences in the war against a rising Taliban insurgency.

Obama had a more upbeat and determined tone as he lauded "unprecedented cooperation" between the two neighbors in fighting Taliban and other extremist threats. But he cautioned that success will not come quickly.

"Along the border, where insurgents often move freely, we must work together with a renewed sense of partnership to share intelligence and to coordinate our efforts to isolate, target, and take out our common enemy," Obama said after a day of meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

Obama met separately with Karzai and Zardari, followed by a three-way session that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton portrayed as an embodiment of a central tenet of the administration's new Afghan war strategy - that Pakistan and Afghanistan are linked problems.

The latest report of Afghan civilian casualties came at an especially awkward time for the administration, which is stepping up its military campaign inside Afghanistan while also seeking to emphasize the importance of nonmilitary efforts to stabilize the country. The U.S. has pledged, for example, a major increase in civilian expertise in farming and other specialties, along with an increase of 21,000 U.S. troops.

Gen. Jim Jones, Obama's national security adviser, told reporters that the president began his meeting with Karzai by addressing reports that dozens of civilians had been killed by American bombs on Sunday.

Jones said Obama commented "with great sympathy" and expressed regret for the loss of innocent life. Earlier, before her meetings with Karzai and Zardari at the State Department, Clinton said the U.S. "deeply, deeply" regrets the losses.

Both Obama and Clinton stopped short of accepting U.S. blame for the deaths.

Obama told Karzai that investigations "will be pursued aggressively with full intent to discover what in fact did happen, how it happened and how we can make sure that things like that do not happen again.

And it was clear that President Karzai was moved by that ... and he thanked the president for starting off the meeting with that expression of condolence."

Karzai did not ask that U.S. airstrikes be suspended or reduced in intensity pending the outcome of the investigation, Jones said.

Nor did Zardari raise an equally sensitive topic on his side of the border - the use of U.S. Predator aircraft to attack extremist targets, Jones said. Pakistanis have strongly protested those attacks, saying they have killed innocent civilians.

In Afghanistan, the U.S. forces commander said it wasn't a certainty that Sunday's deaths were a result of U.S. military action. Gen. David McKiernan said American forces came to the aid of Afghans who may have been ambushed by the Taliban. He said the Taliban beheaded three civilians, perhaps to lure police.

"We have some other information that leads us to distinctly different conclusions about the cause of the civilian casualties," McKiernan said. He would not elaborate.

Karzai, whose public criticism of U.S. airstrikes has grown increasingly indignant, thanked Clinton politely for her concern.

"We appreciate that," Karzai said. "And we hope we can work together toward reducing and eventually completely removing the possibilities of civilian casualties."

The United States has estimated that 80 percent or more or civilian deaths are caused by militants, not U.S. or allied forces, but Obama and his advisers say they know the corrosive effect the airstrikes have on civilian support for the military mission.

In his remarks at the White House, Obama emphasized the progress he said was achieved in the Washington meetings.

"We have advanced unprecedented cooperation," Obama declared. "We will work for the day when our nations are linked not by a common enemy but by a shared peace and prosperity."

Veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke, the administration's point man for Afghanistan and Pakistan and a participant in the meetings, was upbeat in brief remarks after Obama summarized the day's talks. "It was a day that exceeded our expectations," Holbrooke said. "We turned a corner" in improving coordination.

Gathering the three leaders together at one table, along with lower-level officials from the three countries, "reflects the kind of concrete cooperation and detail that is going to ultimately make a difference in improving opportunity and democracy and stability in Pakistan and in Afghanistan," Obama said.

The stakes couldn't be higher, he said.

"We have learned time and again that our security is shared," the president said. "It is a lesson that we learned most painfully on 9/11, and it is a lesson that we will not forget."

The president said all three governments must cooperate in fighting insurgents who control parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan and must "deny them the space" to threaten local residents - or Americans.

Earlier in the day, Clinton told reporters that Karzai and Zardari made specific commitments of how they would increase the fight against militants. She wouldn't name their promises yet, but said the talks were "producing some very promising early signs" of greater cooperation.

"I am very optimistic that this process is making a difference," she said in remarks in the White House briefing room.

Wild Thing's comment...........

Their leadership shouldn’t be mingling with civilians, if they do the deaths are their responsibility.

"Obama told Karzai that investigations "will be pursued aggressively with full intent to discover what in fact did happen, how it happened and how we can make sure that things like that do not happen again."

OMG if this doesn't come close to a JOHN MURTHA statement I don't know what does.

This POS Obama needs to learn he is the CIC and we are at WAR and he is pretending to be an American and he better freaking start to act like one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If this was during D-Day, Obama would have focused on civilian deaths rather than how the Allies were liberating France.

....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.

Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69
United States Army
1965-1971
Vietnam
1968-1969

Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (14)

May 06, 2009

Iran Launches Airstrikes Into Iraq

Weekly Standard

Iranian aircraft attacked three villages inside Iraq over the weekend. The airstrikes — Iran’s first on Iraqi soil since the U.S. invasion — could complicate the Obama administration’s efforts to normalize relations with Tehran.

“The bombardments appeared to have targeted the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish separatist group which has launched attacks on Iran from rear-supply bases in the mountains of northern Iraq,” AFP reports. Iran has attacked the Kurdish group before, with artillery. But this is the first time the Iranians followed up, with assaults from the air.

Iran Launches Airstrikes on Iraqi Villages

Iranian aircraft attacked three villages inside Iraq over the weekend. The airstrikes — Iran’s first on Iraqi soil since the U.S. invasion — could complicate the Obama administration’s efforts to normalize relations with Tehran.

“The bombardments appeared to have targeted the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish separatist group which has launched attacks on Iran from rear-supply bases in the mountains of northern Iraq,” AFP reports. Iran has attacked the Kurdish group before, with artillery. But this is the first time the Iranians followed up, with assaults from the air.

Details on the airstrikes remain sketchy. Voice of America says the attacks were carried out by helicopters, which remained in Iranian airspace. Al-Arabiyah television, on the other hand, says it was “Iranian planes [that] raided those villages.”

It is a serious development because the Iraqi airspace is under the control of the US Air Force and under US protection. So the raids are either approved by the United States, as was the case when a US nod was previously given to the Turkish Army, or such operation was a surprise by the Iranians. According to eyewitnesses, the planes were flying at very low altitudes, which may indicate that they were trying to escape detection by radars. So these planes were able to attack many locations. Eyewitnesses and official Kurdish sources said that the raids were carried out by fighter jets and not helicopters.

In February, American fighter jets shot down an Iranian drone flying over Iraq. Such an incursion would’ve likely provoked an angry response from the previous administration. But the reaction to the drone incident was muted — perhaps in the interest of keeping the dialogue with Tehran going.

Iran shells Iraqi Kurdistan village

Homeland Security has the same stories as above.

Iran shelled a Kurdish village in a remote area of northern Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdistan region on Monday, causing damage to buildings but no casualties, the region's border police said. Brigadier-General Ahmed Ghraib, head of the border police of Kurdistan's Sulaimaniya province, where the shelling took place, said the shells landed in a mountainous area bordering Iran.

On Saturday, Iran shelled Kurdish rebel positions in Iraqi Kurdistan and used helicopters to fire on them on the Iranian side of the border.

"Iranian shelling started at 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) until 1:15 p.m. (1015 GMT) against the villages of Penjwin. No casualties occurred except damage (to buildings)," Ghraib told Reuters

"The people of these villages have deserted the area because of the shelling," he added.

The Iranian attacks followed clashes between Iran's police and guerrillas from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which took up arms in 1984 for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey.

Gunmen killed 10 Iranian police in that firefight in western Iran on April 25. Ten PJAK fighters were also killed, Iranian state media said.

Wild Thing's comment........

Here is my quesdtion, this happened over the weekend, so why hasn't Obama made a statement. And why didn't FOX news have something on this. I know Obama controls all the other media but he can't stand FOX. Maybe they mentioned it and I missed it but it wasn't in any of my news alerts I get . Just weird!!!! Has anyone heard anything about this??????

And there is this.....................

I blame Obama YEP! Obama with his withdrawl BS. Obama is trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq. Bombings increasing everyday..now Iran and Turkey acting out. The Arab League is now upset over the Iranian bombings:

Special Report: Tension escalates in Iraq

CAIRO, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) expressed Wednesday its concerns about the Iran's shelling on Kurd villages in northern Iraq.

The AL considered the Iran's shelling as a violation to Iraq's territory and is not in line with good neighborhood policies, adding that these actions will not serve regional stability, said an AL statement.

Iranian warplanes and artillery carried out a predawn bombardment on Iraqi villages near the Iranian-Iraqi border on Monday.

Iraq Foreign Ministry Tuesday condemned Iranian shelling of border villages in northern Kurdistan region, requesting Iran to immediately halt such violations, and warning of "severe negative impact on overall relations between the two countries."

Iran and Turkey often attack areas inside Iraq, targeting Kurdish rebels who use Iraq's Kurdistan as a safe haven and a launch pad for their attacks against authorities in Iran and Turkey.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 PM | Comments (6)

May 03, 2009

Obama Is To Blame As Iraq Bloodshed Rises as U.S.Allies Defect

A US soldier of Bravo Company, 1-18 Infantry Battalion stands guard during a patrol at a market in Mosul

US troops may have to stay in Iraq's third largest city, Mosul, beyond a June 30 deadline, the spokesman for US forces in Iraq said on Friday.

Iraq bloodshed rises as US allies defect

Timesonline co.uk

Obama’s withdrawal pledge is at risk as militias paid by the US begin to rejoin the insurgency

IRAQ is threatened by a new wave of sectarian violence as members of the “Sons of Iraq” – the Sunni Awakening militias that were paid by the US to fight Al-Qaeda – begin to rejoin the insurgency.

If the spike in violence continues, it could affect President Barack Obama’s pledge to withdraw all combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June. All US troops are due to leave the country by 2012.

A leading member of the Political Council of Iraqi Resistance, which represents six Sunni militant groups, said: “The resistance has now returned to the field and is intensifying its attacks against the enemy. The number of coalition forces killed is on the rise.”

The increase in attacks by such groups, combined with a spate of bombings blamed on Al-Qaeda, has had a chilling effect on the streets of Iraq. More than 370 Iraqi civilians and military – and 80 Iranian pilgrims – lost their lives in April, making it the bloodiest month since last September. On Wednesday, five car bombs exploded in a crowded market in Sadr City, Baghdad, killing 51 people and injuring 76. Three US soldiers were killed on Thursday and two more yesterday when a gunman in Iraqi army uniform opened fire near Mosul.

The resistance council recently issued a call to disaffected Sons of Iraq to take up arms against US and Iraqi troops after the government of Nouri al-Maliki failed to integrate them into the national security forces.

Many fighters have abandoned their security posts, allowing militant groups to fill the gap. Abu Omar, the leader of an Awakening militia in northern Baghdad, said more than 50 out of 175 fighters had quit.

Ginger Cruz, America’s deputy inspector-general for Iraq reconstruction, warned that disillusioned Sunnis could join forces with Al-Qaeda as well as resistance groups.

“The Sons of Iraq provided a critical turning point for Iraq, so the question now becomes: what will the Iraqi government do with them?” Cruz said. “In fragile states, you need to take unemployed young men with access to weapons and give them something to do to ensure they don’t turn to Al-Qaeda or other groups.”

The gradual emergence of the Shi’ite Maliki as an Iraqi strongman has alienated some Sunnis and corruption is worse than ever, according to Cruz.

There is also growing Sunni anger about arrests of Awakening leaders, including Adil al-Mashhadani, from Baghdad, who warned recently: “There’s a 50-50 chance that Awakening guys who are not very loyal to Iraq or who need to support their families will join Al-Qaeda again.”

Iraq has already begun negotiating with the United States about exceptions to the June 30 deadline, according to press reports.

In Karrada, an affluent district of Baghdad where a suicide bomber killed dozens 10 days ago, Esam Omar, 44, a father of two, said: “I fear the violence is back. Sectarian war may be the next step.”

The Iraqi security forces were not yet ready to assume control, he said, even if the US was worried about the cost of the war. “I think American forces will have to stay here much longer. It will be shameful if the Americans leave us sinking in blood, simply to escape their economic crisis.”

Wild Thing's comment........

And what did they think would happen when we announce we are leaving? Obama has demonstrated weakness to the enemies of our country and prostrated himself before them. Things like that send the wrong message to to Iraqis.

OH but Obama did pretty send ONE clear message to America that he controlled domestic law enforcement when he sent Air Force One over New York City along with a couple of F-16s. That show of military force for domestic purposes was coordinated right out of the White House by The Obammunist's Military Commissar.

Hey bub, it is NOT the economic crisis that is the reason there has been given a date for leaving Iraq. Get real! It is the freaking military hating Obama that wants to pull out and not listen to the military on how bad it is to give a date, a timeline and listen to them when they feel Iraq is ready. Every drop of blood is on OBAMA'S hands in this matter and don't kid yourself!

" ... President Barack Obama’s pledge to withdraw all combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June."

I heard a simular phrase last night on the radio and it scared the crap out of me.

Hussein Obama's decision has made every life voluntarilly given for freedom and righteousness a mat to be trampled by the enemy. NOT form any of us, we know the cost of freedom and the cost of the lives of our Warriors and are grateful more then words can say for all they do. But Obama could care less.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (8)

April 22, 2009

Obama Will Not Rule Out Prosecuting Bush For Torture!

Obama spokesperson Robert Gibbs today said that the administration will not rule out prosecuting President Bush for torture.

Asked what changed after it seemed the President did not intend to prosecute Bush Administration Officials regarding GITMO interrogation techniques ... Gibbs......."no one is above the law."

Wild Thing's comment.......

Power can be a wonderful thing, a person with power can do a lot of good in the world. But it also works the other way too. The power Obama has been given is not a good thing, it is the worst thing that could ever happen to a person like Obama. He will use his power to hurt others, and destroy our country.
Even for the short time he has illegally held the office of president he will go down in history as the worst president this nation has ever had.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (24)

April 21, 2009

Obama on Torture Memo Release

Obama Open to Prosecutions Interrogation Abuses

April 21, 2009

Obama Open to Prosecution of Officials Who Cleared Interrogation Tactics

President Obama says it is up to the attorney general whether to prosecute Bush administration lawyers who wrote the memos approving harsh interrogation tactics.

FOX news

President Obama left open the door Tuesday for charges to be brought against Bush administration lawyers who justified harsh interrogation techniques, though he continued to argue that CIA agents who used those tactics should not be prosecuted.

The president showed wiggle room on the issue as he faces calls from Democratic lawmakers and organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union to support such charges. Asked about the possibility of prosecution related to the interrogation program, the president deferred to Attorney General Eric Holder.

"With respect to those who formulate those legal decisions, I would say that that is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the parameters of various laws," Obama said. "And I don't want to prejudge that. ... There are a host of very complicated issues involved there."

It was the first time Obama took a question on the matter since his administration released a string of previously classified memos detailing harsh interrogation tactics used against terror suspects. At the time, Obama said agents who followed Department of Justice advice would not be prosecuted.

He reiterated that point Tuesday. "For those who carried out some of these operations within the four corners of legal opinions or guidance that had been provided from the White House, I do not think it's appropriate for them to be prosecuted," he said.

But while he also repeated his view that investigations into Bush officials could get politicized, he indicated for the first time an openness to such a course provided it is carried out in a "bipartisan fashion."

The attorneys who authored the memos, and who are the subject of an internal Justice Department ethics inquiry, are John Yoo, Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a letter to Obama Monday asking him to reserve comment on the issue while her panel completes its review of detainee interrogations. She estimated the study would be completed in six to eight months.

MoveOn is also seeking 200,000 signatures for a petition to Holder urging him to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the interrogations.

One source familiar with the matter told FOX News that, if appointed, a prosecutor would most likely be limited to pursuing "aiding and abetting" charges against the lawyers who wrote the memos.

"If (Justice attorneys) go after them, that's all they can get them on because they didn't torture but they facilitated the torture," the source said, adding that prosecutors first have to prove a criminal act of torture was committed.

"But if I were these people, I would still get a very good lawyer," the source said.

Wild Thing's comment........

Here it comes - the start of a two or three year criminal investigation into all things Bush.Sheesh! This is an extremely treacherous road that Obama is traveling. Exposing national intelligence does not seem like something a president has ever done.

If Hussein tries to prosecute members of our armed forces OMG, please God don't let that happen.

Just as our operatives in the CIA have been intimidated by the inexcusable threats of the Obama administration, subsequently withdrawn, to prosecute CIA operatives, so now everyone who sets his hand to put pen to paper to render a legal opinion or simply a policy memorandum will hesitate to touch the pen to paper.

The liberals always loved to talk about the "chilling effect" upon free speech of a policy they do not like. Now they have become masters of the art. The Democrats have always tended to criminalize policy differences. Now Obama has one more tool to keep his administration under control.

There is literally nothing this man has done in office which is incongruent with a radical Marxist seeking due aggrandize personal power and irretrievably break our democracy.

President Bush could easily have had Bill Clinton investigated for so many things. All those ' gates" that went on during the Clinton era and dead bodies as well. But he didn't and he said the reason why he moved on about it was because he did not want to show disrespect for the actual office of the President. Not so much the person at all, but the office the person holds. (not exact quote, only how I remember it)

I think the idea was that if a President is taken down, kicked out of office etc. it needs to be done during their presidency not afterward as it takes on another life one that destroys a country in keeping it constantly at in a battle of legal wars for years. And while they are in office there is more of an urgency to get things done as soon as possible. I could be wrong about this.

Hussein's “...it does no good to revisit the crimes of the past; we must move forward,” stuff he was spouting on his Apology and Appeasement Tour obviously only applied to the his fellow anti-America, anti-USA, socialist, communist buddies that are leaders of other countries.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 PM | Comments (4)

March 25, 2009

Obama Wants War Called "Overseas Contingency Operation"

To say I am ticked is putting it mildly. This graphic above of this adorable kitty is so cute, but the words show a good example of how simple changes give off an entirely different meaning. Obama wants us to play nice with the terrorists. The Mullahs are grinning about this I am sure. This kitty has more smarts then the stupid pansy in the Oval Office.~ Wild Thing

The End of the Global War on Terror

By Al Kamen

The end of the Global War on Terror -- or at least the use of that phrase -- has been codified at the Pentagon. Reports that the phrase was being retired have been circulating for some time amongst senior administration officials, and this morning speechwriters and other staff were notified via this e-mail to use "Overseas Contingency Operation" instead.

"Recently, in a LtGen John Bergman, USMC, statement for the 25 March congressional hearing, OMB required that the following change be made before going to the Hill," Dave Riedel, of the Office of Security Review, wrote in an e-mail.

"OMB says: 'This Administration prefers to avoid using the term "Long War" or "Global War on Terror" (GWOT). Please use "Overseas Contingency Operation.'"

Riedel asked recipients to "Please pass on to your speech writers and try to catch this change before the statements make it to OMB."

An OMB spokesman took issue with the interpretation of OMB's wishes. "There was no memo, no guidance," said Kenneth Baer. "This is the opinion of a career civil servant."

Wild Thing's comment........

So to make sure I understand this nonsense. If millions of patriots where to take up arms against the enemy within, it would not be called a Civil War, instead, a “Local Contingency Operation.’”

Perhaps we should change a few other things. Instead of referring to Nuclear bombs of missiles as Nuclear bombs, how about we call them Conflict Resolution Devices.

Bullets could be changed to ‘little flickers of hope’.

Our Military Troops could be called, Conflict Management Representatives

So, all of you conflict management representatives, please load up our Conflict Resolution Devices, collect your Little Flickers of Hope and ready yourself to be placed in a “Overseas Contingency Operation.’”

We don’t need no stinking military, all we ever needed to do was change our vocabulary.

I do hope we can keep one acronym that fit with my thinking... they can all KMA.( kiss my ass)

I would write more about this, but it’s time for me to check my tire pressure so that I can save the planet like Buckwheat in the Oval Office has figured out would solve Global warming that does not exist.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (15)

March 24, 2009

Obama criticizes the U.S. Again and More Contradictions From The Dems Idol

Obama criticizes some Guantanamo release decisions

President Barack Obama says the U.S. hasn't done a good job sorting out who should be released from the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

Obama says in a broadcast interview that some of the people released from the facility in Cuba have rejoined terrorist groups. He also says U.S. officials have not always been effective in determining which prisoners will be a danger once they are let go.

But he says the Bush administration's policy of holding detainees for years on end with no trials is "unsustainable,' and has only fueled anti-American sentiments.

Wild Thing's comment...........

More Obama-babble, trying to play to all sides. And what happened to how he was going to solve all the problems of the world. HUMPH!

"Obama says the U.S. hasn't done a good job sorting out who should be released from the Guantanamo Bay detention center. "

Yes sure ok, it'd be far better to release them onto the streets of the US so we can see who decides to murder people, and then we can rearrest them and try and incarcerate them...well, only to the point we rehabilitate them and release them onto our streets again.

Obama is always blaming the US. Well listen up ole B. Hussein Obama, YOU are the government, you moron. And it was YOU who wanted these murderers released. There’s a reason why they were locked up at Gitmo. Innocence wasn’t one of them.

Since Presidnet Brainstorm can’t figure it out, he’ll just close it down and let them all go.

Obama, these Terrorists you let go are probably going to be real Pissed off at you for kicking them out of what was probably the best paid vacation they ever had. Three squares a day, all their wants and needs taken care of, their every whim and desire catered too.

And what did you go and do? Sent them back to go live in a cave and eat roasted desert rats.

Oh yea, they are going to get even with you for that, you can count on it.
Unfortunately it’s going to be a price paid for by the American serviceman they kill, again. All you did, Obama, is reinforce their belief in the Koran that “Allah” would reward them for their Jihad efforts, and bring them back to kill again.

Way to go, MORON.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:45 AM | Comments (2)

March 23, 2009

Obama Waves White Flag and Says He Needs A Way Out Of Afghanistan

Obama Says a Way Out of Afghanistan Is Needed

New York Times

By HELENE COOPER

Published: March 22, 2009

The United States must look for a way out of the war in Afghanistan, President Obama said, in a signal that the military build-up in Afghanistan will not be open-ended and will lead to the eventual withdrawal of American and NATO troops from the country.

“There’s got to be an exit strategy,” Mr. Obama said in a wide-ranging interview shown Sunday on “60 Minutes” on CBS. “There’s got to be a sense that this is not perpetual drift.”

European officials have been outspoken about their plans to leave Afghanistan in the next three to four years. Mr. Obama’s remarks, which were recorded on Friday, indicated that the administration, which has more troops and resources in Afghanistan than European countries do, is also working toward a long-term strategy.

Last month, he announced that he would send 17,000 more American troops to Afghanistan this spring and summer, adding to the 36,000 already there.

In the interview, Mr. Obama also signaled that the United States was redefining its mission in Afghanistan, away from the Bush administration’s broader strategy of promoting democracy, civil society and governance in Afghanistan and toward getting the country to a point where it is not used to start attacks on the United States.

US Afghan plan must have 'exit strategy': Obama

7 hours ago

WASHINGTON

US President Barack Obama said the United States must have an "exit strategy" in Afghanistan even as it expands its military, diplomatic and economic fight against a Taliban insurgency.

"What we're looking for is a comprehensive strategy," Obama said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS television's 60 Minutes show.

"There's got to be an exit strategy," he said. "There's got to be a sense that this is not a perpetual drift."

Obama's comments come as he prepares to roll out a new strategy for Afghanistan, against a backdrop of rising insurgent violence that has questioned the viability of a seven-year-old US-led effort to create a functioning democracy.

Obama said a decision last month to send 17,000 more US troops to Afghanistan -- largely to head off a spike in violence before elections in August -- was the most difficult he has had to make since taking office.

"You know I think it is the right thing to do. But it's a weighty decision because we actually had to make the decision prior to the completion of (the) strategic review that we were conducting," he said.

US commanders have said as many as 30,000 additional troops are needed to overcome a stalemate in parts of Afghanistan. But some analysts caution against a gradual Vietnam-like escalation in a country historically hostile to outsiders.

In the CBS interview Obama narrowly defined the US mission in Afghanistan as: "Making sure Al-Qaeda cannot attack the US homeland and US interests and our allies. That's the number one priority."

"In service of that priority there may be a whole host of things that we need to do," he said. "We may need to build up economic capacity in Afghanistan. We may need to improve our diplomatic efforts in Pakistan.

"We may need to bring a more regional diplomatic approach to bear. We may need to coordinate more effectively with our allies. But we can't lose sight of what our central mission is," he said.

The outlines of the strategy have gradually emerged in public statements and media reports as Obama prepares to take his blueprint to a NATO summit in April, when he is expected to appeal to European allies for more help.

Citing Iraq as a possible model, Obama has said he supports pursuing talks with elements of the Afghan insurgency, in hopes of isolating the hardline leadership allied with Al-Qaeda.

Skeptics warn a bid to lure away insurgents will only succeed if US and Afghan forces first gain the upper hand against the Taliban.

And at the moment, the US commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, describes the war as a "stalemate."

Even if all goes to plan inside Afghanistan, top officials say the key to the conflict lies across the border in Pakistan.

The Taliban and associated Islamists -- including Al-Qaeda -- all operate from havens in Pakistan's northwest tribal areas and in the Swat Valley, despite repeated appeals to Islamabad from Washington.

Obama has assigned special envoy Richard Holbrooke the daunting task of trying to persuade Pakistan to do more to crack down on the militants and to tighten control of its porous border.

Obama wants comprehensive strategy in Afghanistan

By MICHELE SALCEDO – 10 hours ago

A comprehensive strategy in Afghanistan - including an exit plan - is key to America's "No. 1 mission" of preventing an attack on the U.S., its interests or its allies, President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday… "What we can't do is think that just a military approach in Afghanistan is going to be able to solve our problems," the president said on CBS' "60 Minutes." "So what we're looking for is a comprehensive strategy. And there's got to be an exit strategy. There's got to be a sense that this is not perpetual drift."…

From Adm. Mike Mullen:

"Adm. Mike Mullen, the nation’s top military officer, said that while he’s “not convinced” that the U.S.-led NATO force is winning the war in Afghanistan, success there is possible."

Mullen said the military’s recommendation that Bush continue to draw down troop strength in Iraq while boosting personnel in Afghanistan is not a compromise, but rather a calculated risk that recognizes “extraordinary success” in Iraq, the growing recognition of the military needs in Afghanistan and the U.S. ability to respond to other world crises.

“We did not compromise one war for the other,” Mullen said.

But he acknowledged that the challenges of the war in Afghanistan — an aggressive and “ever-more-sophisticated” insurgency, a poor economy, a “still-healthy narcotics trade” and political instability in neighboring Pakistan, where terrorist groups enjoy a safe haven in its Federally Administered Tribal Areas — represent significant obstacles.

“I am not convinced we’re winning in Afghanistan,” Mullen said. “I am convinced we can.”

Wild Thing's comment.......

Does Al Qaeda have a cell at the Whitehouse?

This is getting confusing to me. First he said no to more troops, then he decided to send the 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Then he said maybe not, but some of them have gone already. Now he says we need to pull out and he can't figure out how to do it.

Great negotiating strategy! Announce all this to the entire world. He might as well say it this way..."OMG, we're losing...let's surrender"

The resurgence in Afghanistan was caused by the escapees from Iraq who lost there. But since it's too late to declare defeat in Iraq, now he's going to declare defeat in Afghanistan??????

Mullen said it was winnable now we hear Obama does not want to.

So Obama finds out there are NO moderate Taliban and he wants to run away????? Obama wants us to lose. It’s that simple. He want our country to lose, he could care less about the lives that have given their all for the progress that has been made and the battles won in this war. Hell he does not even respect the life of an innocent survivor of an abortion he wants to kill them too, and he is making it very clear he has no concern about our troops being killed with this kind of dialogue he is doing.

I’ve always been proud of our country, and always of our military!!!!

But I’m deeply ashamed of this administration. They are destroying so much liberty, wealth and good will in this world that it defies comprehension.

Barack Hussein Obama doesn't even deserve to stand in the room with anyone who wears, or has worn, a uniform of the US Military, period!!

We are winning everywhere we are allowed to win!! And Obama YOU CAN BURN IN HELL!

This POS Obama, I will bet you the whole thing is not only about his being the biggest coward, limp wristed jerk that walked the earth, it is also about Obama wanting to bail out of Afghanistan and then use that money (and more) for his socialistic welfare programs. Take every thing he can from: supporting our military with equipment and funding , from the rich, not so rich, middle class, big business, middle sized business, small business; and give it to his comrades.

Prayers up for our brave men and women who are dealing with enemies foreign and domestic. Thanks for nothing you freak Obama, nothing helps American troops under fire more then their supposed leader telling the world that they are losing the battle.
The American men and women that will die because of your stupidity... do not salute you...I can well imagine what statements like this are doing to the morale of our troops in Afghanistan.

All Hussein has to do now is put a Rag on his head.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (10)

March 22, 2009

Vandals Target U.S. Marine Corps Center in Berkeley on Eve of Iraq War Anniversary

Vandals target U.S. Marine Corps center in Berkeley on eve of Iraq war anniversary

Berkeley

The United States Marine Corps Officer Selection Office in downtown Berkeley came under attack once again Wednesday night when a group of vandals broke the building’s windows with sledgehammers and splashed them with red paint.

Officers at the recruiting center at 64 Shattuck Square were not able to say whether the incident was related to protests taking place throughout the rest of the country on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war.

Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Officer Andrew Frankel said the police received a call at 8:54 p.m. Wednesday from an eyewitness who reported that three suspects were breaking the Marine Corps office’s plate-glass windows and splashing them with red paint.

Captain John-Paul Wheatcroft, who has been in charge of the Marine recruiting center since Captain Richard Lund left about a year ago, confirmed that the office had been vandalized but directed all queries to Staff Sergeant Matt Deboard.

Deboard said that, according to eyewitness accounts, a group of vandals attacked the recruiting station around 8 p.m., hitting its windows with sledgehammers and “slopping gooey thick red paint on them.”

He said police arrived immediately after they were called.

“We boarded up the windows as best as we could to prevent further damage,” he said. “The landlord is in the process of cleaning them up. He is paying for it.”

Deboard said nobody was present at the office when it was vandalized.

Wild Thing's comment......

Does Pelosi think these vandals are patriotic too?

What would be great is if they let the Marines take care of these jerks...find them and punish them, no questions asked. ......heh heh

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 AM | Comments (6)

March 21, 2009

Navy Honors Traitor John Murtha with Public Service Award

Jason Mattera catches Traitor John Murtha and asks him about his comments about our awesome Marines

Guess what Murtha has been given by the Navy!

Online Petition..........Don't Honor John Murtha

The U.S. Navy awarded U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., its Distinguished Public Service Award, triggering an Internet campaign to have Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter withdraw it.

Murtha, who publicly accused U.S. Marines of cold-blooded murder in a firefight in Haditha, Iraq, and was caught on camera in the Abscam scandal appearing to negotiate a bribe, was honored by the Navy for his "selfless devotion to the Nation's Sailors and Marines."

The award credits him with making sure the military services "were provided the resources necessary to effectively conduct the Global War on Terrorism."

"His courageous leadership, vision, and loyalty to the men and women of the Department of the Navy greatly contributed to their quality of life and helped create the most modern and highly trained fighting force in history," the honor said.

It continued, "As Chairman of Subcommittee on Defense of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Murtha's tireless advocacy helped maintain the Navy and Marine Corps team at the highest levels of combat readiness to meet the challenges of the 21st century."

John Murtha deserves no such award. He has routinely and deliberately undermined the United States military, slandered servicemen serving in combat, and caused irreparable damage to our international reputation," the petition says.

"While serving as a representative from Pennsylvania, Murtha called Marines from 3d Battalion, 1st Marines 'cold blooded killers' who 'murdered innocent civilians.' Before an investigation into the Haditha incident was even conducted, Murtha went on numerous television news programs and announced that the Marines 'went into houses and killed women and children,'" the petition continues.

"He said, 'There's no question in my mind about what happened here. There was no gunfire, they killed four people in a taxi...24 people were killed.' When asked specifically if he claimed that innocent civilians were intentionally executed by Marines, he said, 'That's exactly what happened.' Not content to slander those Marines directly involved, he went on to claim that if these Marines were not punished, 'other Marines would say well I'll do the same thing.' Murtha then continued to use this incident to lobby for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, citing it as evidence that our military was incapable of winning the war," the petition said.

Eight Marines ultimately were charged in the incident. But charges were dropped against six, and one was found innocent in a court-martial. The last case has been delayed indefinitely.

"Despite the facts, John Murtha refuses to apologize to those he slandered," the petition said.

"We the undersigned are appalled that the Secretary of the Navy would bestow the Department's highest award for a non-employee to John Murtha after his vile and despicable attacks against U.S. servicemen. This petition is a vehicle to express our bitter disappointment at this betrayal of our combat veterans. Congressman John Murtha should apologize for slandering the Marines of 3/1, and for undermining the efforts of those servicemen and women who fought in Iraq. If he does not, the Secretary of the Navy should rescind this award as a sign of his unwavering support for those who served in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom," the petition says.

As of this posting there are 20445 Signatures Total. The Petition was set up by Gabe Ledeen of VetsForFreedom.org.

Nicholas and I both signed it.

Congressman John P. Murtha, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, was presented this week with the Department of the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award. The award, granted by the Secretary of the Navy, is the highest form of public service recognition bestowed by the Department of the Navy for a non-employee.

Looking back and we will never forget.

REP. JOHN MURTHA: "Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood. And that's what the report is going to tell…"

BLITZER (another interview): There's an investigation of what happened at Haditha. ...you've suggested this week that there in effect was a massacre. …

MURTHA: Well there was. There's no question about it...

John Murtha about the award:

his website

“I’m proud of the service and sacrifices our troops are making, and I’m honored to receive this distinguished award from the Navy,” commented Murtha. “We have an obligation to ensure that our men and women in uniform have the most modern equipment, effective training, first-class medical care, and family advocacy resources.”

Wild Thing's comment.........

If the military is honoring traitors, nobody is looking out for the country.

Murtha insults his constituents, so they re-elect him.

Murtha insults the Marines, so the Navy gives him an award.

The world has gone madder than I could have ever thought.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

.....Thank you Chief.

Chief Petty Officer
BM-0164-Assault Boat Coxswain
Vietnam 1964- 1970
1970-1988 US Coast Guard

.....Thank you Tim

Tim
Doorgunner
Division Recon
1st of the 9th, 1st Cav Division
68-69

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (7)

March 15, 2009

Unusual Weapons Found in Iraq

Footage of unusual weapons found in Iraq. Weapons include nickel and gold-plated AK-47s and a four-barreled naval pistol.

Wild Thing's comment........

That one that the man says is a 4 barrell one is one I never heard of before. I thought this video was interesting.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (3)

March 14, 2009

Obama and Holder Drop "enemy combatant" As Basis For Detention

Obama, our troops in Afghanistan are "just air-raiding villages and killing civilians". ( 8/13/07 )

U.S. drops "enemy combatant" as basis for detention

March 13, 2009

The Obama administration dropped the term "enemy combatant" and incorporated international law on Friday as its basis for holding terrorism suspects at Guantanamo prison while it works to close the facility.

The U.S. Justice Department said it had filed court papers outlining its break from Bush administration detention standards, and said only those who provided "substantial" support to al Qaeda or the Taliban would be considered detainable.

"As we work towards developing a new policy to govern detainees, it is essential that we operate in a manner that strengthens our national security, is consistent with our values, and is governed by law," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

"The change we've made today meets each of those standards and will make our nation stronger."

Unlike under former President George W. Bush, who greatly sought to expand presidential powers during his term, the new detention policy does not rely on the president's powers as military commander in chief to hold terrorism suspects at Guantanamo.

That policy has been subject to numerous legal battles and Supreme Court rulings that rebuked the Bush administration.

Instead, the Justice Department said, "It draws on the international laws of war to inform the statutory authority conferred by Congress.

"It provides that individuals who supported al Qaeda or the Taliban are detainable only if the support was substantial. And it does not employ the phrase 'enemy combatant.'"

It said it had told the court that the Obama administration was reviewing its entire detention policy -- as part of its plan to close the prison at the U.S. naval base on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- and further refinements of the policies were possible.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Can we use "enemy combatant" for the current administration????

Well to be politically correct...... the term “enemy combatant” was loaded with implications of people wanting to do violence against America. That term hurt their self-esteem. So, we’ll have to use a new politically correct term to indicate who these people are.

These guys that we let go and then find leading Taliban units or organizing suicide bombings are no longer "enemy combatants"? What other evidence we have to give these guys that these are DANGEROUS PEOPLE!!!

I wonder how long it will be before our troops are required to mirandize the guy that's shooting at them!!!! So does the soldier that initially detains an insubstantial individual face prosecution for unlawful detention? And more of our troops will be injured and killed then before....who wants to risk a court martial over Obama's pro muzzie ROE. sheesh I am going to cry! This is horrible. They are not thinking of our troops at all, not at all!!!!

The logical conclusion is that the new Administration doesn’t consider the Gitmo prisoners to be their enemies. Unlike, say, Rush Limbaugh, Rick Santelli, Sarah Palin, and Joe the Plumber.

Obama and Holder share a common trait...they care more for those fighting against America and her traditional values and underpinnings than they care for those values or underpinnings.

B.Hussein Obama has made his decisions by erring on the side of America’s enemies from day one. Well Barry, You OWN any terror attack that befalls this nation, none of that inherited from Bush crap because you have already damaged most of the process that Bush put in place to keep this country safe.

You Will be complicit in the deaths of Americans killed by the next wave of attacks against America or our interests, and especially our troops!!!!! What a slap in the face of our armed forces.

Attorney General Holder. “The change we’ve made today meets each of those standards and will make our nation stronger.

This has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever read The most dangerous people in America are presently running our government.

Holder’s law firm handled some of these terrorists cases in Gitmo. Holder also said there was no international definition of a terrorist when he wanted his clients case dismissed in court.

So now, he has permanently fixed anything else that might arise when he and Obama want them on our streets. They are probably the new state military police Michelle, Barack and Rahm want. They know weapons so no training needed.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (12)

FBI Concerned About Somali Recruits from "Seattle Mosque – and others in Minneapolis

"In several cities the FBI is investigating whether young Somali Americans have traveled back to their native country to fight."

FBI concerned about young men recruited for terrorism

nbc

Seattle FBI agents are now working on a nationwide terrorism investigation.

They're concerned that young men are being recruited in the United States to join the Jihad overseas.

The FBI has confirmed some cases of young men traveling to the East African nation of Somalia to join al Qaeda-sponsored groups there.

One of the cases they're looking at includes a man killed in fighting in Somalia last year – an American citizen from Seattle.

Ruben Shumpert was a convert to radical Islam whose anti-American rhetoric and quest for guns brought him to the attention of the Seattle FBI in 2004.

Agents raided his south Seattle barbershop and arrested a group of men in a potential terrorism case.

Those people later pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, but Shumpert who was free on bond never showed for sentencing.

Last year he was listed among the dead in a U.S.-sponsored rocket attack near Mogadishu - the capital of war-ravaged Somalia.

Muslim extremists are fueling the fighting and now the investigation into Shumpert's apparent death has taken on new urgency because at a Seattle mosque – and others in the Minneapolis area – at least a dozen Somali families report young men who have vanished.

In several cities the FBI is investigating whether young Somali Americans have traveled back to their native country to fight.

Minneapolis college student Shira Ahmed killed more than two dozen people in Somalia in October and became the first suicide bomber radicalized in the U.S., according to the head of the FBI.

"We certainly believe that he was recruited here in the United States and we do believe there may have been others that have been radicalized as well," said Robert Mueller, FBI director.

The head of the Seattle Somali Community Center didn't want to speak to KING 5 on camera, but says she is not aware of anyone who has reported a missing family member.

A federal justice source also says agents haven't turned up firm evidence that anyone other than Shumpert traveled from Seattle to fight. However, with the fourth largest Somali community in the country here, agents are trying to build their rapport with that community.

Of course, the concern is that these extremists are U.S. citizens that could bring the violence back here.

March 11, 2009
“Grand jury convenes in FBI terror case against Minneapolis Muslims, mosque”

FOX news

By Mike Levine

SNIPPET: “Federal authorities are looking to bring terror-related charges against one or more Somali-Americans from the Minneapolis area, and witnesses to the case have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury, according to a Muslim leader in the area and a woman who said she testified before the grand jury this morning.

For several months the FBI has been investigating about a dozen Somali-American men who disappeared from their homes in the Minneapolis area late last year and may have joined terrorist groups overseas. One of the men, 27-year-old Shirwa Ahmed, later blew himself up in Somalia.”

Last month the mosque invited the FBI to meet with community and religious leaders to discuss the missing men and other issues affecting the Somali-American community in Minnesota. Hurre said the FBI called this morning to say they are now "ready to meet." A meeting between the FBI and the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center is scheduled for Thursday. Hurre said it will be the first meeting between the FBI and the mosque since federal authorities launched their investigation.

At a forum in Washington two weeks ago, FBI Director Robert Mueller said the trend of young men "radicalized and recruited" in the United States to take up arms overseas "in particular concerns us."

"It raises the question of whether these young men will one day come home, and, if so, what they might undertake here," he said.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security is set to hold a hearing tomorrow morning looking at Somalia-based terrorist groups, particularly the Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, and their efforts to recruit inside the United States. A top-ranking official with the FBI's National Security Branch, J. Philip Mudd, and the Deputy Director for Intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center, Andrew Liepman, are scheduled to testify at the hearing.

March 11, 2009

“The U.S.-Somali Experience”

Counterterrorism blog
By Douglas Farah

SNIPPET: “Officials are still trying to assess the scope of the problem but say reports so far do not warrant a major concern about a terrorist threat within the United States. But intelligence officials said the recruitment of U.S. citizens by terrorist groups is particularly worrisome because their American passports could make it easier for them to reenter the country.

This represents a movement toward the “Europeanization” of the Islamist threat in the United States, where terrorists recruit among the disasporas in an adopted country (or where the young people are second generation and feeling lost between two worlds.) The recruits, with the requisite language skills and knowledge of how society functions, are far easier to hide plain site than foreigners would.”

Wild Thing's comment........

A recent study sponsored by the Center for Security Policy found that of 100 American mosques and Islamic centers and schools it examined across the country, “75 should be on the watch list” for inciting insurrection and jihad through sermons and anti-western literature.

Something important as well from ....Human Events

from Gary Bauer

"The waxing of radical Islam in America comes as the issue seems to be waning in importance with the Obama administration. In the opening weeks of the Obama administration, the term “war on terror” has been all but abandoned by the State Department. Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano recently became the first DHS secretary to leave out the words “terror” and “vulnerability” from remarks prepared for delivery to the House Homeland Security Committee, focusing instead on the threat of natural disasters. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is obliged to talk often about terrorism. On her tour she offended Christians last week, this week she took aim at Jews. In the West Bank, Clinton sat down for an interview with a Palestinian Authority TV station. Clinton said she wanted to “connect up our two countries,” referring to the United States and an as yet not established Palestinian “country,” All of this is taking place at a time when the government’s terrorist watch list has reached one million entries, up one third since 2007. Keeping America safe from terrorism during his seven-and-a-half years in office after 9-11 was President Bush’s most underappreciated achievement. Now, with an American jihad possibly looming, we can only hope that it’s an accomplishment that President Obama can repeat."

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (6)

March 12, 2009

Taliban To Obama ~ "moderate Taliban and what it means?"

Obama being illogical - Taliban

Reuters ( correspondents in Kabul)

AFGHANISTAN'S Taliban today turned down as illogical US President Barack Obama's bid to reach out to moderate elements of the insurgents, saying the exit of foreign troops was the only solution for ending the war.

Mr Obama, in an interview with the New York Times, expressed an openness to adapting tactics in Afghanistan that had been used in Iraq to reach out to moderate elements there.

"This does not require any response or reaction for this is illogical," Qari Mohammad Yousuf, a purported spokesman for the insurgent group, said when asked if its top leader Mullah Mohammad Omar would make any comment about Mr Obama's proposal.

"The Taliban are united, have one leader, one aim, one policy...I do not know why they are talking about moderate Taliban and what it means? "If it means those who are not fighting and are sitting in their homes, then talking to them is meaningless. This really is surprising the Taliban."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed Obama’s proposal but analysts were doubtful.

http://www.heritage.org/33-minutes/index.htm

“Obama’s comment resemble a dream more than reality,” said Waheed Mozhdah, an analyst who has written a book on the Taliban.

“Where are the so-called moderate Taliban? Who are the moderate Taliban?” asked Mozhdah, who was an official in both the Taliban and the Karzai governments.

"'Moderate Taliban' is like 'moderate killer'. Is there such a thing?", asked writer and analyst Qaseem Akhgar.

LOL Joe Biden responds to the Taliban saying no such thing as a moderate and not even knowing what that means. According to Joe, and we know nobody messes with Joe, only 5% are actually dangerous. Who knew?
hahaha

"5 percent of the Taliban is incorrigible, not susceptible to anything other than being defeated. Another 25 percent or so are not quite sure, in my view, the intensity of their commitment to the insurgency. And roughly 70 percent are involved because of the money, because of them being -- getting paid.”

Wild Thing's comment.........

LOL I know they want to kill all of us , but this is just too funny for words!

Even the Taliban is more realistic than Obama One of their spokesmen came out yesterday morning and said he had no idea what Obama was talking about, because there is no such animal as a “moderate” Taliban.

The Taliban sounds more rational than the White House) OMG! The freaking Taliban has a more coherent foreign policy than Obama!!

Well, someone ought to clue the Taliban in on the concept of affirmative action. See, this is our first affirmative action president and affirmative action means that President Obama is not to be held to the same standards as other national leaders. He has come from a disadvantaged home and every university and employer can assure you that AA designates get remedial education on logic (and protocol, and press conference behavior, and work schedules, and economics, and . . .) before being graded. Yeesh, Taliban, get with the program.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (15)

Obama to Delay Tanker, Kill Bomber

Obama to Delay Tanker, Kill Bomber

Weekly Standard

The White House has given the Pentagon guidance to delay procurement of aerial refueling tankers by five years and cancel plans for a new long-range bomber, according to three sources close to the discussions.

No final decisions have been made, and the recommendations are part of negotiations between the Office of Management and Budget and the Defense Department over possible budget trade-offs this year, the sources said. The guidance represents two of the offset options that OMB gave the Pentagon last month regarding the fiscal 2010 Defense budget request.

If the guidance survives the internal budget process, a huge protest will follow on Capitol Hill, where dozens of lawmakers are heavily invested in the battle over tanker procurement, which has raged for years.

A new long-range bomber may be an unnecessary extravagance given the nation's current fiscal problems, but the military faces an urgent need for a new fleet of aerial refueling tankers. John McCain scuttled the first attempt to deal with the problem when he exposed the corrupt inside dealing that had handed Boeing a contract to lease the tankers to the Air Force. The investigation landed senior officers for both the Air Force and Boeing in prison. Then Northrop won the contract to provide the tankers only to have Boeing protest the decision with bipartisan support from the Hill -- particularly from Democrats who represent Boeing's home state of Washington and their protectionist allies. Now Obama looks set to push off the issue for another five years, out past his reelection campaign.

With the government spending so many billions to stimulate the economy, it's hard to understand what kind of sense it makes to delay a program worth as much as $100 billion or more for five years. There is an urgent need. This is a shovel-ready project. And the only obvious upside to delaying production for another five years is avoiding the political mess produced every time this issue starts creeping onto the front pages again.

Wild Thing's comment.........

A Trillion for a phony BS stimulus plan, a grotesquely bloated 1/2 trillion budget, and he wants to slash military spending. This quisling needs to be ousted ASAP .

The AF has already come out and said that any further delays to a new tanker WILL impact their ability to perform their missions. No two ways about it. AR is absolutely VITAL to the AF. This decision is utterly anti-American and anti-Military.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (9)

Afghanistan Taliban Leader Was at Gitmo

Afghanistan Taliban leader was at Gitmo

The Taliban's new top operations officer in southern Afghanistan had been a prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, the latest example of a freed detainee who took a militant leadership role and a potential complication for the Obama administration's efforts to close the prison. U.S. authorities handed over the detainee to the Afghan government, which in turn released him, according to Pentagon and CIA officials.

Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, formerly Guantanamo prisoner No. 008, was among 13 Afghan prisoners released to the Afghan government in December 2007. Rasoul is now known as Mullah Abdullah Zakir, a nom de guerre that Pentagon and intelligence officials say is used by a Taliban leader who is in charge of operations against U.S. and Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan.

The officials, who spoke anonymously because they are not authorized to release the information, said Rasoul has joined a growing faction of former Guantanamo prisoners who have rejoined militant groups and taken action against U.S. interests. Pentagon officials have said that as many as 60 former detainees have resurfaced on foreign battlefields.

Pentagon and intelligence officials said Rasoul has emerged as a key militant figure in southern Afghanistan, where violence has been spiking in the last year. Thousands of U.S. troops are preparing to deploy there to fight resurgent Taliban forces.

One intelligence official told the Associated Press that Rasoul's stated mission is to counter the U.S. troop surge. The revelation underscores the Obama administration's dilemma in moving to close the detention camp at Guantanamo and figuring out what to do with the nearly 250 prisoners who remain there.

The Pentagon's preferred option is to hand them over to their home governments for imprisonment. But the Defense Intelligence Agency's growing list of former prisoners that have rejoined the fight shows that, in some cases, that system does not work.

According to the Pentagon, at least 18 former Guantanamo detainees have "returned to the fight" and 43 others are suspected of resuming terrorist activities. The Pentagon has declined to provide a complete list of the former prisoners they suspect are now on the battlefield.

He told the tribunal that he intended to return to a peaceful life in Afghanistan.

"I want to go back home and join my family and work in my land and help my family," he said, according to a U.S. military transcript of the hearing.

National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said Tuesday that at least two Saudi detainees also turned up recently as members of al-Qaida in Yemen after they were released from Guantanamo. The Saudis had been handed over by the U.S. to Saudi Arabia, where they were supposedly rehabilitated as part of a Saudi program to reform extremists.

Wild Thing's comment........

OK shoot them on sight and take no prisoners. No quarter give and none returned. Before saying he would close GITMO, Obama had to have had input from our military I would assume anyway. If he did then he snubbed his ugly nose at them when they gave him any of this information that even ONE terrorists was at it again.

It is a slap in the face of all our troops and those that have been injured or killed. Unforgivable! They risk their lives to catch these terrorists.

.....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (15)

March 09, 2009

'Barbaric' Enemy Actions in Afghanistan

Afghans shout slogans against the U.S. and Afghan governments as the green banner on the vehicle says' Allah is great' and the black banner says 'down with America' during a demonstration in Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Ningarhar province,, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, March 2, 2009

U.S. Commander Decries 'Barbaric' Enemy Actions in Afghanistan

Story by Gerry Gilmore

Insurgents in Afghanistan employ intimidation and barbaric acts in attempts to cow Afghan civilians to submit to their will or stay nonaligned in the struggle for the country, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Afghanistan said today.

For example, insurgents routinely place threatening letters onto the exteriors of schools and government buildings during the night, Army Col. John P. Johnson, commander of Combined Task Force Currahee, told Pentagon reporters during a satellite-carried news conference.

Johnson's task force, centered on the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, from Fort Campbell, Ky., has been in Afghanistan nearly a year. His headquarters is at Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khowst province. The command covers an area about the size of Maryland and is responsible for activities in Paktia and Paktika provinces, as well.

Insurgents in his area "act in a ruthless and barbaric manner," Johnson said. During a recent incident in eastern Paktika province, he recalled, insurgents murdered three tribal elders after they'd attended a meeting with Afghan and coalition officials.

The insurgents showed up several days later and "essentially decapitated" the three elders, Johnson said, and then burned their bodies atop a pile of coalition-provided humanitarian goods that was set afire.

"It just demonstrates the viciousness, ruthlessness, a lack of humanity that [the insurgents] can use to intimidate a population," Johnson said. "This is a country that very much is run in large sense by the rumors that are generated through the population."

News or rumors of insurgent outrages travel to cities and villages, Johnson said.

"So, it's a very strong and ruthless form of intimidation" that's practiced by the insurgents, Johnson said.

"They don't just make idle threats, they actually carry them out in a barbaric fashion," the colonel said.

Insurgent violence has made some villagers afraid to cooperate with Afghan and coalition officials, Johnson said.

However, he said, increased voter registration in his area of operations indicates how Afghan civilians "really stand in terms of wanting to preserve a right to vote [and] for some representative system that can provide a better way ahead."

Meanwhile, U.S., coalition and Afghan authorities are working together to confront insurgent propaganda, intimidation and violence, Johnson said.

"We certainly maximize the utility of the airwaves," Johnson said. "Radio is very much a strong form of communication that we use. The enemy also uses it in a much lesser form."

Afghan government and security leaders "get on these radios and they talk directly to the people," Johnson explained. The biggest task for the Afghan's anti-insurgent information program, he said, seems to be finding a cohesive message that resonates from the national to local levels of Afghan society.

"We continue to work on that. We continue to improve oral communication with our Afghan partners," Johnson said. "But, that's critical, I think, to get that message right, from the village all the way up to the national level."

Afghan security forces are stepping up to confront the insurgents, Johnson said. He praised the contributions of the Afghan army's 203rd Corps, which he said has developed the ability to plan and conduct simultaneous and nearly independent brigade-sized operations in the past year.

"What threatens the enemy the most this year is the increased capability and capacity of the Afghan national security forces," Johnson said. The Afghan army, he said, is "the backbone of this effort" and is making a difference in the anti-insurgent campaign.

Johnson's command is a mountainous region that's part of the U.S.-led Regional Command-East. His task force once had responsibility for six Afghan provinces. All three of the provinces now under Johnson's purview are along the Pakistan border.

A Polish task force took over responsibility for Ghazni province in November, Johnson said, while an infantry brigade combat team from the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division has overseen activities in Lowgar and Wardak provinces since last month.

Most enemy fighters in his area, Johnson said, are not native Afghans, but rather foreigners that cross over from Pakistan. Enemy attacks have increased in his sector by about 20 percent from a year ago, he estimated.

"We do not see platoons [of insurgents] drawn from the local population to conduct major attacks," Johnson said. "To me, this reflects a lack of willingness within the population to actively support the enemy's efforts and the importance of external support for them to achieve their goals."

The presence of foreign fighters in Afghanistan highlights the importance of improving security along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, Johnson said.

"Our effort to build up the Afghan border police is essential to our success here," Johnson said.

Reconstruction and humanitarian efforts continue throughout his sector, Johnson said, citing the ongoing construction of the Khowst-to-Gardez highway. When completed, the road will connect Khowst to the interior of Afghanistan and bring "much-needed services and security to a very important population," he said.

Meanwhile, Johnson said, it's imperative to "improve our ability to properly communicate the true nature of this enemy to a population bombarded by a relatively effective [enemy] propaganda campaign, and more importantly, an intimidation campaign."

Wild Thing's comment.......

For example, insurgents routinely place threatening letters onto the exteriors of schools and government buildings during the night,

I bet our snipers with night scopes are going after these people. But let's not tell Obama, he would not like it if his "moderate" Taliban were being killed. sheesh I can't believe he even had that thought enter his brain. OH wait it is HIS brain so yes, it would think like that, from one Muslim with a friend that is a terrorist ( Bill Ayers) to another terrorist in Afghanistan.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 AM | Comments (4)

March 07, 2009

Remember The Alamo! (166 Men Died For Freedom - March 6, 1836)

People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against impossible odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason, the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.

John Wayne - "We Know They Were Heroes...." - The Alamo

Marty Robbins - Ballad of the Alamo

The siege and final battle of the Alamo in 1836 constitute the most celebrated military engagement in Texas history. The battle was conspicuous for the large number of illustrious personalities among its combatants. These included Tennessee congressman David Crockett, entrepreneur-adventurer James Bowie, and Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna. Although not nationally famous at the time, William Barret Travis achieved lasting distinction as commander at the Alamo. For many Americans and most Texans, the battle has become a symbol of patriotic sacrifice.

The defenders of the Alamo willingly placed themselves in harm's way to protect their country. Death was a risk they accepted, but it was never their aim. Torn by internal discord, the provisional government failed to deliver on its promise to provide relief.The battle of the Alamo remains an inspiring moment in Texas history.

Since 1836, Americans on battlefields over the globe have responded to the exhortation, "Remember the Alamo!"

Wild Thing's comment.........

I am a day late on this but I wanted to post it for sure even if it is the following day. Our country is so awesome and I was thinking about the Alamo and how brave they were and how they fought.

May God Bless These Heroes. May Americans today learn the lessons of their sacrifice.

Alamo Defenders

The following list of Alamo defenders and birthplaces was obtained from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library at the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas.

Defender’s Name and Birthplace

Abamillo, Juan (Texas)
Allen, Robert (Virginia)
Andross, Miles DeForrest (Vermont)
Autry, Micajah (North Carolina)
Badillo, Juan A. (Texas)
Bailey, Peter James III (Kentucky)
Baker, Isaac G. (Arkansas)
Baker, William Charles M. (Missouri)
Ballentine, John J. (Pennsylvania)
Ballantine, Richard W. (Scotland)
Baugh, John J. (Virginia)
Bayliss, Joseph (Tennessee)
Blair, John (Tennessee)
Blair, Samuel (Tennessee)
Blazeby, William (England)
Bonham, James Butler (South Carolina)
Bourne, Daniel (England)
Bowie, James (Kentucky)
Bowman, Jesse B. (Tennessee)
Brown, George (England)
Brown, James (Pennsylvania)
Brown, Robert (Unknown)
Buchanan, James (Alabama)
Burns, Samuel E. (Ireland)
Butler, George, D. (Missouri)
Cain, John (Pennsylvania)
Campbell, Robert (Tennessee)
Carey, William R. (Virginia)
Clark, Charles Henry (Missouri)
Clark, M.B. (Mississippi)
Cloud, Daniel William (Kentucky)
Cochran, Robert E. (New Hampshire)
Cottle, George Washington (Missouri)
Courtman, Henry (Germany)
Crawford, Lemuel (South Carolina)
Crockett, David (Tennessee)
Crossman, Robert (Pennsylvania)
Cummings, David P. (Pennsylvania)
Cunningham, Robert (New York)
Darst, Jacob C. (Kentucky)
Davis, John (Kentucky)
Day, Freeman H.K. (Unknown)
Day, Jerry C. (Missouri)
Daymon, Squire (Tennessee)
Dearduff, William (Tennessee)
Dennison, Stephen (England or Ireland)
Despallier, Charles (Louisiana)
Dewall, Lewis (New York)
Dickinson, Almeron (Tennessee)
Dillard, John Henry (Tennessee)
Dimpkins, James R. (England)
Duvalt, Andrew (Ireland)
Espalier, Carlos (Texas)
Esparza, Gregorio (Texas)
Evans, Robert (Ireland)
Evans, Samuel B. (New York)
Ewing, James L. (Tennessee)
Faunterloy, William Keener (Kentucky)
Fishbaugh, William (Unknown)
Flanders, John (Massachusetts)
Floyd, Dolphin Ward (North Carolina)
Forsyth, John Hubbard (New York)
Fuentes, Antonio (Texas)
Fuqua, Galba (Alabama)
Garnett, William (Virginia)
Garrand, James W. (Louisiana)
Garrett, James Girard (Tennessee)
Garvin, John E. (Unknown)
Gaston, John E. (Kentucky)
George, James (Unknown)
Goodrich, John C. (Virginia)
Grimes, Albert Calvin (Georgia)
Guerrero, José María (Texas)
Gwynne, James C. (England)
Hannum, James (Pennsylvania)
Harris, John (Kentucky)
Harrison, Andrew Jackson (Tennessee)
Harrison, William B (Ohio)
Hawkins, Joseph M. (Ireland)
Hays, John M. (Tennessee)
Heiskell, Charles M. (Tennessee)
Herndon, Patrick Henry (Virginia)
Hersee, William Daniel (England)
Holland, Tapley (Ohio)
Holloway, Samuel (Pennsylvania)
Howell, William D. (Massachusetts)
Jackson, Thomas (Ireland)
Jackson, William Daniel (Kentucky)
Jameson, Green B. (Kentucky)
Jennings, Gordon C. (Pennsylvania)
Jimenes (Ximenes), Damacio (Texas)
Johnson, Lewis (Wales)
Johnson, William (Pennsylvania)
Jones, John (New York)
Kellog, John Benjamin (Kentucky)
Kenney, James (Virginia)
Kent, Andrew (Kentucky)
Kerr, Joseph (Louisiana)
Kimbell, George C. (Pennsylvania)
King, William Philip (Texas)
Lewis, William Irvine (Virginia)
Lightfoot, William J. (Virginia)
Lindley, Jonathan L. (Illinois)
Linn, William (Massachusetts)
Losoya, Toribio (Texas)
Main, George Washington (Unknown)
Malone, William T. (Georgia)
Marshall, William (Tennessee)
Martin, Albert (Rhode Island)
McCafferty, Edward (Unknown)
McCoy, Jesse (Tennessee)
McDowell, William (Pennsylvania)
McGee, James (Ireland)
McGregor, John (Scotland)
McKinney, Robert (Tennessee)
Melton, Eliel (Georgia)
Miller, Thomas R. (Tennessee)
Mills, William (Tennessee)
Millsaps, Isaac (Mississippi)
Mitchell, Edwin T. (Unknown)
Mitchell, Napoleon B. (Unknown)
Mitchusson, Edward F. (Virginia)
Moore, Robert B. (Virginia)
Moore, Willis A. (Mississippi)
Musselman, Robert (Ohio)
Nava, Andrés (Texas)
Neggan, George (South Carolina)
Nelson, Andrew M. (Tennessee)
Nelson, Edward (South Carolina)
Nelson, George (South Carolina)
Northcross, James (Virginia)
Nowlan, James (England)
Pagan, George (Unknown)
Parker, Christopher Adam (Unknown)
Parks, William (North Carolina)
Perry, Richardson (Texas)
Pollard, Amos (Massachusetts)
Reynolds, John Purdy (Pennsylvania)
Roberts, Thomas H. (Unknown)
Robertson, James Waters (Tennessee)
Robinson, Isaac (Scotland)
Rose, James M. (Ohio)
Rusk, Jackson J. (Ireland)
Rutherford, Joseph (Kentucky)
Ryan, Isaac (Louisiana)
Scurlock, Mial (North Carolina)
Sewell, Marcus L. (England)
Shied, Manson (Georgia)
Simmons, Cleveland Kinlock (South Carolina)
Smith, Andrew H. (Unknown)
Smith, Charles S. (Maryland)
Smith, Joshua G. (North Carolina)
Smith, William H. (Unknown)
Starr, Richard (England)
Stewart, James E. (England)
Stockton, Richard L. (New Jersey)
Summerlin, A. Spain (Tennessee)
Summers, William E. (Tennessee)
Sutherland, William DePriest (Unknown)
Taylor, Edward (Tennessee)
Taylor, George (Tennessee)
Taylor, James (Tennessee)
Taylor, William (Tennessee)
Thomas, B. Archer M. (Kentucky)
Thomas, Henry (Germany)
Thompson, Jesse G. (Arkansas)
Thomson, John W. (North Carolina)
Thruston, John, M. (Pennsylvania)
Trammel, Burke (Ireland)
Travis, William Barret (South Carolina)
Tumlinson, George W. (Missouri)
Tylee, James (New York)
Walker, Asa (Tennessee)
Walker, Jacob (Tennessee)
Ward, William B. (Ireland)
Warnell, Henry (Unknown)
Washington, Joseph G. (Kentucky)
Waters, Thomas (England)
Wells, William (Georgia)
White, Isaac (Alabama or Kentucky)
White, Robert (Unknown)
Williamson, Hiram James (Pennsylvania)
Wills, William (Unknown)
Wilson, David L. (Scotland)
Wilson, John (Pennsylvania)
Wolf, Anthony (Unknown)
Wright, Claiborne (North Carolina)
Zanco, Charles (Denmark)
John, a Black Freedman (Unknown)

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (19)

March 06, 2009

Even In Death

The ban on news media photos was put in place by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 during the Gulf War and upheld by President George W. Bush. It became a political issue in 2004 when unauthorized photos of the caskets appeared on the Web.

Democrats tried to lift the ban that year but were rebuffed by the Republican-controlled Congress. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said at the time that the ban was an attempt to "conceal from the American people the true costs of this war."

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama asked for a review of the policy and Gates recommended Dover ceremonies be treated like funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. Families there decide whether the news media are present.

Does this mean that we are now free to photograph the caskets of.........
LIBERAL ANTI-WAR DEAD?

Wild Thing's comment........

This is GREAT, I would love to see this, I mean the funerals of the Code Pink and anti-war freaks , the liberal anti-war dead. I bet their tune would change if a big protest was done at THEIR funerals like the way the horrible so calleed minister Phelps does or tries to do at our military funerals. See how they like it.

Just something simple like maybe serving champaign to celebrate or something.

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:44 AM | Comments (4)

February 27, 2009

Obama To Cut US Defense Budget ~ Terrorist Bill Ayers Must Be Proud!

Costly US weapons face budget cuts under Obama

Defence Talk .com

Hi-tech fighter aircraft, new warships and missile defense projects are all potential targets for big cuts in the US defense budget, as the American military faces a new era of limits under President Barack Obama.

With a mushrooming budget deficit of more than a trillion dollars, the new administration has signaled it hopes to scale back military spending partly through a planned reduction of troops in Iraq and by taking the axe to big ticket weapons programs.

"It's easier to cut weapons than personnel," said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute.

"There are clear signs that US defense spending peaked in 2008 and that it will be gradually declining over the next four years as the United States reduces its presence in Iraq," Thompson told AFP.

Obama's predecessor signed a 612 billion dollar defense authorization bill in September, the largest in real terms since World War II. But the economic crisis means defense spending will come under more pressure and restrictions.

In his speech to Congress on Tuesday, Obama promised his upcoming budget would bolster the pay and benefits of soldiers and increase the total number of troops but that unnecessary, "Cold War-era" weapons would be dumped.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, placing a top priority on fighting insurgents rather than conventional warfare, has warned that big weapons projects plagued by delays and cost overruns will come in for tougher scrutiny.

A list of candidates for possible cutbacks drawn up by the Pentagon includes more Navy destroyers built by General Dynamics, fighter jets including Lockheed Martin and Boeing's F-22 Raptors and carrier-based Super Hornets, a digital radio system for all the armed services and missile defense weaponry for Poland and the Czech Republic.

Gates has already singled out the F-22 Raptor fighters, which cost about 350 million dollars each, for potential cutbacks.

Military analysts have also questioned the need for more Navy aircraft carriers and a computer-linked network of Army vehicles, known as Future Combat Systems, which has faced criticism.

Gates has expressed frustration at slow-moving weapons programs that seem unrelated to the immediate threats posed by militants in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan or the deserts of Iraq.

The United States cannot "eliminate national-security risks through higher defense budgets, to do everything and buy everything," Gates wrote recently in the journal Foreign Affairs.

But lawmakers in Congress, many of whom receive campaign funding from military contractors, have a long tradition of fending off cuts to weapons projects in their home districts.

Determined to stem leaks over budget questions, Gates has made senior officials promise they will keep the details of defense budget talks secret as his department prepares to make tough cuts, a spokesman said.

In an unprecedented move, Gates has asked top military officers and civilian officials to sign non-disclosure forms in which they agree not to reveal deliberations about the politically charged budget.

"This is highly sensitive stuff involving programs costing tens of billions of dollars, employing hundreds of thousands of people and -- and go to the heart of national security," press secretary Geoff Morrell said.

Some conservative analysts argue constraints on defense spending could mean the United States will over time lose its strategic dominance as other countries seize on possible weaknesses.

"When you step back from all the details and look at what is really happening in the new administration, American military power is likely to decline in the years ahead due to a lack of money," Thompson said.

On the political left, Obama has already been accused of failing to rein in the vast Pentagon budget that represents nearly half of the world's military spending.

"The Barack Obama administration is continuing the neo-conservative agenda of US military domination of the world -- albeit with perhaps with a kinder-gentler face," said Peter Phillips, a professor at Sonoma State University and director of Project Censored.

Obama putting military in harm's way?...YES!!

One News Now

SNIPPET: “A military advocacy organization is not happy with President Barack Obama’s plans to drastically cut defense spending by $53 billion.”

MFU Statement on Obama’s Drastic Defense Cuts

Military Families United

Washington, DC – February 24, 2009 - Brian Wise, Executive Director for Military Families United, the nation’s premier military family advocacy organization, released the following statement concerning President Obama’s plan to drastically cut defense spending by $53 billion.

“Cutting defense spending before setting out a strategy in Afghanistan will dictate the strategy in Afghanistan, which is outright dangerous for our brave men and women in uniform. New and emerging threats require a military that is fully funded and capable of accomplishing their mission of keeping America safe and secure.

The President’s plan calls for drastic cuts in our war fighting capability, deterrence capacity, and hinders the development of the latest equipment which will increase our troops’ effectiveness and reduce casualties. Included on the chopping block is $1 billion dollars cut from the office designed to fight and defeat the improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which is short-sighted and will lead to more wounded veterans, and more Gold Star Families. The Administration has no qualms about providing $350 billion to bail out Wall Street or $17.4 billion to bail out General Motors and Chrysler, but cannot provide the necessary funding to protect our troops from IEDs or improved radio systems for servicemembers.

We at Military Families United, the nation’s premier military family advocacy organization, implore the President to provide the vital funding that our troops need and deserve. Generals on the ground know better than politicians in Washington what we need to succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan and to protect this country. Undercutting the Pentagon’s required amount can leave our troops unable to effectively fight the war on terror and our country more vulnerable to potential attacks. Our sons and daughters, husbands and wives make enormous sacrifices and lay their lives on the line so America can be safer, more secure and free from fear. They cannot afford to have their funding cut at a time when they need it more than ever.”

Wild Thing's comment........

Everything Obama has been doing shows how much he hates our country and our military. He truly wants to destroy BOTH!

And Yes for you Obama freaks trying to get your hateful comments through and your totally disgusting emails, Obama is a POS, communist, American hater, military loather and effeminate camel breath jerk!

The stimulus bill is loaded, overflowing with PORK, and some of the most insane and ridiculous things we have to pay for. Paying for another persons digital TV, tattoo removal, the list is long of the stupid, kiss up to their friends and lobbyist's pay offs. But can Obama fund our military, hell no. Cuts to our military said so off the cuff one would think he was talking about the freaking weather.

I am NOT afraid of terrorists, but I am terrified of what Obama is doing to our awesome country and to our military.

He has brought his hut dwelling, white hating, big business jealousy, small business hard working integrity, sickening Islam call to prayer worshiping moon god Allah loving, Bill Ayers terrorist comrade loyalty, animal hating, Palestinian loving self into our White House!

He is not just some Democrat that brings a liberal agenda to our government, he is well groomed in communism, a hater of our Freedoms and those that have fought for them. He has to do all his destruction as fast as 24 hour days will allow, shutting off those disagreeing with him and putting Bills we all would be against inside stimulus packages like a snake slithering in the grass.

He makes my blood run cold!

It has been said follow the money. That is true and it seldom is a waste of time when researching wrongs or corruption. In B.HUSSEIN Obama's case it is not only follow the money but follow the budget cuts and the pork. This is one Muslim that loves PORK! And he will sacrifice what our military needs to get the pork he wants.

The other day he referred to himself as a CEO. He is President of what has always been the most powerful country in the world! To refer to himself as a CEO is telling as well, he has the mentality of ONLY a community organizer NOT someone to hold the hightest office in the land. And he sure as hell is UNFIT to hold the position of CIC!

We have the defense and determination within our nation to survive. We've been attacked from the outside, and now we're under attack within and B.Hussein Obama is leading the way.

Obama will get hundreds of thousands of our citizens killed before he gets done. He thinks if he can read it off of a teleprompter that the world will do as he asks. You get peace by having a big well armed standing military ready, willing, and able to kick their ass if they start something.

No wonder our Military questions his eligibility to serve as President and to protect the Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic.

The Number One Enemy of the Constitution is B. Hussein Obama. He is both foreign and domestic, but he is NOT a Patriot. More like a Benedict Arnold in the White House.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (13)

February 09, 2009

Obama Favoring His Muslims He Backs Away From War on Terror

Obama backs away from war on terror

examiner

It started two days after Obama became the president. Obama directed the closing of the terrorist detention center in Guantanamo Bay, even though he has no clue what to do with the terrorists detained at Guantanamo.

At the two-week mark of the Obama presidency, the president was asked in a television interview why he didn't use the phrase "war on terror." Obama's Carter-like naive response was to say he believes the U.S. can win over moderate Muslims if he chooses his words carefully:

"I think it is very important for us to recognize that we have a battle or a war against some terrorist organizations," Obama said Tuesday. "But that those organizations aren't representative of a broader Arab community, Muslim community."

He added that he believes the U.S. can convince Muslims "that we should be working together to make sure that everybody has got a better life."

Obama continues to walk away from the war on terror at a quickening pace. Two days after Obama talked to Anderson Cooper about his choice of words, Obama ordered charges dropped against the terrorist mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole.

In meeting with families of September 11 terrorist attacks and the 17 sailors killed in the terrorist bombing of the USS Cole, Obama made it clear that he was more concerned about the prosecution of terrorists than prosecution of the war on terror:

"The previous administration was very focused on the prosecution of the war on terror and keeping America safe from future attacks. The current administration is very focused on the prosecution of the detainees of the war on terror. The important thing for America is to find the right balance of both those approaches."

Then, even though Obama said he will send more troops to Afghanistan as he withdraws combat soldiers from the war in Iraq, today we learn Obama has put the brakes on more troops for Afghanistan. This step back comes even as military commanders continue to plead for more troops.

In his 2003 commentary, A Bloody March to Peace, Tony Blankley reminds us that the Islamafacists and terrorists continue wage war against us because they doubt our staying power:

They remember Vietnam, where we lost the will to fight.
They remember Beirut in 1983, where we turned tail and ran after they killed our Marines in their barracks.
They remember the first World Trade Center bombing in February 1993, when we turned to our lawyers instead of our soldiers.
They remember Mogadishu in October 1993, where we left our dead and skedaddled out of country.
They remember the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, where we ordered our ships to sea rather than our Marines to shore.

Obama's walking away from the war on terror will only encourage our enemies. It is the functional equivalent of appeasement. We are no more able to successfully appease the Islamafacist terrorists, than Chamberlain was able to successfully appease Hitler.

We are involved in a long struggle. We didn't choose this war, and we cannot back away from it. We cannot afford to be seen, or even be perceived, to falter in our determination to prevail. If we are, it will encourage our enemies and prolong the war.

Wild Thing's comment......

Excellent article.

Obama is sending a clear signal that he is NOT interested in PREVENTING attacks, and waging the war against terrorists "over there", instead of waiting until they come over here and murder us by the thousands or worse.

"The previous administration was very focused on the prosecution of the war on terror and keeping America safe from future attacks. The current administration is very focused on the prosecution of the detainees of the war on terror. "

His own words tell us of his agenda. And he is unilaterally surrendering us to the terrorists. VP Dick Cheney was exactly right when he warned Obama of terrorists attacks!

“When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry,” Cheney said.

"Protecting the country’s security is “a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business,” he said. “These are evil people. And we’re not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.”

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (12)

February 07, 2009

Protecting America in the New Missile Age

2 Minute Trailer - 33 Minutes - Protecting America in the New Missile Age

Early 2009, The Heritage Foundation will release a high-definition documentary that tells the story of the very real threat that hostile nations and rogue dictators now pose to every one of us. The truth is brutal: no matter where on the earth a missile is launched from, it would take 33 minutes or less to hit the U.S. target it was programmed to destroy. We must cause people to stop and face this horrible reality.

Aptly named, "33 Minutes: Protecting America in the New Missile Age", our documentary will be a key component in exposing our vulnerability to moms, dads and citizens across the country. The time has come to revive the strategic missile defense system that America uniquely can develop, maintain and employ for its own defense and the peace-loving world's security.

This is an awesome website done by The Heritage Foundation!!!

PLEASE CLICK LINK BELOW TO GO TO THE WEBSITE

Wild Thing's comment.........

They also have a site at YouoTube with more videos that are longer in length with more information. Excellent! I am very impressed with this.

Their YouTube Site

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (10)

February 05, 2009

War on Words

War on Words

Why Obama may be abandoning Bush's favorite phrase.

Newsweek ...for complete article

In another effort to undo the legacy of George W. Bush's presidency, the Obama administration is searching for alternatives to the term "war on terror."

In recent days, Obama's national-security officials have had brainstorming sessions to come up with different ways to describe the U.S. government's efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, according to administration sources who asked not to be identified talking about private discussions.

What's being sought is a more precise phrase that can recast the U.S. government's counterterrorism fight in ideological as well as military terms. Obama publicly signaled the new approach this week.

When asked about the "war on terror" phrase by CNN's Anderson Cooper, Obama said, "Well you know, I think it is very important for us to recognize that we have a battle or a war against some terrorist organizations … Words matter in this situation because one of the ways we're going to win this struggle is through the battle of hearts and minds."

Indeed, the "war on terror" was one of the signature phrases of the Bush presidency. It was formally declared in Bush's nationally televised speech to Congress on Sept. 20, 2001—his first after the 9/11 terror attacks—when the president cast the government's response in such sweeping terms that, according to critics, it ultimately opened the door for the invasion of Iraq. "Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them," Bush said then. "Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated."

Obama has shied away from the words "war on terror" since he took office. He has made references instead to the "enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism" and to an "ongoing struggle,"

"We're trying to come up with a phrase that better articulates a hopeful message," said one administration official involved in the discussions about terror terminology.

Wild Thing's comment.........

‘Surrender’ might be a useful term for Obama and his cult. Just like the Clinton Administration, these people are into marketing, not leading. “War on Terror” becomes “Dialoguing with Al Qaeda”

What a PUTZ ... these fools will kill thousands, perhaps tens of thousand or even millions of Americans.

OK here you go....... Destroy the goat-raping, child killing, rag-headed sand monkeys?? Will that pass the PC sniff test??

The reason that Marxist Obama is having high level meetings on what to call the War on Terror is that they need to make sure that Dubya and our troops gets little credit for the successes that were and will be so hard-won.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (5)

January 26, 2009

Two ex-Guantanamo Inmates Appear in Al-Qaeda Video

Two ex-Guantanamo inmates appear in Al-Qaeda video

WASHINGTON

(AFP)

Two men released from the US "war on terror" prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have appeared in a video posted on a jihadist website, the SITE monitoring service reported.

One of the two former inmates, a Saudi man identified as Abu Sufyan al-Azdi al-Shahri, or prisoner number 372, has been elevated to the senior ranks of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, a US counter-terrorism official told AFP.

Three other men appear in the video, including Abu al-Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi, identified as an Al-Qaeda field commander. SITE later said he was prisoner No. 333.

A Pentagon spokesman, Commander Jeffrey Gordon, on Saturday declined to confirm the SITE information.

"We remain concerned about ex-Guantanamo detainees who have re-affiliated with terrorist organizations after their departure," said Gordon.

"We will continue to work with the international community to mitigate the threat they pose," he said.

On the video, al-Shihri is seen sitting with three other men before a flag of the Islamic State of Iraq, the front for Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

"By Allah, imprisonment only increased our persistence in our principles for which we went out, did jihad for, and were imprisoned for," al-Shihri was quoted as saying.

Al-Shiri was transferred from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia in 2007, the US counter-terrorism official said.

The other men in the video are identified as Commander Abu Baseer al-Wahayshi and Abu Hureira Qasm al-Rimi (also known as Abu Hureira al-Sana'ani).

The Defense Department has said as many as 61 former Guantanamo detainees -- about 11 percent of 520 detainees transferred from the detention center and released -- are believed to have returned to the fight.

The latest case highlights the risk the new US administration faces as it moves to empty Guantanamo of its remaining 245 prisoners and close the controversial detention camp within a year.

Wild Thing's comment........

We show our weakness in releasing these enemy combatants and weakness begets more terrorist action. Obama’s election proves to the Islamist terrorists that America has no stomach for the fight and serves to increase theirs. That, historically, has been the record of radical Islam.

B.Hussein Obama is playing softball with these goons. These terrorists see humanitarian compassion as weakness, not morality or justice. The PC, appeasement policies of the leftist in the WH will make matters even worse.

I said once before on here, IF they have to lelt these subhumans go then before they do it put them to sleep and put tracker implants in every one of them. There ought to be a way to do it that would not look like anything was done to them so when they wake up from the forced sleep they have no clue what was done to them. The sleep could be induced by something in their food so even that would not raise suspicion.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (18)

January 22, 2009

Murtha Says He'd Take Guantanamo Prisoners in His District

..."On Sept. 11, 2001, Murtha represented Shanksville, Pa., where one of the four hijacked planes crashed."....

Murtha Says He'd Take Guantanamo Prisoners in His District

Rep. Jack Murtha volunteers to house prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in his Pennsylvania district, as President Obama prepares to order the shut-down of the facility.

Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Pa., says he'd be willing to house prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in his congressional district if President Obama makes good on a plan to close the U.S. prison there.

Murtha only has a minimum security prison in his district. But he says he'd have no reservations about holding detainees there in a maximum security prison.

"Sure, I'd take 'em," said Murtha, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. "They're no more dangerous in my district than in Guantanamo."

Murtha added that there was "no reason not to put 'em in prisons in the United States and handle them the way they would handle any other prisoners."

But that idea disturbs House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"Most communities around America don't want dangerous terrorists imported into their neighborhoods," Boehner said in a statement.

"The key question is where do you put these terrorists?" Boehner asked.

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, is introducing a bill that outlaws the release of a known terrorist into the U.S. Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said it would be appalling to close Guantanamo.

"If terrorists suddenly get the same rights as citizens, then we've turned the world upside down," Smith said. "We don't think there should be a limit to their detention as long as they are a clear and present danger."

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., had hoped the president would close Guantanamo Bay. But he said he didn't know how best to handle the prisoners.

"They're very unsavory," Skelton said. "I don't know where you put them."

However Skelton didn't object to them staying in U.S. prisons so long as they weren't housed together.

For his part, Murtha was encouraged by Obama's proposal.

"I have said for two years that we should close down Guantanamo. Close it down. It's a sore in the United States' moral standards. What they have done there has hurt us," he said.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Murtha represented Shanksville, Pa., where one of the four hijacked planes crashed.

Wild Thing's comment..........

Murtha belongs in a cell at Guantanamo. He is working on a special place in hell for the many things he has said and done.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:44 AM | Comments (11)

January 21, 2009

Obama Seeks Halt to Guantanamo Trials

Obama seeks halt to Guantanamo trials

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba

(Reuters)

Hours after taking office on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases.

Military judges were expected to rule on the request on Wednesday at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an official involved in the trials said.

The request would halt proceedings in 21 pending cases, including the death penalty case against five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 hijacked plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Prosecutors said in their written request that the halt was "in the interests of justice."

Human rights activists and military defense lawyers had urged him to halt the special tribunals that are formally known as military commissions and urged him to move the prosecutions into the regular U.S. courts for trial under long-established rules.

"In order to permit the newly inaugurated president and his administration time to review the military commission process, generally, and the cases currently pending before the military commissions, specifically, the secretary of defense has, by order of the president directed the chief prosecutor to seek continuances of 120 days in all pending case," prosecutor Clay Trivett said in the written request to the judges.

The request said freezing the trials until May 20 would give the new administration time to evaluate the cases and decide what forum best suits any future prosecution.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Hmmmm Day ONE, well this didn't take long.

This clown is going to do a whole lot of damage.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (5)

January 13, 2009

Prince Harry's Remarks No Big Deal

It begins as the Prince—about to embark on training as a combat helicopter pilot—joins other cadets gathering at an airport for their flight to Cyprus. He is behind the camcorder, panning around sleeping comrades waiting for their flight.

As he films one cadet lying on the departure lounge floor, he says:

“This is luxury. And here is our first example of possibly how to admin yourself (slang for looking after your kit and keeping yourself in good order) in the terminal awaiting the RAF.”

The camera pans over other snoozing soldiers, with Harry commenting “now that is bad admin, bad admin” before he suddenly stops and zooms in on the face of an unsuspecting Asian cadet yards away.

“Anybody else around here? . . . Ah, our little Paki friend . . . Ahmed,” he whispers.

After arriving in Cyprus, Harry is on exercise with his platoon when he makes his second offensive racist comment. Once again he is behind the camera, filming in the dark.

One of his comrades has put what appears to be some camouflage over his head and as he looks up at the lens Harry says: “It’s Dan the Man . . . F*** me, you look like a raghead. Look at me. Look at me . . . look away.”

The video— obtained by the News of the World— then shows the Prince on manoeuvres in Cyprus with his comrades. Harry plays on-screen reporter, turning the video on himself as he walks along. Then still a Sandhurst military cadet, he sarcastically mocks the exercise they have been given to do.

“It’s hot, very hot. Let me quickly show you the camp, let me show you the pointless tasks,” he says.

“Maybe not pointless tasks, we have been given by the real Company Sergeant Major, which apparently is all very much worthwhile towards our education in the field.” The camcorder is passed to another squaddie. A cadet then introduces Harry as “Mr Wales“ and says the prince is “going to attempt to deliver a set of deliberate night attack orders in 30 seconds”.

The camera focuses on the Prince as he sits pretending to finish a call to the Queen.

I’ve got to go, got to go. Send my love to the corgis. Send my love to the corgis and Grandpa” before making his “God Save You” insult.

Afterwards he pops a cigarette in his mouth before barking orders about an upcoming exercise, saying “we will be wearing smocks, body armour, helmet, and all the usual s**t”. After giving the orders the exercise descends into farce when the Prince, wielding an army knife, asks his men if there are any questions.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Nothing racist about what he said. A terrorist killer can and should be called anything you want. If there were more Harrys in the world Britain might still be the Great Britain that we used to know.

He seems to have a good personality and good at keeping morale high.

I think they are maknig way too much about this.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (16)

January 07, 2009

Marines Raise Flag on New U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

Marines Raise Flag on New U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

http://www.youtube.com/user/SuperMonkey819

U.S. Marines raised the American flag yesterday during the dedication ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker declared “a new era” for Iraq and the Iraqi-U.S. relationship.

U.S. Marines raise the American flag during the dedication ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Jan. 5, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Derren J. Mazza

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte and almost 1,000 invited guests looked on as the embassy’s Marine security detachment raised the red, white and blue over the largest U.S. Embassy in the world, with the Army’s 4th Infantry Division Band playing the U.S. national anthem.

The compound, set on 104 acres along the banks of the Tigris River in central Baghdad, includes 27 modern office, housing and support buildings in tones that blend with the desert landscape. Officials said the scale of the new complex reflects the importance of the U.S.-Iraqi bilateral relationship.

More than 1,200 U.S. diplomats, servicemembers and government officials and staff from 14 federal agencies will work and live on the compound, embassy officials said. Their tasks and missions run the gamut: supporting local elections, helping to fight corruption, helping develop Iraq’s energy and transportation sectors, strengthening the rule of law, providing security training and promoting educational and cultural exchange. In addition, 240 servicemembers assigned to Multinational Force Iraq are based at the embassy.

Construction of the compound began in 2005 and was completed in 2008 at a cost of $592 million, officials said.

Talabani called the new building a sign of how far the U.S.-Iraqi relationship has come.

“This building is not only a compound for the embassy, but a symbol of the deep friendship between the two peoples of Iraq and America,” he said.

Wild Thing's comment........

OORAH!

When I saw this, the very first thing that came into my mind was how hard our troops fought to get to Baghdad. I will never forget that as long as I live.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (12)

December 23, 2008

Merry Christmas,Allah Fubar! ~ Fort Dix Five Guilty of Conspiracy To Kill Soldiers

Fort Dix five guilty of conspiracy to kill soldiers

New Jersey news.com

Five Muslim immigrants from South Jersey were convicted today of plotting to kill American soldiers, a crime that prosecutors said demonstrated how Al Qaeda was using the Internet to recruit, train and incite supporters for attacks in the United States and around the world.

Jurors at federal district court in Camden deliberated into a sixth day before declaring the men guilty of conspiracy. The jurors, however, acquitted the men of an additional charge of attempted murder. Four of the five men were also convicted of related weapons counts.

Along with the verdict, the jurors sent U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler a note explaining the serious nature of their deliberations.

"The burden imposed on us has been heavy, but we are confident our verdict has been reached fairly and impartially," according to the jurors' note Kugler read aloud in court.

The Fort Dix five include brothers Eljvir, Dritan and Shain Duka, ethnic Albanians who worked at a family roofing business; Mohamad Shnewer, a Jordanian who drove a cab and worked at his family's market in Pennsauken, and Serdar Tatar, a native of Turkey who was an assistant manager at a Philadelphia 7-Eleven.

Each faces up to life in prison on the conspiracy charge. Under terrorism laws, prosecutors may seek an enhanced sentence of life without parole. Sentencing was set for April 22 and 23.

After the verdict, family members of the five men gave tearful addresses to the assembled media.

"This is not justice," said Faten Shnewer, mother of Mohamad Shnewer. "The only reason they put five kids in jail is because they are Muslim."

Faten Shnewer, mother of Mohamad Shnewer, tells reporters her son was set up.

Tatar's sister, Serpil, insisted her brother is innocent and had nothing to do with terrorism.

"He was crying for the people who died on Sept. 11," Serpil Tatar said.

The verdicts represented a victory for prosecutors and validation of tactics the FBI has increasingly used nationwide to detect and disrupt suspected terror organizations. They were arrested in May 2007, after a 15-month investigation that ended when two suspects tried to buy automatic weapons from an FBI informant.

During an eight-week trial that authorities said showcased homegrown terrorism in the United States, prosecutors argued the defendants, all foreign-born Muslim immigrants, conspired to kill U.S. military members at Fort Dix or another target and sought automatic weapons to carry out the strike.

Just the second major terrorism case in New Jersey since the 9/11 attacks, it mirrored investigations in cities from Detroit to Miami to Portland, where agents have used informants to infiltrate alleged terror plots and arrested suspects at the earliest stages of plotting an attack. In some cases, the tactics have spawned questions about if the suspects were truly capable or planning to strike.

The Fort Dix probe began in January 2006 when an electronics store clerk in South Jersey gave police a copy of a customer's videotape that showed the men firing rifles and shouting Islamic battle cries. FBI agents and two paid cooperators then spent 15 months shadowing the suspects, recording their conversations and examining their computers.

** The evidence indicated that the men gathered weekly at a Palmyra mosque and regularly watched and discussed Al Qaeda videos extolling jihads and depicting deadly attacks against U.S. forces. In January 2006 and February 2007, they rented a house in the Pocono Mountains, where investigators said they trained for an attack by riding horses, shooting weapons at a rifle range and playing war games with paintball.

Prosecutors conceded the men had not settled on a target or a timetable for their strike, but called them "radical Islamists" with a shared goal: a jihad to kill American troops. They played for jurors hidden videos of the lead defendant, Shnewer, traveling with an FBI informant to Fort Dix, Dover Air Force Base and other sites in August 2006.

"This is exactly what we are looking for," Shnewer told the informant, Mahmoud Omar, as they passed the Burlington County base, a staging point for troops headed to Iraq. "You hit four, five or six Humvees and light the whole place (up) and retreat completely without any losses."

In other conversations, Shnewer proposed commandeering a gasoline tanker for a suicide mission at a military installation or firing a rocket into the Philadelphia Naval Base around the time of the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia.

Agents enlisted a second informant to ingratiate himself with three other suspects, brothers Dritan, Shain and Eljvir Duka of Cherry Hill, like him ethnic Albanians who snuck in the country. They planted that informant at a Dunkin Donuts in Cinnaminson where the brothers gathered each Friday after mosque services.

Prosecutors said the fifth defendant, Serdar Tatar, whose father owned a pizzeria that delivered to Fort Dix, aided the plot by giving the informant a map of the base interior.

Defense attorneys insisted there was no conspiracy. They portrayed Shnewer, a Jordanian and the only naturalized U.S. citizen among the defendants, as a pathetic loner, encouraged and emboldened by an FBI informant who showered him with attention and advice like an older brother. They acknowledged Shnewer talked a lot and collected jihadist videos - particularly after meeting the informant -- but said he speaking without the knowledge or approval of the others.

They noted that none of the suspects besides Shnewer were recorded discussing plans or targets. At times, they expressed support for Muslim fighters overseas and contemplated joining them or sending money, but also seemed reluctant. "We just talk, we know," Shain Duka said during one recorded conversation.

And they pointed out that Tatar reported to Philadelphia police officer that Omar had been pressing him for a map.

Attorneys spent eight days of cross-examination trying to challenge the credibility and motives of the informants. They noted for jurors that Omar had a history of bank fraud and was paid nearly $240,000 for his work on the case, while the second informant, Besnik Bakalli, was wanted for a shooting in Albania and awaiting deportation when agents plucked him from a Pennsylvania jail.

But prosecutors said the attacks against the informants were desperate ploys to distract jurors from the core evidence: hours of recorded conversations in which the defendants spoke admiringly of Al Qaeda and Taliban forces, showed disdain for American troops and a desire to act.

Eljvir Duka declared he wanted to "train sniper" and wondered how far he would have to stand from the White House to shoot the president.

Tatar ultimately gave the informant the map, and then lied to agents about it. "I'm in, honestly, I'm in," he told the informant.

Dritan Duka, at 30 the oldest of the brothers and a father of five, told the informant in March 2007 they could "do a lot of damage" and that he was ready "to start something." When someone asked if he meant joining a jihad overseas, Duka replied: "No, I say here. Hit them here."

Two months later, he and his brother Shain were arrested attempting to buy four M-16 automatic rifles and three AK-47 semiautomatic weapons in a gun buy arranged by the FBI. The others were picked up that night.

In addition to the terror conspiracy, authorities indicted them on charges of illegal weapons possession. The Dukas are illegal immigrants; Tatar is a legal permanent resident.

Also arrested with them in May 2007 was a sixth suspect, an ethnic Albanian named Agron Abdullahu, whom authorities said provided guns but wasn't part of the terror conspiracy. Abdullahu pleaded guilty later that year to weapons charges and was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

The trial unfolded under heavy security. Officials closed car lanes around the Camden courthouse and visitors to the trial had to pass through two security stations. Inside the proceedings, as many as 10 deputy U.S. Marshals ringed the courtroom each day, and jurors spent each night of deliberations sequestered at a nearby hotel.

There are also several videos at the article website. They are not YouTube and so I can't use them on here as they don't show up correctly if I post them. But if you want to see them you can go HERE.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Whoa. I wasn't expecting good news on this. Now I would like for them to hang them. No quarter. No mercy.

Back when it happens I will never forget what Olbermann said about these terrorists, he called them morons. Talk about making light of people wanting to kill our soldiers!!!!!

Keith Olbermann Denounces Arrest of Fort Dix Terrorists

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (15)

December 19, 2008

Ears, Open, Eyeballs, Click Pt 1/10

I saw this video, it was a series apparently on TV. I never saw the whole thing. There are a total of 10 YouTube videos. I wanted to see about the person that posted these at YouTube so I clicked on the online name he used and found this in his bio. I thought you might like to see it as well as the Video above Part One called Ears,Open, Eyeballs, Click. ---- Wild Thing

His YouTube LINK for the rest of the videos 1-10 if you would like to see more of them.

"This is the profile of a future Marine Officer. You will see videos of the USMC and other Armed Forces of the United States. I usually post recent information of the Marine Corps. The videos I post are usually straight action clips of the Marines.

I enjoy watching videos of the U.S. Armed Forces, specifically the Marines. I work out, and try to be in to best physical shape for when I enter the USMC. I also love Anime, Japanese food, and watching TV. I honor all the men and women who fight for freedom, and give their lives for the United States. I WILL become a Marine Officer.

Below is the duty of the Marine Infantry Officer. This will be my MOS:

Infantry Officer: You'll learn the latest in modern fighting methods, from squad tactics to company operations. The mission of the Marine Corps depends heavily on the infantry. When you're needed, you're needed fast. It requires quick appraisal and fast action.

I'm currently in high school. I do what teens do. Hang out with friends, go to the movies, et cetera. I'm also in the school band and in JROTC."

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (5)

December 13, 2008

US Calls On Europe To Take Guantánamo Inmates

US calls on Europe to take Guantánamo inmates

Times Online Co.UK

America is putting increasing pressure on Britain and other European countries to take in dozens of Guantánamo detainees so that Barack Obama can close down the infamous prison camp.

The issue threatens to be an early test of relations with the President-elect, who has stated that shutting Guantánamo will be one of the top priorities for his incoming administration.

John Bellinger, the chief legal adviser to Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State, told The Times that the US had been seeking help from European allies in resettling detainees who were regarded as posing no threat to the West but could not be sent back to their own countries.

A senior State Department official confirmed that the response from Britain and most European Union members had been to refuse. Mr Bellinger said: “It is not helpful for countries to keep calling for the closure of Guantánamo while doing nothing to enable us to do it.”

More than a fifth of the 250 remaining Guantánamo inmates are Chinese, Libyan, Russian, Tunisian or Uzbek nationals who might face persecution or death if they are sent back home. Albania has taken in a handful of Uighurs, who are part of an Islamic separatist movement in a remote western region of China, and Portugal said this week that it was ready to provide a home for others. Luis Amado, the Foreign Minister, said: “The time has come for the European Union to step forward.”

A State Department official acknowledged that public hostility in Europe towards President Bush had been a significant barrier to making progress but suggested that Mr Obama may find it easier.

There have already been discussions between the State Department and Mr Obama’s transition team on closing Guantánamo and one figure who had been present at such talks said that the President-elect had been “getting ready to do some quite robust arm-twisting in European capitals”.

It is understood that Mr Obama’s plan to close Guantánamo would involve taking the most dangerous detainees – a group numbering between 30 and 80 men – from the prison camp in Cuba to the US mainland for trial, where they will finally receive legal rights.

This would involve creating a special terrorism court designed to handle highly sensitive intelligence material and protect the identity of CIA personnel. Some suspects may face lesser charges than those laid against them at Guantánamo’s military tribunals, because much of the evidence against them was gathered through techniques denounced by human rights groups as torture.

Wild Thing's comment......

I feel so much better now, we will be having guests. SHEESH!

Well so it looks like we get the worst of the lot here in America and the others will be sent if allowed to other countries. Maybe, only if those other countries say ok sure we would love to entertain some terrorists that you send us.

This whole thing is so stupid. We have a perfectly good place, GITMO, and it is all set up. But that is something that these twits don't want. Once again they want to mess with something that works and turn it in to a nightmare.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (12)

December 07, 2008

Pearl Harbor Remembrance December 7th, 1941

There are few truly defining moments in the history of a State - single episodes that touch every citizen, and cast a nation's future. Epoch-making events that influence the entire world are even more uncommon. The events that took place in the space of less than two hours on the morning of December 7, 1941 were of such defining importance.

December 7th, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

December 7, 1941

As the Japanese planes began the attack on Pearl Harbor at 7:53am, Captain Mitsuo Fuchida sent the now Famous Radio message "Tora Tora Tora" (Tiger Tiger Tiger) The signal meant that the Americans had been caught completely by surprise.

At the sound of the first bomb dropping it was thought by most Americans who heard it, to be an accident, a bomb dropped by one of their own aircraft.

When a dive-bomber blew up a hangar at the Ford Island Command centre, Commander Logan Ramsey realized that the island was under attack and he sent out the message "Air raid Pearl Harbor. This is no drill".

For the next 2 hours torpedoes from the midget subs slashed through the water hitting the hulls of the American Battleships, and bombs rained from the air attack.

Pearl Harbor was not the only attack carried out by the Japanese on the 7th of November 1941, attacks were also launched on Hong Kong, Guam, The Philippians, Wake Island, and the Japanese attacked Midway Island,in a day that was to become known in history as "The day of Infamy"

Curiously, the Japanese failed to attack the submarines, and of course, totally failed to address the aircraft carriers - all of which were at sea at the time. As Admiral Yamamoto so exquisitely put it "...I fear that all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant...! "

On the 8th of November President Roosevelt delivered the following message to congress.

A messman aboard the U.S.S. Arizona, Dorie Miller, had his first taste of combat at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, when he manned a machine gun and shot down four Japanese planes.

Born on a farm near Waco, Texas in 1919, Miller was the son of a sharecropper, and grew up to become star fullback on the Moore High School football team in his native city. At 19, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and was nearing the end of his first hitch at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack.

On the infamous morning of December 7th, 1941, Japanese bombers and fighters flew over Pearl Harbor and rained a hail of bombs and bullets on the slumbering U.S. Navel base there. Among the battle vessels sunk and reduced to helpless hulks was the U.S.S. Arizona, the ship on which messman Dorie Miller was routinely going about his duties collecting laundry when the ear-splitting sounds of battle sirens and exploding shells rent the air. Miller rushed up on deck, and instantly hauled his wounded Captain to safety.

Moments later he sprang into action behind an anti-aircraft gun he had never been trained to operate. Firing calmly and accurately, he shot down four zero fighter planes before the cry to abandon ship was heeded by all survivors.

On May 7th, 1942, messman Dorie Miller was cited for bravery by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet, who decorated him with the Navy Cross and in doing so acknowledged the nation’s debt to a man of “extraordinary courage”.

After returning from a trip back to Harlem, in New York City, where he drummed up support for the purchase of U.S. War Bonds, Miller yearned to get back into action. Remaining a messman during the hostilities while aboard the aircraft carrier Lescome Bay he was subsequently promoted to mess attendant Third Class. He was killed in action in the South Pacific in December of 1943, when his ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

Sailors on board the USS Hoel saw smoke and flame rise at least a thousand feet when the torpedo ripped into Liscome Bay and detonated her bomb magazine.

At 0533, Liscome Bay listed to starboard and sank (in 23 minutes), carrying Admiral Mullinnix, commander of the Air Support Group, Captain Wiltsie, 53 other officers, and 591 enlisted men down with her. 272 of her crew were rescued.

Miller was commended for “distinguished devotion to duty, extreme courage and disregard of his personal safety during the attack.”

USS Liscome Bay survivor, Robert "Bob" E. Haynes Montrose, CO Dec 2003

The American losses sustained at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, were staggering. The United States lost 160 planes to the attack, and five aircraft from USS Enterprise were shot down. Eighteen ships were sunk or damaged, including USS Arizona, the pride of the Pacific Fleet.

The dock and hangar facilities were so twisted and mangled that it took months to repair them. In terms of manpower lost, American casualties totaled 3,581. The effect on morale throughout the nation was devastating. The Japs lost 29 planes and 55 airmen. America's situation could have far worse at the end of 1941 if American aircraft carriers had been at Pearl Harbor. Thank God our carriers were at sea which some months later allowed for the incredible, daring Doolittle Raid on Japan's mainland, April 18th, 1942.

Just something personal I want to add. As I have mentioned before all the men in my family have served in the military, every branch has been represented. Also two of my Aunts were nurses during WW11.

One of my other Aunts and her husband ( he was a Col. in the USARMY) they were stationed in Hawaii at the time. Both of them have since passed away. When I was a little girl and the adults would be talking about how it was during the old days, and what it was like during WW11, she shared with us how during the attack she saw the Japanese planes flying low overhead, so low in fact that as she looked out her window in her kitchen she saw the face of the Japanese pilot looking right back at her. Something she said she would never forget.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (20)

November 29, 2008

TRAITOR Rep. John Murtha: Fund diplomacy, not AFRICOM

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., center, enjoys Thanksgiving dinner at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center with Navy Cmdr. Fred Lindsay, on Murtha's left, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Margaret Hill, on Murtha's right. Near the far end of the table is Landstuhl commander Army Col. Brian Lein. Also at the table were U.S. Army Europe commander Gen. Carter Ham and Europe Regional Medical Command commander Brig. Gen. Keith Gallagher.

Murtha: Fund diplomacy, not AFRICOM

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes

Mideast edition, Saturday, November 29, 2008

LANDSTUHL, Germany

More money should go to the U.S. State Department for U.S. efforts in Africa rather than to the military’s U.S. Africa Command, said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.

The chairman of the House of Representatives’ defense appropriations subcommittee made his comments Thursday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center after visiting wounded troops and having Thanksgiving dinner with top U.S. military leaders in Europe.

“They should use diplomacy in Africa rather than military,” Murtha said. “We can’t win these wars militarily. Nobody wants us over there. I think Liberia wants us. Nobody else."

“You can’t just throw money at it, and you can’t win it militarily. It has to be done diplomatically. So I’ve been trying to shift money and convince the people that make the decision on where the money goes that more money should go to the State Department for those kind of things.”

President Bush requested $389 million for AFRICOM for fiscal 2009. Earlier this year during the budgetary process, the subcommittee Murtha chairs recommended providing AFRICOM only $80.6 million in funding for fiscal 2009. In the end, AFRICOM’s budget was approved at $266 million.

Vince Crawley, a spokesman for AFRICOM, noted that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has already spoken about the need for the State Department to get a bigger share of the funding.

However, “It would be inappropriate for us to comment on what members of Congress are saying,” Crawley said Friday.

AFRICOM, which stood up Oct. 1 in Stuttgart, as a unified combatant command, brings all Defense Department programs on the continent under one umbrella.

Missions range from anti-terrorism programs in the Horn of Africa to maritime security initiatives and military-to-military training exercises in numerous countries.

In July, Refugees International released a report called U.S. Civil-Military Imbalance for Global Engagement: Lessons from the Operational Level in Africa, detailing policy and funding disparities between the Defense Department and the State Department. The report argues that the Pentagon controls an increasing share of foreign aid that used to be directed by civilian agencies and that priorities on the African continent do not reflect need.

Murtha, a retired Marine colonel, was at Landstuhl during a stopover on the way to Afghanistan “to find out what the problems are there.” Murtha is well-known for accusing Marines of “cold-blooded murder and war crimes” for the deaths of Iraqi civilians in 2005 in Haditha.

Four enlisted Marines were charged for their roles in the deaths, and four officers were charged in relation to the investigation. One officer was acquitted and charges have since been dropped against everyone else except a staff sergeant, who is suing Murtha for defamation, according to the Associated Press.

“Haditha’s an entirely different situation,” Murtha said. “I have the highest regard for the troops in the field, but in this case, these people didn’t die of a heart attack. They didn’t die of natural causes. (The Marines) used excessive force, obviously. And I point out to the troops: Look, in a guerrilla war you can’t just go in and knock down doors. We’ve changed that completely.”

While Murtha agrees with President-elect Barack Obama’s plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq over the next 16 months, he is “very nervous” about a troop surge in Afghanistan.

Obama has said he would send two or three more brigades to Afghanistan in 2009. Last week, Gates said he supported a troop buildup in Afghanistan that’s been estimated at more than 20,000 American troops over the next 12 to 18 months, according to the Washington Post.

“I’ve warned the Obama people, and I’ve also warned my leadership on the Democrat side in the House,” Murtha said. “Let’s not be pushing ourselves into Afghanistan. Let’s see what the plan is. What is the plan? How are we going to solve this problem now? … I’m going to come back and report to them what I think should be done.”

Wild Thing's comment.......

Murtha is a POS and he thinks he is all three branches of the government.

“Haditha’s an entirely different situation,” Murtha said. “I have the highest regard for the troops in the field, but in this case, these people didn’t die of a heart attack. They didn’t die of natural causes. (The Marines) used excessive force, obviously."

I want to say he's unbelievable but at this point nothing the senile old fool says surprises me. Seven out of eight Haditha Marines have been exonerated by IO's or a courts-martial panel but that doesn't seem to be good enough for Murtha.

"I’m going to come back and report to them what I think should be done.”

We have a very competent SECDEF and military commanders!

I defy him to get on the www.africom.mil website and say his stupidity there so as to allow General Ward the opportunity to have dialog with him that will be on the record. Murtha wont...he’s too busy with accusing his own constituency of being idiots and his total LIES about Marines being murderers.

Example of Rep. Murtha's blatant disregard for House rules:

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (13)

November 22, 2008

Victory In Iraq Day Celebration

A special thank you to all our military for your many sacrifices you have made and continue to make. You are all in our thoughts and prayers every day.
This is just a small tribute and thank you to all of you as we look at some of the past images of Operation Iraqi Freedom and celebrate Victory In Iraq Day because of YOU! The following images are all things I have saved along the say over the years of Operation Iraqi Freedom. You can also note the dates on many of the write ups as well. -- Wild Thing and all of Team Theodore

Sending in the REAL Inspectors

Baghdad or Bust

Remember Baghdad Bob? LMAO

The troops who drove full speed straight to the heart of the matter in one of the most amazing combat movements in history. Rock of the Marne. 3rd ID

3rd Infantry Division advance into southern Iraq

On March 19, 2003, President Bush announced orders to begin the operation to free the Iraqi people from the tyrannical ruler, Saddam Hussein. The next day elements of the 3rd ID (Mechanized) moved to the Iraqi border. By April 3, the 3rd Infantry Division entered Saddam International Airport and by the next day it was renamed the Baghdad International Airport. On April 5, the 3rd ID stunned the world with television images of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles storming the streets of Baghdad in a probing action known as the first of two "Thunder Runs." The second Thunder Run moved the 2nd Brigade Combat Team into the government center of Baghdad. A decision to stay inside the city created a need for fuel and supplies. Division logistic personnel mounted an effort to resupply the 2nd BCT in the hostile streets of Baghdad as they held the foothold on the banks of the Tigris River, reminiscent of the Division's historic stand at the Marne River during World War I. As the 3rd ID expanded and tightened control of Baghdad and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit choked off Iraqi resistance on the east side of the city, Iraqi resistance crumbled. The division returned to Ft. Stewart in August 2003 and by 2004 was selected as the first division in the Army to be organized under the new modular system. In January 2005, the division returned to Iraq and led U.S. and coalition forces in Baghdad. The 1st and 3rd Brigades of the division supported the 42nd Division in Northern Iraq. The hard work created conditions for a secure Iraqi election and transfer of power to the first democratically elected national government in Iraq. The Division served with its coalition partners during Operation Iraqi Freedom III for a year before returning to Georgia in January 2006.

F-15E Strike Eagle carrying some serious ordinance

March21, 2003
A U.S. marine standing on his military vehicule drives past a portrait of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Safwan, southern Iraq, Friday, March 21, 2003. Allied troops were advancing through the deserts of southern Iraq Friday after launching the war's ground assault, meeting resistance from Iraqi forces in some areas and soldiers surrendering in others.

Marine heroes crossing the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

A Marine of the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Fox Company 'Raiders' removes a portrait of Iraqi's President Saddam Hussein at the entrance to Iraq's main port of Umm Qasr on March 21, 2003. US and British ground forces launched assaults into Iraq in a bid to topple Saddam Hussein.

A Marine of the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Fox Company 'Raiders' replaces the Iraqi flag at the entrance to Iraq's main port of Umm Qasr on March 21, 2003 with the Stars and Stripes and the flag of the Marine Corps. U.S. Marines briefly raised the Stars and Stripes flag over the new port area of Umm Qasr on Friday after facing tougher than expected resistance in and around the southern Iraq port. Some time later, Marines returned and removed the Stars and Stripes. No reason was given for the decision, but Washington has consistently stressed that invading U.S. forces want toliberate Iraq, not occupy it.

Heroes101stAirborneDivision

A U.S. B-52 bomber named Iron Butterfly taxis to the runway before take-off from Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford in Gloucestershire, March 21, 2003. The bombers took off from western England

To Baghdad

Polish special forces and U.S. Navy Seals pose for pictures under a portrait of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the port of Umm-Qasr in southern Iraq after arriving to hand over to U.S. control some captured Iraqis on March 23, 2003. Some U.S. soldiers are missing in the fighting in Iraq and possibly being held as prisoners, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan

In Karbala, mail call, with a hero on break enjoying perfumed personal mail

This has awesome photography of our troops fighting the terrorists!
It is called " Bombs Over Baghdad! "

United States Marines CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters land at a forward area refueling point in southern Iraq to fill up their tanks before continuing missions Friday, March 28, 2003. After several days of suspended dust and sandstorms which halted most helicopter missions, clear skies on Friday allowed the aircrafts to return to the skies. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Marine in sand storm

Marines sleeping in mud

1stLt Alison, Capts Heather and Waynetta, and Senior Airman Lyndi

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (10)

November 21, 2008

Judge Orders Release of 5 Terror Suspects at Gitmo

Judge orders release of 5 terror suspects at Gitmo

SFGate

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release of five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the continued detention of a sixth in a major blow to the Bush administration's strategy to keep terror suspects locked up without charges.

In the first case of its kind, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon said the government's evidence linking the five Algerians to al-Qaida was not credible as it came from a single, unidentified source. Therefore, he said, the five could not be held indefinitely as enemy combatants, and should be released immediately.

"To allow enemy combatancy to rest on so thin a reed would be inconsistent with this court's obligation," Leon told the crowded courtroom.

As a result, he said, "the court must and will grant their petitions and order their release."

As for the sixth Algerian, Belkacem Bensayah, Leon said there was enough reason to believe he was close to an al-Qaida operative and had sought to help others travel to Afghanistan to join the terrorists' fight against the United States and its allies.

Leon also urged senior Justice Department leaders and high-level officials at other government agencies involved in the case not to appeal his ruling. The Justice Department said later Thursday it had not decided whether it would.

Leon said the five Algerians already have been improperly held for seven years and deserve to go home. He said an appeal could delay their release for up to another two years.

"This is a unique case," Leon said, trying to assuage any Justice Department fears that hundreds of other detainees also could be released based on his ruling. "Few if any others will be factually like it. Nobody should be lulled into a false sense that all of the ... cases will look like this one."

One of the men to be released is Lakhdar Boumediene, whose landmark Supreme Court case last summer gave the Guantanamo detainees the right to challenge their imprisonment.

The Algerians' attorneys said they would appeal Bensayah's detention but hugged each other and colleagues in congratulations after Leon's ruling.

"It's a relief," said attorney Robert C. Kirsch.

The Bosnian government already has agreed to take back the detainees, all of whom immigrated there from Algeria before they were captured in 2001.

Justice spokesman Peter Carr said the department is pleased Bensayah will remain at Guantanamo but "we are of course disappointed by, and disagree with, the court's decision that we did not carry our burden of proof with respect to the other detainees."

Leon was appointed by President George W. Bush and has been sympathetic to the argument that the president has broad authority during wartime. In 2005, Leon ruled that this same group of detainees had no right to challenge their detention in civilian courts.

Thursday's ruling is the first since the Supreme Court cleared the way last June for civilian courts to hear challenges by terror suspects being held indefinitely without charges.

It largely hinged on Leon's definition of an enemy combatant, which he said included al-Qaida or Taliban supporters who directly assisted in hostile acts against the U.S. or its allies.

Much of the evidence against the Algerians is classified and could not be discussed during the two open court hearings in the seven-day trial — or even with the detainees themselves.

The detainees listened to Thursday's ruling through a translated telephone conference call, but could not be heard during the nearly one-hour hearing.

The government initially detained Boumediene and the other Algerians on suspicion of plotting to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo in October 2001. They were transferred to Guantanamo in January 2002.

The Justice Department last month backed off the embassy bombing accusations, but said the six men were caught and detained before they could join terrorists' global jihad. The Justice Department said it needed to be proactive against threats, especially in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

The detainee's lawyers denied the men ever planned to join the battlefield. Even if they had, the lawyers argued, they did not fit Leon's definition of an enemy combatant because they never joined the terrorist fighters.

The cases of more than 200 additional Guantanamo detainees are still pending, many in front of other judges in Washington's federal courthouse.

Wild Thing's comment........

Kill the enemy before lawyers can get involved. It is the only way to be sure!! When they release them our military could always release them from a C-130 at 8,000 feet.

Well what we have here are 5 new candidates for Obama's ccabinet.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (7)

November 20, 2008

Victory In Iraq Day! Declared To Be November 22, 2008

Zombie Time is promoting Saturday, November 22, 2008 as "Victory in Iraq Day!"

Zombie Time

We won. The Iraq War is over.

I declare November 22, 2008 to be "Victory in Iraq Day." (Hereafter known as "VI Day.")

By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country, deposed the previous regime, successfully helped to establish a new functioning democratic government, and suppressed any lingering insurgencies. The war has come to an end. And we won.

What more indication do you need? An announcement from the outgoing Bush administration? It's not gonna happen. An announcement from the incoming Obama administration? That's really not gonna happen. A declaration of victory by the media? Please. Don't make me laugh. A concession of surrender by what few remaining insurgents remain in hiding? Forget about it.

The moment has come to acknowledge the obvious. To overtly declare a fact that has already been true for quite some time now.

And since there will never be a ticker-tape parade down Fifth Avenue in New York for our troops, it's up to us, the people, to arrange a virtual ticker-tape parade. An online victory celebration.

Saturday, November 22, 2008 is the day of that celebration: Victory in Iraq Day.

Some Quotes:

"THE WAR IS OVER AND WE WON:" Michael Yon just phoned from Baghdad, and reports that things are much better than he had expected, and he had expected things to be good. "There's nothing going on. I'm with the 10th Mountain Division, and about half of the guys I'm with haven't fired their weapons on this tour and they've been here eight months. And the place we're at, South Baghdad, used to be one of the worst places in Iraq. And now there's nothing going on. I've been walking my feet off and haven't seen anything."

On the political front in Iraq, victory has broken out as well. On Sunday, November 16, Iraq's cabinet approved a security agreement with the U.S. which top analysts and pundits are saying is the closest we'll ever get to a bureaucratic declaration of victory and of the war's end. Hugh Hewitt, for example, says:

"The Battle For Iraq Has Been Won. Will The President-elect Preserve The Victory? Yesterday's vote by the Iraqi cabinet to approve a status of forces agreement confirms what most reasonable people had concluded this summer --that the battle for Iraq is over and the country is stable and secure even though its enemies remain in small enclaves within the country and across the border in Iran. It has taken five years and come at a high cost in American lives lost and in thousands of wounded soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. It is, however, a crucial victory in the war against Islamist extremism and for stability in the Middle East. "

Who gets to decide when it's over?

Indeed, everywhere you look, someone has highlighted yet another detail which, cumulatively, demonstrate that "peace has broken out all over" Iraq.

Each person has their own criteria as to when the war was won: Some say we won the war long ago when we defeated the Iraqi Army in three weeks. Some say we won when the Iraqi government tried and executed Saddam Hussein. Some say we won when Iraqis voted democratically to elect their own leaders. Some say we won when we established control over the entirety of the country last year, eliminating the last remaining insurgent strongholds. Some say we won six months ago when the last remaining organized resistance evaporated.

On the other hand, there are those who are saying (in response to this essay) that we have not reached that magical benchmark. The Iraqi parliament may have passed the security agreement solidifying Iraq's post-war stability, but some people say we should wait until the U.S. Senate approves it before we declare victory. Others say that the war won't be won until casualty levels literally drop to zero. Other say we haven't won until all troops are gone from the country. Others wait in vain for an official announcement.

There is no consensus. And there never will be. Still, the cut-off point between "war" and "not war" has to be drawn somewhere, and if we don't draw the line ourselves, I guarantee it will NEVER be drawn. Because the Left and the media want to make sure that even ten years from now, when perhaps one US soldier is killed per year in an otherwise completely stable Iraq, that still won't qualify as "victory." Because their overarching goal is to to make sure that the war goes down in history as a defeat, no matter what.

My opinion is: This is as good a time to declare victory as we're ever going to get. All signs point to "Yes." If you don't agree, that's perfectly fine, you can ignore this essay. But if you think this is long overdue, then climb on board.

If we won, why are there troops still in Iraq?

Does our victory mean that I advocate the immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq? No. Wars may be won but postwar occupations generally don't end crisply and cleanly like that. Troops often stay around to rebuild or to maintain the peace for years, even decades. Hell, the United States still has several military bases and many troops "occupying" Japan and Germany who have been there continuously since the end of World War II in 1945. We have two major Air Bases in Korea leftover from the Korean War. The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba is a remnant of the Spanish-American War and has been there for over a century; the U.S. military also "occupied" the Philippines at Subic Bay for nearly a hundred years as a result of the Spanish-American War. More recently we continue to have a presence in Bosnia at Tuzla Air Base as a consequence of our role in the Bosnian War of the 1990s. What all this means is that it is standard practice in the aftermath of nearly every overseas war in which the U.S. participates for us to keep some troops there on a permanent or semi-permanent basis.

If the Iraq War is over, why do we still occasionally hear reports of violence or casualties?

A common misperception of warfare is that when a war is "won," all fighting immediately stops, and that all members of the losing side passively lay down their arms and surrender. While that does happen on occasion, much more frequently the fighting continues as a low-level guerrilla war or insurgency for years afterwards by the diminishing die-hard loyalists of the losing side. Even wars with crushing conclusive victories and official declarations of surrender saw continued fighting long after those wars were officially "over." After World War II, which was won as conclusively as any war was ever won, some Germans refused to acknowledge defeat and continued to operate as guerrilla assassins and saboteurs.

But where's the official announcement?

The only reason that the war has not been declared "over" is that the media, which was generally opposed to the war and opposed to any of President Bush's policies, doesn't want to give him and his supporters the satisfaction of having been right. The media wants U.S. troops to return home, but only on condition that they do so with their tails between their legs in defeat -- not as victorious liberators, which would invalidate five years of subtle and not-so-subtle anti-war propaganda on the part of the left-leaning media.

The Bush administration for its part has not declared victory for two probable reasons: first, because they fear that by so doing they would only increase the call by the media and liberal Democrats to "bring the troops home now"; and also by so doing they might invite some last-ditch spectacular terror attack by the few remaining jihadists in order to embarrass the administration. And the incoming Obama administration will certainly never announce victory, since Obama spent over a year campaigning for the Democratic primary as the anti-war candidate. So both sides refuse to say the war is over. Even though it is, in fact, over.

It is up to the American people to declare victory. Which is exactly what we are doing right now.

There never will be an "official" announcement from the government or the media, so you can stop waiting for it.

This is the official announcement.

Join the VI Day movement!

Zombie Time website has all the information and logos as well.

Do you agree with the concept behind VI Day? Then post a VI Day entry on your blog.

Once you've posted it, email Zombie Time the link! And I will post a link back to your blog here on this page.

Make sure to make at least two different postings: Make one now to announce your support of VI Day and to spread the word ahead of time; and make another one on November 22 itself, to celebrate!

Wild Thing's comment......

I love this and I agree, it is time. Our troops are awesome and the changes in Iraq have been so obvious to all of us that have been paying attention., to all of you that come to this blog and are Team Theodore.
We have watched how they have rebuilt so many things in Iraq, how schools that never existed are open and running smoothly, how water is running in places it never was available before to citizens that had to travel many miles to even get a their water. The list goes on and on the things our military has accompolished in Iraq.

The media of course would get a full body rash if they had to tell about our troops in a positive way. And in the end they will get no credit for having any support for the support of our troops, NEVER EVER!

God bless our warriors and a big thank you to each person that has served and continues to serve.

Here is a little story I want to share with you, something our troops have made possiible for the Iraqi people.

It is from CAMP VICTORY, Iraq

They walked in the fields of Iraq, talked to its farmers and people, learned their stories, their struggles, their hope.

Team Borlaug, the agricultural assessment team from Texas A&M University, visited the farmlands of southern Iraq for six months; now, members can look back at their accomplishments.

Blaze Currie, of Wellman, Texas, the team’s youth program development expert, talked about a farmer in Karbala province who had a plot of land behind his house set aside for farming.

“He said he couldn’t plant it this year, but he would next year,” Currie said of the farmer. “And our simple question that we asked a lot of times was, ‘Why didn’t you plant it last year?’ His answer was, ‘Well, I had to flood it first to get rid of all the mines.’ … That, to me, symbolizes the concept of agriculture in this nation to develop economic stability.”

Currie and the other members of Team Borlaug could talk for hours about these experiences. The team had up to 14 members, and their mission for the past six months was to work with coalition forces and Iraqi farmers.

Agriculture makes up nearly 75 percent of Iraq’s economy.

Of course, Iraq isn’t just 7,000 miles from Team Borlaug’s home in Texas , war-torn and hot 132 degrees. It’s also a military battle space but less then every before. The team adjusted to new lingo and worked with Soldiers who had trained for war but have been a large source to the people of Iraq in their agricultural and economic struggles.

A wonderful soldier, he is an artillery sergeant who made tea for local sheikhs invited on base as guests.

“He was a big, buffed up dude that I mean, was just pretty rugged … and this big old dude that was stocky and looked like he could manhandle about anybody … [was] leaning over making chai. And I said, ‘Why are you making chai?’ And he had the funniest look and he said, ‘Well, why wouldn’t I? They make chai for us, don’t they? … This is as commonplace as putting ammo in my clip. I gotta’ make chai whenever they come.’

“I’ll never forget that,” Currie said. “That was the epitome of something I didn’t expect a Soldier to be doing – a great service to be doing in Iraq – but they were doing it.”

Team Borlaug gives credit for their success to Soldiers like this one, and to those who escorted them throughout Iraq while they conducted their assessment. When talking about what they learned, they will share their memories; but when talking about their accomplishments, they will point back to civil affair teams, PRTs and coalition forces dedicated to improving this country. Above all, they point to the Iraqi people.

“I learned the people of Iraq want the same thing for themselves and their families that we want for ours. They want peace. They want freedom. They want hope,” Briers said.

....Thank you Les for telling me about this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (5)

August 12, 2008

Bush Tells Moscow To Leave Georgia ~ Followed By Russia Response

Bush tells Moscow to leave Georgia

The Australian

Bush has warned Russia to reverse course in Georgia, saying Moscow's military strike there had damaged its world standing and endangered ties with the United States and Europe.

“Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people,” Mr Bush said at the White House today.

“Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.”

He said the Georgian Government already had accepted outlines of a peace agreement that the Russian Government previously suggested it would accept.

Its terms include “an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of forces from the conflict zone, a return to the military status quo as of August 6, and a commitment to refrain from the use of force,” Mr Bush said.

He noted that European leaders and officials were pressing for Russia's agreement to the peace plan.

“Russia's Government must respect Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Mr Bush said. “Russia's government must reverse the course that it appears to be on as a first step toward resolving this conflict.”

“Russia's actions this week have raised serious questions about its intentions in Georgia and the region.”

Mr Bush's comments came just after the UN Security Council began fresh talks on draft text calling for an immediate truce in the Russia-Georgia conflict, agreed by US and European diplomats after several days of discord.

Few details were immediately available about the draft UN resolution, but the proposed text was based on a three-point peace plan that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is trying to sell to Tbilisi and Moscow.

The French blueprint called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities; full respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia” and “the re-establishment of the situation that existed before” Georgia sent forces into its breakaway South Ossetia enclave last week to wrest control from Moscow-backed separatists.

Earlier a diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported “good progress” after the expert-level meeting at France's UN mission and said the participants were consulting with their capitals on the next step.

The diplomat said the US side wanted tougher language condemning what Washington saw as Moscow's “disproportionate” response to the Georgian offensive.

But the Europeans were much more interested in crafting a text that would enjoy broad support, particularly from Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member of the council, he added.

“This is going to take some time, except if you want a Russian veto, which is not the solution,” the diplomat said.

Meanwhile, as Russian forces punched deeper into Georgian territory to crush any resistance to their withering assault, Mr Kouchner discussed his peace plan with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili before heading to Moscow.

The two visited the Georgian city of Gori, close to South Ossetia, and were forced to take cover when an unidentified helicopter flew overhead.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was also to visit Moscow and Tbilisi tomorrow, according to Mr Saakashvili.

Despite the flurry of international diplomacy to head off a wider conflict, Russia maintained an uncompromising stance, with its ambassador to NATO saying Moscow could not deal with Mr Saakashvili, a man it now views as a war criminal.

“Saakashvili is no longer a man that we can deal with,” Dmitry Rogozin said in Brussels.

“He must be punished for breaching international law. He is responsible for many war crimes (against South Ossetian civilians and Russian peacekeepers).”

And Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov dismissed the peace initiative, saying it did not amount to a ceasefire.

A “ceasefire agreement is signed by two sides when they meet,” he told CNN, adding first “we need a written agreement between Georgia on one side, South Ossetia and Abkhazia .. that they will never use force in the future.”

GEORGIAN Soldiers

Russia set to reject French peace plan

The Australian

INTERNATIONAL efforts to mediate an end to the conflict between Georgia and Russia were set to intensify today, but Moscow signalled it opposes a peace plan calling for an immediate truce.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, was due in Moscow to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on a plan to end the conflict.

But Russia's ambassador to the UN yesterday rejected the proposed Western draft resolution in the Security Council based on a three-point French peace plan.

"I cannot see us accepting this French draft,'' Vitaly Churkin told reporters, referring to a French-drafted text agreed by Western ambassadors.

The plan, which Tbilisi has accepted, calls for an immediate truce, respect for Georgia's territorial integrity and a return to the status quo that prevailed before Georgian troops punched into South Ossetia last week to wrest control from Moscow-backed separatists.

Churkin objected to the fact that the draft resolution did not refer to "Georgian aggression and to the atrocities we have seen''.

Moscow has accused Georgian forces of killing 2,000 civilians as well as Russian peacekeepers in what it described as war crimes.

Churkin however expressed hope that an acceptable draft would eventually be worked out and listed two Russian conditions: Georgian forces must pull out of South Ossetia and "the Georgians (must) agree to sign agreements on the non-use of force with the Ossetians and with the Abkhazians.''

Earlier yesterday Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov dismissed the EU efforts.

Wild Thing's comment........

Putin's a two-bit thug.

"...We no longer know the limits of the invading Russian army—Russia seems intent on overthrowing the democratically elected government of Georgia and occupying the country," said Alexander Lomaia, the Secretary of the National Security Council. "As a consequence, the National Security Council has just decided to bring the Georgian army to Tbilisi in order to defend the capital and prevent the fall of Georgia.." --- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

LINK for quote

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (10)

Putins Push

Putin Makes His Move

Washington Post ...for complete article

The man who once called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century" has reestablished a virtual czarist rule in Russia and is trying to restore the country to its once-dominant role in Eurasia and the world. Armed with wealth from oil and gas; holding a near-monopoly over the energy supply to Europe; with a million soldiers, thousands of nuclear warheads and the world's third-largest military budget, Vladimir Putin believes that now is the time to make his move.....

His war against Georgia is part of this grand strategy. Putin cares no more about a few thousand South Ossetians than he does about Kosovo's Serbs. Claims of pan-Slavic sympathy are pretexts designed to fan Russian great-power nationalism at home and to expand Russia's power abroad.

Unfortunately, such tactics always seem to work. While Russian bombers attack Georgian ports and bases, Europeans and Americans, including very senior officials in the Bush administration, blame the West for pushing Russia too hard on too many issues.

It is true that many Russians were humiliated by the way the Cold War ended, and Putin has persuaded many to blame Boris Yeltsin and Russian democrats for this surrender to the West. The mood is reminiscent of Germany after World War I, when Germans complained about the "shameful Versailles diktat" imposed on a prostrate Germany by the victorious powers and about the corrupt politicians who stabbed the nation in the back. ...

Now, as then... they are being manipulated to justify autocracy at home and to convince Western powers that accommodation -- or to use the once-respectable term, appeasement -- is the best policy.

But the reality is that on most of these issues it is Russia, not the West or little Georgia, that is doing the pushing.

Wild Thing's comment.............

"Europeans and Americans, including very senior officials in the Bush administration, blame the West for pushing Russia too hard on too many issues."

This is BS! The Russians are to blame for their own actions and no one else. I am tired of our country being blamed for things we did not start.

Russia is not just standing by doing nothing, they are ACTIVELY trying to thwart us, causing the deaths of our troops, and HELPING Iran get the bomb.

And with Putin, they have drifted massively backwards to becoming almost what they were before.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (8)

August 11, 2008

Bush, Cheney, McCain and Obama Comments On Russia-Georgia War

President Bush and VP Cheney

http://worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2538&Itemid=2

BEIJING

President Bush has sharply criticized Moscow's harsh military crackdown in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, saying the violence is unacceptable and Russia's response is disproportionate.

Bush, in an interview with NBC, said:

"I've expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn the bombing outside of South Ossetia."

Earlier, Vice President Dick Cheney said that:

"Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States."

John McCain and Barack Hussein Obama

Moscow Times

McCain, an outspoken critic of Moscow, said it was clear that the situation in Georgia was dire.

"Today, news reports indicate that Russian military forces crossed an internationally-recognized border into the sovereign territory of Georgia. Russia should immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory. What is most critical now is to avoid further confrontation between Russian and Georgian military forces. The consequences for Euro-Atlantic stability and security are grave. Tensions and hostilities between Georgians and Ossetians are in no way justification for Russian troops crossing an internationally recognized border," he said.

Obama:

His first comment UNTIL he heard what McCain's reaction was..............

“I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict. Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war. Georgia’s territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis.”

Here is how Obama reacted when he heard that Russian troops were attacking targets in Georgia:

Then AFTER Obama checked out McCain's take Obama made another comment to try and sound more like a man I suppose.

“I condemn Russia’s aggressive actions and reiterate my call for an immediate ceasefire… Russia must stop its bombing campaign, cease flights of Russian aircraft in Georgian airspace, and withdraw its ground forces from Georgia.”

Wild Thing's comment..........

Just a thought, maybe Cheney can invite Putin to a quail hunt. heh heh Hint hint to Cheney.

And as for Obama....LMAO good grief! The empty-suited marxist, ignorant as always, gave Russia the benefit of doubt, as fellow travelers always do. Until one of his empty suit handlers told him something else to say.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:50 AM | Comments (15)

August 10, 2008

Georgian and Russian War News

Report: Russian Navy blockades Georgia

MOSCOW (AP)

A news agency says the Russian navy has deployed ships to blockade Georgia's Black Sea coast.

The Interfax news agency says the Moskva missile cruiser and other Russian Black Sea Fleet ships have been deployed to Georgia's coast to prevent any weapons supplies.

A Russian navy spokesman refused to comment on the report Sunday.

Unclear Whether Georgian Olympic Team Will Stay in Beijing

Russia daily online

The Georgian Olympic team will not participate in the 29th Summer Olympics and is leaving Beijing. Georgian media report that the athletes made that decision after a meeting with Sandra Roelofs, wife of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Beijing. The official reason for the decision is that the athletes want to be with their families during this difficult time for their country.

Saakashvili had stated previously that the Georgian athletes plan to stage a protest against Russian actions in South Ossetia, even though, under the rules of the International Olympic Committee, they could be disqualified for doing so. Georgian and Russian athletes were scheduled to face each other for the first time on August 13, during the women’s beach volleyball match.

No UN deal over Georgia

Reuters and video at link

U.N. Security Council fails to reach an agreement aimed at halting the bloodshed in Georgia.

The head of Europe's main security group says the region is on the brink of a full-scale war.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Russia is not going to stop with just South Ossetia... they want all of Georgia.

Georgian troops have been combating Islamic terrorism in Iraq, while previously Putin attempted to block any and all meaningful military action against Saddam, plus Moscow continues 'assisting' Iran's nuclear weapons quest against the West, and arming all of our and Israel's worst enemies.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (16)

August 09, 2008

U.S. Tells Russia To Pull Forces Out Of Georgia

Richard Holbruck discusses this on CNN

**** Just a correction I have to make. They announced last night that Bush and Putin DID talk before the Opening events at the Olympics. So perhaps this man did not know that before this video interview was done. --Wild Thing

U.S. tells Russia to pull forces out of Georgia

WASHINGTON (Reuters)

The United States told Russia on Friday to withdraw its forces from U.S. ally Georgia and stop its air attacks on the tiny Caucasus state following fighting in the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

"We call on Russia to cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia's territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement.

Rice issued her statement as Georgia, a former Soviet state that now wants to join NATO, said it would declare martial law and battled to get control of the rebel enclave, which was fortified by Russian forces.

Georgia said Russian fighter jets bombed container tankers and a shipbuilding plant in the port of Poti, prompting Washington's sharpest rebuke of Russia since the crisis began.

"We deplore the Russian military action in Georgia, which is a violation of Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity," U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters at a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York.

The State Department summoned the Charge d'Affaires at Russia's Embassy in Washington, Aleksander Darchiyev, to see Rice's deputy John Negroponte, who pressed Moscow to stop its military activities in Georgia.

"The deputy secretary said that we deplore today's Russian attacks by strategic bombers and missiles, which are threatening civilian lives," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood of Negroponte's meeting with the Russian diplomat.

"These attacks mark a dangerous and disproportionate escalation of tension," he added.

Both Rice and the White House urged an immediate cease-fire in South Ossetia, and U.S. officials said they would send an envoy to the region to help mediate.

As fighting raged in and around the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Russia and Georgia were at war.

Rice said the United States was working with its European partners to launch international mediation, and "we urgently seek Russia's support of these efforts."

American military planners reviewed contingency plans for the possible evacuation of up to 3,000 U.S. citizens from Georgia, including about 130 defense personnel there to train Georgian military forces for duty in Iraq.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Russians will ignore America's wishes is my guess.

“Early Saturday, Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the Vaziani military base on the outskirts of the Georgian capital was bombed by warplanes during the night and that bombs fell in the area of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. He also said two other Georgian military bases were hit and that warplanes bombed the Black Sea port city of Poti, which has a sizable oil shipment facility.

Utiashvili said there apparently were significant casualties and damage in the attacks, but that further details would not be known until the morning.”

Also, another site reported that 1200 US special ops forces were present at the Vaizani base for training exercises with Georgias forces...they arrived on TUESDAY. I hope they are ok, the base having come under Russian air attack. ALso, earlier sources mentioned as many as 1000 US Marines were previously in the country.

Georgia is the third biggest contributor of forces in Iraq, with 2500 there. They have been recalled to Georgia because of the emergency. They have been such a good allie to us.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (18)

August 08, 2008

Gitmo Jury Gives Bin Laden Driver 5 1/2 Years

Military jury gives bin Laden driver just 5 1/2 years

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba
A U.S. military jury sentenced Osama bin Laden's driver Thursday to just 5 1/2 years in prison, a surprise rebuke to Pentagon prosecutors who portrayed him as a member of the al-Qaida leader's inner circle worthy of a life sentence.

Salim Hamdan, with credit for time served, will be eligible for release in less than five months, though U.S. authorities still insist they could hold him indefinitely without charge at Guantanamo.

The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, called Hamdan a "small player," and the jury apparently agreed, rejecting the recommendation of 30 years by prosecutors who said even a life sentence would be fitting in order to send an example to would-be terrorists.

"I hope the day comes that you return to your wife and daughters and your country, and you're able to be a provider, a father and a husband in the best sense of all those terms," Allred told Hamdan at the close of the hearing.

The prisoner, dressed in a charcoal sports coat and white robe, responded: "God willing."

It was an anticlimactic finish to a case that had taken on a special prominence as the first Guantanamo war crimes trial.

The Pentagon pushed forward with Hamdan's prosecution despite repeated legal challenges that went to the Supreme Court in a 2006 case that struck down the previous rules for the tribunals, prompting Congress and President Bush to craft new ones.

The split verdict on the charges and the relatively lenient sentence appeared to strip away the urgency of the government's plans to prosecute dozens of Guantanamo prisoners under special rules widely criticized as unfair.

The jury's sentence now goes for mandatory review to a Pentagon official who can shorten it but not extend it. It remains unclear what will happen to Hamdan once his sentence is served, since the U.S. military has said it won't release anyone who still represents a threat.

The decision was a "slap in the face" to the Bush administration and its detention policies, said David Remes, a Washington lawyer who represents 15 Yemeni prisoners at Guantanamo.

"They chose to make this a test case. But they never imagined that it would result in such a stunning rebuff," he said.

The chief defense counsel for the Guantanamo tribunals, Army Col. Steve David, said the government failed in its strategy to link Hamdan to the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The government attempted to inflame the emotions of the panel," he said. "It didn't work."

"Asking for 30 years to life, not only was ill-advised and wholly inappropriate, but was also soundly rejected by the panel," David said.

Allred said Hamdan, who is from Yemen, would likely be eligible for release through the same administrative review process as other Guantanamo prisoners.

Defense lawyers said Hamdan will have finished his sentence in four months and 22 days.

"It was all for show if Mr. Hamdan does not go home in December," said civilian defense attorney Charles Swift, who hugged Hamdan after the jurors left the courtroom.

Hamdan thanked the jurors for the sentence and repeated his apology for having served bin Laden.

"I would like to apologize one more time to all the members and I would like to thank you for what you have done for me," he told the five-man, one-woman jury, all military officers picked by the Pentagon for the first U.S. war crimes trial in a half-century.

While being convicted of supporting terrorism, Hamdan was acquitted of providing missiles to al-Qaida and knowing his work would be used for terrorism. He also was cleared of being part of al-Qaida's conspiracy to attack the United States — the most serious charges he faced.

Hamdan admitted he drove bin Laden around Afghanistan at the time of the 2001 attacks, but said he took the job without knowing the al-Qaida leader was a terrorist.

It came as "a big shock," he said, when he learned bin Laden was responsible for the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, where Hamdan is from.

Still, he kept the job, Hamdan said — he needed the money, and couldn't go home.

"It's true there are work opportunities in Yemen, but not at the level I needed after I got married and not to the level of ambitions that I had in my future," said Hamdan, who has a fourth-grade education.

Reading a prepared statement in Arabic, he said he had a "relationship of respect" with bin Laden, as would any other driver in the al-Qaida motor pool. Hamdan has said he drove mainly low-profile pickup trucks with tinted windows because his boss shunned the Toyota Land Cruisers favored by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers.

At the time of his capture at a roadblock in Afghanistan in November 2001, Hamdan had two shoulder-launched missiles, but he said the car was borrowed and the rockets were not his. The jury found him innocent of carrying the missiles as part of a conspiracy to kill U.S. soldiers.

Hamdan expressed regret over the "innocent people" who died in the attacks in the United States, according to a Pentagon transcript. His apology couldn't be heard by reporters because the sound was turned off during part of the proceedings to protect classified information.

The guilty verdict will be appealed automatically to a special military court in Washington. Hamdan also can appeal to U.S. civilian courts, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court. Defense lawyers say Hamdan's rights were denied by an unfair process, hastily patched together after the high court ruled that previous tribunal systems violated U.S. and international law.

Wild Thing's comment...........

So I see the Gitmo close-out sale is on.

This sends a very bad message! This guy is full of it. He said it came as a shock when he realized what bin Laden was and yet he continued to be his driver even though as he states he could have gotten work elsewhere.

Whatever happened to President Bush’s famous “If you support a terrorist, you are a terrorist.” Did these lawyers not hear that speech?

In the mean time, our Border guards,Ramos and Compean, each got over ten years...unbelievable!

This raghead was so trusted by the enemy that he drove their top guy around.

This demonstrates why you can’t treat terrorism as a law enforcement issue, as Clinton did, as Obama and the Democrats want to do.

It also demonstrates why we can’t afford to let Obama nominate the next SCOTUS judges. Don’t forget, it’s our SCOTUS was the one who gave the terrorists all kinds of rights, they should not be entitled to have.

It is not an exaggeration to say that if the Dems take control of the US — and if Obama wins, they will control the White House, Congress, AND shortly the Judicial Branch also — their policies will cost innocent lives, our innocent lives.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (8)

August 07, 2008

Left Plans "Nuremberg-Style" Tribunals for Bush Administration Officials

The Left and Plans for "Nuremberg-Style" Tribunals for Bush Administration Officials

National Review

One thing that hasn't received much attention in conservative and Republicans circles is the ongoing conversation on the left about the possibility of Nuremberg-style war-crimes trials for members of the Bush administration should a Democratic president take office. I'm not exaggerating or introducing the Nazi analogy myself; they actually use the phrase "Nuremberg-style" when they discuss "war-crimes tribunals." And they are quite serious (although the more moderate of them prefer a "truth commission.")

At the Netroots Nation gathering in Austin, Texas last month — that is the successor to YearlyKos — Dahlia Lithwick, of the Washington-Post-owned website Slate, did an interview with the Talking Points Memo site in which she described a panel discussion she had just taken part in on what is known as the "first 100 days of accountability." Among Lithwick's observations:

"We're already falling into this trap of either positing Nuremberg-style war crimes tribunals, or nothing, immunizing everyone from John Yoo up and down…but everybody says there's a lot of gray area in between that, and that accountability doesn't necessarily mean Nuremberg, it doesn't necessarily mean nothing, it means possibly a truth commission, possibly appointing a special prosecutor to look at it…..."

Lithwick recommended a massive retrospective investigation of the Bush administration, going through every piece of paper, before moving forward:

"Certainly long before we make a decision to do what Stuart Taylor suggested this week, which was immunize everybody in advance, or alternatively make a decision to trot them out before a war crimes tribunal before the whole world, we should really find out what happened…..."

But Lithwick recognized that there are those who argue such an action might be divisive:

"We talked a lot about this notion that it's bad for America, that it will rip America apart if we have hearings or we have criminal trials or if we have war crimes tribunals. And I think it's really worse for America if we don't…..."

I think the thing to emphasize here is that this is a serious conversation going on among people who might have influential voices or play influential roles in an Obama administration. Many of them want to put John Yoo — a special favorite of theirs — on trial, whether before a Nuremberg-style tribunal, a criminal court, or a truth commission with as-yet unspecified powers. And, of course, they wouldn't stop with Yoo; if they had their way, they would likely have a long list of former Bush administration officials to put in the dock. They are serious.

Wild Thing's comment..........

This is very scary! They really dont know when to quit do they?

"But Lithwick recognized that there are those who argue such an action might be divisive: "

Oh really? Gosh do well how obvious is that statement.

Are we sure that Stalan hasn’t been reincarnated as Pelosi? The terrorist-loving left was hoping for a "civil war" in Iraq. If they keep this crap up, they'll get one here. If they think that they can get away with it, they will do it in a heartbeat. My heart feels afraid BUT my head tells me they will have a tuff time of pulling this off even with the support of what I am posting below all of this in the additional information.

I believe with all my heart that if this country ever comes to something like this, those unlike you and I on here, you know those filled with apathy willl stand up and fight back along side those of us that have been awake all this time. Some people are leaders and others are followers and those with apathy are the followers and just need a fire lit under them. Let's pray though none of this will come about.

There is an excellent book: War Crimes: The Left's Campaign to Destroy the Military and Lose the War on Terror
Bestselling author Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson (Ret.) He lays bare the Left's extensive campaign against all things military and how it severely compromises the ability to fight the war on terror.

And here is more information if anyone might want to check it out:

From another article posted last month: This is freightening to say the least. Communisim has got such a strong hold in our awesome, wonderful, oh so special and beautiful America.

"The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Friday [July 2008] it insisted was not about removing President Bush from office. But critics of Bush's policies couldn't pass up the chance to charge the president with a long list of impeachable 'high crimes and misdemeanors.'"

Speaking of 'high crimes and misdemeanors', here are some facts put together some time ago regarding the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr...

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr of Michigan, is an endorser of the Revolutionary Communist Party call to "Drive Out the Bush Regime". So, if anyone needs to be 'investigated', it's that SOB. But since the republicans are mostly spineless cowards, I doubt it will ever happen.

Click on the WCW link just below and see: "Endorsers of the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime Include". Conyers' endorsement appears right after Ward Churchill's. Al Sharpton's, Maxine Waters and Jesse Jackson Jr's endorsements are also on the list:

And on Oct 5, 2006, the demonRat chair of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr, GAVE A SPEECH to the World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime organization. Here's full-page coverage of it from the WCW website:

http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3114&Itemid=243

Fact: World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime is a Maoist-revolutionary movement/organization initiated and controlled by the Revolutionary Communist Party. (scroll down the list that appears (after clicking link) to find the World Can't Wait organization --rwor.org is the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party):

http://rwor.org/a/rwlink/links.htm

From David Horowitz's FrontpageMag.com /DiscoverTheNetworks.org:
Profile: World Can't Wait (WCW)

*Revolutionary communist movement that stages protests against the Bush administration

*Organizes college and high-school students

*Founded in June 2005 by Charles Clark Kissinger, a longtime leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7213

From the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party (revcom.us or rwor.org) :

"Create Public Opinion, Seize Power: We are preparing minds and organizing forces for the time when there is a major crack in the system, whenever it comes and wherever it comes from: an opening that makes it possible to bring the future Revolutionary Army of the Proletariat (R.A.P.) into the field and wage a revolutionary armed struggle that actually has a chance of winning. And we have said that building our party itself is the most important part of organizing forces for revolution. This is true now, and it is true looking forward to the creation of that future R.A.P. and the waging of that armed struggle.":

http://revcom.us/a/v20/1000-1009/1000/barw.htm

Also from the Revolutionary Communist Party website: "Tearing Up the U.S. Paper Tiger in Korea: How 300,000 Chinese Troops Snuck into Korea and Kicked the Ass of the U.S. Armed Forces" RW #1059, June 18, 2000:

http://rwor.org/a/v22/1052-059/1059/korea.htm

Here's the Revolutionary Communist Party (see link below) boasting of a FULL PAGE 'World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime' ad of theirs which appeared in the New York Slimes.(either "rwor.org" or "revcom.us" takes you to the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party). The NY Times has since allowed several additional full-page RCP/WCW ads.

Article title: "Who Hated the Bush Step Down Ad in the New York Times? ...And what that Tells Us About Why We Must and How We Can Drive Out the Bush Regime"(actual title)

http://www.rwor.org/a/028/who-hated-bush-ad.htm

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (6)

July 29, 2008

To Our Media .....Winning Isn't News

Winning Isn't News

Investors Business Daily

Iraq: What would happen if the U.S. won a war but the media didn't tell the American public? Apparently, we have to rely on a British newspaper for the news that we've defeated the last remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq.

London's Sunday Times called it:

"the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror." A terrorist force that once numbered more than 12,000, with strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the wall in the northern city of Mosul.

The destruction of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) is one of the most unlikely and unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. We can thank President Bush's surge strategy, in which he bucked both Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington by increasing our forces there instead of surrendering.

We can also thank the leadership of the new general he placed in charge there, David Petraeus, who may be the foremost expert in the world on counter-insurgency warfare. And we can thank those serving in our military in Iraq who engaged local Iraqi tribal leaders and convinced them America was their friend and AQI their enemy.

Al-Qaida's loss of the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis began in Anbar Province, which had been written off as a basket case, and spread out from there.

Now, in Operation Lion's Roar the Iraqi army and the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is destroying the fraction of terrorists who are left. More than 1,000 AQI operatives have already been apprehended.

Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, traveling with Iraqi forces in Mosul, found little AQI presence even in bullet-ridden residential areas that were once insurgency strongholds, and reported that the terrorists have lost control of its Mosul urban base, with what is left of the organization having fled south into the countryside.

Meanwhile, the State Department reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has achieved "satisfactory" progress on 15 of the 18 political benchmarks — a big change for the better from a year ago.

Things are going so well that Maliki has even for the first time floated the idea of a timetable for withdrawal of American forces. He did so while visiting the United Arab Emirates, which over the weekend announced that it was forgiving almost $7 billion of debt owed by Baghdad — an impressive vote of confidence from a fellow Arab state in the future of a free Iraq.

But where are the headlines and the front-page stories about all this good news? As the Media Research Center pointed out last week, "the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 were silent Tuesday night about the benchmarks" that signaled political progress.

The war in Iraq has been turned around 180 degrees both militarily and politically because the president stuck to his guns. Yet apart from IBD, Fox News Channel and parts of the foreign press, the media don't seem to consider this historic event a big story.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Thank you to our troops!!!!!! Let’s celebrate the heroes. I wish OUR media would write things like this and not only that but speak about our troops like this too.

....Thank you Mark for sending this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 AM | Comments (8)

Guantanamo Trial Views Graphic 9/11 Video

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba

(Reuters)

Prosecutors in the trial of Osama bin Laden's driver unveiled a graphic video on Monday of the September 11 attacks and other al Qaeda operations that is likely to play a repeated role in pending war crimes cases.

The video is entitled "The Al Qaeda Plan," an echo of "The Nazi Plan" made by Oscar-winning director George Stevens as evidence in the Nuremberg war crimes trials of German leaders after World War II.

"Oh my God" was heard repeatedly as crowds watched the twin towers of the World Trade center collapse on September 11, 2001, in a vivid highlight of the movie shown over defense objections at the terrorism conspiracy trial of Salim Hamdan.

The six-member panel that will decide Hamdan's fate also saw footage of charred bodies stripped of flesh in the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa and the body of a U.S. soldier dragged through the streets in Somalia in 2003.

Control tower conversations with one of the doomed September 11 planes were also included.

"The Al Qaeda Plan" was made for $25,000 by terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann for the Office of Military Commissions, which is conducting the trials of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo. Its 90 minutes of video clips depict the history of al Qaeda from its formation in 1988 through the September 11 attacks.

The commission's lead prosecutor, Col. Lawrence Morris, said the tape would be used in other trials but no decision had been made whether to use it in the trial of accused September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Hamdan's attorneys objected that the footage would prejudice the jury. "They're trying to terrorize the members," defense attorney Charles Swift told the court.

But prosecutors said the video helped illustrate the goals of al Qaeda training and ideology. "It is a very important part of the prosecution's case," said prosecutor Clayton Trivett.

Commission Judge Keith Allred approved the video, after first saying it would serve more to prejudice the case than to prove a point. "The planes crashing into the towers and the people screaming doesn't prove anything," he said.

A pivotal point of contention is the significance of Hamdan's role in al Qaeda. The Yemeni native was caught in November 2001 with two surface-to-air missiles in his car.

Defense attorneys say he was a lowly driver, but the prosecution has sought to portray him as a trusted bodyguard who helped bin Laden evade capture and stay alive.

The two sides have also skirmished over an expert's testimony on the laws of war. With Hamdan being tried as a war criminal under a 2006 U.S. law, the prosecution is seeking to show the United States was in a continuing armed conflict with al Qaeda well before the September 11 attacks.

Hamdan's attorneys have sought to demonstrate that the battle with al Qaeda did not reach the state of armed conflict until the September 11 attacks, which could make it harder for the prosecution to prove Hamdan's actions count as a war crime.

Separately on Monday, the Pentagon announced it had filed charges against another detainee at Guantanamo and released three from the detention center.

The Pentagon said Abdul Ghani was accused of attempted murder, material support for terrorism and conspiracy over accusations he fired rockets and planted bombs aimed at U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, and tried to kill an Afghani soldier in 2002.

The Pentagon said it had released three detainees -- one to Afghanistan, one to the United Arab Emirates and one to Qatar. It said more than 65 Guantanamo detainees are eligible for transfer or release subject to talks on where they will go.

Wild Thing's comment........

7 years later we are still dealing with the scum responsible for 9/11 only strengthens my resolve to kill them. Kill them all. Set the precedent now!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:40 AM | Comments (6)

July 11, 2008

White House Says Ruling Could Free Detainees To Walk Main Street USA

White House says ruling could free detainees in US

USA Today

WASHINGTON — The White House said Thursday that dangerous detainees at Guantanamo Bay could end up walking Main Street U.S.A. as a result of last month's Supreme Court ruling about detainees' legal rights. Federal appeals courts, however, have indicated they have no intention of letting that happen.
The high court ruling, which gave all detainees the right to petition federal judges for immediate release, has intensified discussions within the Bush administration about what to do with the roughly 270 detainees held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"I'm sure that none of us want Khalid Sheikh Mohammed walking around our neighborhoods," White House press secretary Dana Perino said about al-Qaida's former third in command.

President Bush strongly disagreed with the Supreme Court decision that the foreigners held under indefinite detention at Guantanamo have the right to seek release in civilian courts. The 5-4 ruling was the third time the justices had repudiated Bush on his approach to holding the suspects outside the protections of U.S. law.

The legal ramifications of the Supreme Court decision remain fuzzy, but it's unlikely that a federal appeals court would order a detainee released into the United States even if a judge finds that the government was holding the detainee improperly. A court might tell the Bush administration to let a prisoner go, but it presumably would be up to the executive branch to figure out where.

Glenn Sulmasy, a national security fellow at Harvard University, said if the matter remains in the hands of civilian courts, there is an element of truth to the White House warning that detainees could be released in the United States.

He said the legislative and executive branches should find a third legal way -- not through military commissions or the civilian courts -- to deal with the detainees, perhaps a national security or other type of special court. "What is needed is a hybrid court," he said.

"But there is considered judgment, from many federal government lawyers -- all the way up to the attorney general of the United States_ that it is a very real possibility that a dangerous detainee could be released into the United States as a result of this Supreme Court decision."

Judges at Washington's federal courthouse are moving quickly to process about 200 cases involving Guantanamo Bay detainees. Those cases would force the Justice Department to say why the detainees are being held and defend the decision to label them enemy combatants. Defense attorneys are convinced that, in many cases, the evidence will not hold up.

"The judge might say to the United States, 'You don't have enough evidence to hold this person,'" Perino said. "And then what do we do? ... Is he allowed to leave? And if so, is he picked up by immigration? Even if that's the case, they're only allowed to be held for six months."

Wild Thing's comment........

This is so crazy and very scary too. It may not happen but from what we have seen in the past about our courts and judges and lawyers the odds are it very well could. They let horrible bad guys out of jail all the time.

"What is needed is a hybrid court,"

And what the heck is this??? OMG

....Thank you Lynn for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (11)

9/11 Plotter Tells GITMO Judge He Would Be Proud to Attack U.S.

Waleed bin Attash
Police on April 29, 2003, arrested alleged al-Qaida operational commander Waleed bin Attash, suspected of helping plan the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, and five other alleged al-Qaida operatives in a raid in Karachi. U.S. officials also suspect Attash, a Yemeni also known as Tawfiq Attash or Khallad, coordinated the activities of two hijackers who crashed a plane into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. U.S. law enforcement officials said a plot to crash an explosives-laden small aircraft into the U.S. consulate in Karachi was uncovered with the arrests. Pakistan's Interior Minister, Faisal Saleh Hayyat, declined to comment directly on the plot, but said the arrest helped avert a major terrorist attack

Accused 9/11 Plotter Tells Guantanamo Judge He Would Be Proud to Attack U.S.

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba

A man facing trial at Guantanamo for allegedly running a training camp for Sept. 11 hijackers said Thursday he would be "proud" to have participated in an attack on the U.S.

"Any attack I undertook against America, or even participated or helped in, I am proud about it, and I am happy," Waleed bin Attash told a military judge.

The judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, cut Attash off before he could say anything further that could incriminate him at his upcoming trial on charges that include murder.

Bin Attash is one of five Guantanamo prisoners charged with war crimes for their alleged roles in the Sept. 11 attacks. They could get the death penalty if convicted.

Bin Attash, who is from Yemen, spoke during a pretrial hearing to determine whether he had willingly chosen to represent himself.

Military defense lawyers had said the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, may have intimidated the others into refusing Pentagon-appointed lawyers. Bin Attash said he had not been pressured into representing himself.

At a separate hearing later, Mohammed denied pressuring any of his co-defendants. "I don't think anyone can threaten me or I can threaten them," he told the judge. "We are not gangs in the USA jails. ... Everyone respects his own view."

Mohammed said Thursday that the U.S. military is making it difficult for him to serve as his own lawyer.

Mohammed, who has rejected his Pentagon-appointed attorneys, says the military has not given him paper in his cell and failed to deliver a legal motion he wrote to the judge on this U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba.

"We are not in normal situation. We are in hell," the Pakistani, who had a wide gray beard, told the judge in broken English.

A hearing for a third defendant, Ramzi Binalshibh, was postponed because he refused to leave his cell

Wild Thing's comment........

I am looking forward to when these terrorists are put to death. Their mouthing off, their threats never stop.

.... Thank you Darth for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (12)

July 10, 2008

Yellowcake–Saddam’s Cake Mix Hauled in Secret From Iraq To Canada

Secret U.S. Mission Hauls Uranium From Iraq To Canada

Last major stockpile from Saddam's nuclear efforts arrives in Canada. The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program — a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium — reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.
The removal of 550 metric tons of "yellowcake" — the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment — was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam's nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.

What's now left is the final and complicated push to clean up the remaining radioactive debris at the former Tuwaitha nuclear complex about 12 miles south of Baghdad — using teams that include Iraqi experts recently trained in the Chernobyl fallout zone in Ukraine

U.S. Delivers Iraqi Uranium to Canadian Firm

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll431.xml

The U.S. military has finished delivering 550 tons of yellowcake uranium — left over from the late Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons-making era — from Iraq to a uranium trading company in Canada, Pentagon officials confirmed to FOX News on Monday.

Cameco, which sells the natural uranium, also called "yellowcake," to electricity-producing utilities around the world, bought the uranium for an undisclosed price several weeks ago.

To assist in the sale, the U.S. military transported the uranium over the weekend to "ensure its safe transit," senior Pentagon officials said.

"The Department of Defense was responsible for the safe and secure transfer of materials from Iraq to the country of purchase," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "The cargo was transported by convoy from Tuwaitha nuclear research facility in Baghdad to a secure location in the Green Zone" and then loaded onto a C-17 and flown to an intermediate location via 37 sorties, he said.

Once at that intermediate location, which Whitman declined to reveal, the cargo was shipped to a third country where it was loaded onto a U.S.-flagged cargo ship. It was transported from there to Canada.

Tuwaitha is the facility that was bombed by Israel in 1981 and again by the U.S. during the 1991 Gulf War. It was a centerpiece of Hussein's nuclear weapons effort, and was looted shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

According to senior Pentagon officials, the U.S. spent an estimated $70 million to ship the yellowcake. Iraq has promised to reimburse the U.S. for the money spent flying the nuclear component.

Yellowcake, depending on market conditions, can be worth anywhere from $60 to $85 per pound.

Officials told The New York Times that while the material could not be used in its current form for a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb, the unstable environment in Iraq, along with the health dangers that can be caused from it sitting around in concentrated forms, encouraged officials to make sure it was put in secure hands.

The Times noted that the yellowcake removed from Iraq is not the same yellowcake that President Bush claimed in his 2003 State of the Union address that Hussein tried to buy from Niger.

Wild Thing's comment.........

This will hurt the argument that Bush lied and this was a war for oil. heh heh

How come they never say they were wrong????

This is fantastic news for the Bush Administration, but it's now up to the them to wave this in front of the face of anyone who spouts this lie about no WMDs in Iraq. We shall see.

"Everyone is very happy to have this safely out of Iraq," said a senior U.S. official who outlined the nearly three-month operation to The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "

When the Democrats were in power Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, biological, chemical and may be even nuclear.

Democrats Hypocrisy Over The Iraq War

WMD Quotes from Democrats

Democrats on Iraq + WMD’s (Weapons of Mass Destruction)“…At one time the Democrats and Republicans agreed on one thing: that Iraq and Saddam Hussein had WMD’s (Weapons of Mass Destruction) and would use them. …”

....Thank you Jack for sending this article to me. Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (9)

July 08, 2008

Photojournalist A Maggot...Zoriah Miller....Banned By Marines In Iraq

Photojournalist Banned by Marines in Iraq

Zoriah Miller was an embedded blogger. He's a photojournalist who has posted a photo of Marine KIA.

This vile horrible person blogs at Zoriah.net.

Zoriah Miller says he was censored by the U.S. military in the Iraqi city of Fallujah after photographing Marines who died in a suicide bombing. Zoriah Miller posted those pictures on his blog, was dismissed from his embed assignment, and is now screaming censorship.

Ventura County Star ....for complete article

BAGHDAD — It's a disturbing picture.

The dead Marine is lying on his back, his face damaged beyond recognition because of the blast.

But for photojournalist and blogger Zoriah Miller, 32, it was important to capture the daily toll of war in Iraq.

"I just feel this war has become so sanitized that it was important to show," said Zoriah, who prefers to go by his first name. "My only discomfort is the idea that the family could accidentally stumble on it."

The Marine commanders who saw the photograph were not happy, saying it violated a "trust" between the military and journalists.

Claims of security risks

Zoriah was immediately "disembedded" from a Marine unit and barred from working with the military in Anbar.

In Gen. John F. Kelly's letter officially kicking him out of province, the Marines said Zoriah "provided the enemy with specific information on the effectiveness of the attack and the response of U.S. and Iraqi forces to the attack."

Zoriah denies he did anything wrong.

"All I can say is he's no longer welcome here in Anbar," said Lt. Brian Block at Camp Fallujah, where the Marine command in Anbar is headquartered.

Later, Lt. Cmdr. Chris Hughes, who is in charge of the Camp Fallujah command, said in a prepared statement that "there is no right to embed" with military units. Under the embedding program, the military allows journalists to be assigned to a military unit to chronicle the war. Journalists rely on soldiers for transportation, food and protection.

Zoriah violated the ground rules he agreed to when he was embedded, Hughes said in the statement. He added that Zoriah broke his "trust in the relationship" with soldiers.

'Picture of what war is like'

While waiting to be transported out of the area, Zoriah was guarded for a time by armed Marines out of fear someone upset by the graphic photo might try to harm him.

"You're a war photographer, but once you take a picture of what war is like then you get into trouble," said Zoriah, a Denver native who has been in Iraq for much of the past year.

The Marines don't see it that way. In his letter, Kelly went on to say that Zoriah could no longer be trusted, and that he "presented a threat to all" in the Multi-National Force in Western Iraq.

Zoriah has been flown out of the Marine base and returned to Baghdad. He plans on returning to the U.S. and appealing the Marines' decision.

Wild Thing's comment.........

This creep should have never been allowed anywhere near a US Military facility. He calls himself a humanitarian photojournalist. Just the word humanitarian photojournalist sends of bells and whistles in my brain. That should have done the same thing when he applied to be embedded with our miltiary.

humanitarian = lefite to the max!

* Blackfive

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (4)

July 04, 2008

"Generation Kill" HBO Mini Series

"Generation Kill " launches on Sunday, July 13th at 9 P.M. ET/PT—only on HBO

It is a seven part mini series.

"Generation Kill" follows the highly trained Marines of Recon Battalion through the first 40 days of the Iraq war. Mini series taken from the book and written for the series by executive produced by "The Wire" creators David Simon and Ed Burns.

Website for " Generation Kill".

Based on Evan Wright's acclaimed 2004 non-fiction book of the same name, Generation Kill is a seven-part miniseries that focuses on the first 40 days of the Iraq war, a.k.a. "Operation Iraqi Freedom," through the eyes and actions of a group of elite U.S. First Recon Marines.

While offering vivid and unvarnished portraits of the actual Marines who rode alongside Wright (an embedded journalist working for Rolling Stone magazine) for two months starting in March 2003, Generation Kill provides a gritty, uncompromising account of the collective forces that guided these highly-trained Marines across a barren landscape, and against an unknowable enemy, in a military initiative designed to liberate the Iraqi populace from Saddam Hussein.

Bringing a candid, highly realiztic look at the details of modern warfare and the men who wage it, the miniseries depicts the War in Iraq with an immediacy, humor and humanity never before depicted on film.

In between scenes of intense combat, from Marines in under-protected Humvees blasting through hostile cities, the soldiers' raw and frequently hilarious dialog is infused with an abundance of cultural references – from gossipy rumors of J-Lo's death, to disparaging retorts to schoolchildrens' letters of support, to on-the-road choral renditions of pop anthems like "Tainted Love" and "Loving You" (complete with falsettos).

People are already talking about this highly anticipated miniseries.

Based on the book of the same name by Evan Wright, a Marine chronicles his experiences during the first wave of the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003. Written by David Simon and Ed Burns ("The Wire"). Cast includes: Lee Tergesen, Kellan Lutz, and Alexander Skarsgård and James Ransone.

A review of the mini series:

By Michael Samstag for Knoxville Films

"I was very fortunate to be treated to an advance screening of the first two episode's of "Generation Kill" last week at the Nashville Screenwriters Conference. The seven part mini-series is based on the book "Generation Kill" written by Rolling Stone journalist Evan Wright chronicling his experience as an embedded reporter with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion‎ during the first 40-days of the US led invasion of Iraq.
Right away, "Generation Kill" is different than any other show attempting to convey what it's like to be at war. The series has more of a documentary feel--relying on the sounds of battle to heighten the tension rather than the use of traditional musical scores. The dialogue was gritty, sometimes vulgar, funny, and there were whole scenes that felt like they were recorded directly in the heat of battle. The production was enhanced further by the military technical consulting services of Sgt. Erik Kocher and Cpl. Jeffrey Carisalez who ensured that at no point did you feel you were watching actors playing Marines.

Yeah, the series is a sort of narrative-documentary hybrid--imagine The War Tapes meets the best parts of We Were Soldiers Once--but is it entertaining or simply another condemning look at the War in Iraq?

Well, it's not that easy to summarize but I can tell you that I was expecting to get caught up in the technical aspects of the show and not get swept away by the story. It was a hell of a ride! I felt like I was riding along with the Marines. Pictures I remember from photogs in Iraq came to life before my eyes. The horrors I worked hard to drink away were alive again with an unapologizing, unflinching reality I would not have thought possible outside the documentary genre.

As for whether it's a condemning portrayal of war, that's not for me to say. What it is is an honest portrayal of what it must have been like being embedded with the Marines. It took a very frank look at the problems the marines faces with the Rules of Engagement and problems within their own ranks with command and control. This is not Hollywood's version of war, though it's just as riveting as the action movies Hollywood can produce. Bravo to Evan Wright, the cast and crew of "Generation Kill" and smart people at HBO who brought this series to the public."

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (6)

June 24, 2008

Latest From USA Hating Lawyers and Judges: U.S. Court Says GITMO Detainees Not Enemy Combatants

US court says Guantanamo detainees not enemy combatants

Toronto News

A U.S. federal appeals court has struck down the U.S. military's classification of a Guantanamo Bay detainee as an enemy combatant.

This is the first time the U.S. court system has overruled the Bush administration's designation of a detainee since the Guantanamo facility began operations in early 2002.

The court ruled in favor of a Chinese Muslim, Huzaifa Parhat, who has spent the last six years in detention and is one of more than 100 detainees to challenge their enemy combatant status in the U.S. judicial system. The court directed the U.S. military to release Parhat, transfer him out of Guantanamo, or hold a new proceeding to once again determine his status.

The court announced its decision without providing any details, saying the ruling contains classified information. The Department of Defense did not immediately comment on the matter.

Human rights groups say the appeals court ruling is a landmark decision for Guantanamo detainees, yet one with little practical benefit for Parhat.

Stacy Sullivan is a counter-terrorism advisor for New York-based Human Rights Watch.

"He Parhat will probably not be released," she said. "He is a Chinese Uighur, and there are a number of Chinese Uighurs being held at Guantanamo who are already declared no longer enemy combatants. But they cannot leave Guantanamo because they have nowhere to go. They cannot be sent back to China because they have a well-founded fear of torture in China, and the United States to its credit will not send them back there. So the Uighurs are pretty much stuck in Guantanamo."

In 2006, the United States released five Uighurs from Guantanamo and resettled them in Albania. China, which regards the Uighurs as terrorists and separatists, demanded Albania to return them to China. Albania did not comply.

U.S. authorities believe some Uighurs have links to al-Qaeda. But they admit the Uighurs held at Guantanamo never fought against the United States, nor did they take part in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Human Rights Watch's Stacy Sullivan says the plight of the Guantanamo Uighurs points to a real dilemma facing the United States if at some point it decides to close Guantanamo, an action favored by both presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees.

"There are about 50 detainees there who have said they do not want to go home because they fear being tortured: Uzbeks, Libyans, Uighurs, a few other nationalities," she said. "What is to be done with them? It is simple enough to transfer those for whom we have evidence of terrorism and try them in our federal court system. But the 50 detainees who cannot go home, it is unclear what is going to happen to them, and that is going to make closing Guantanamo really difficult."

The federal appeals court ruling follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this month affirming the right of Guantanamo suspects to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts.

Wild Thing's comment........

When lawyers are the front-line on the war on terror, you can fear for our safety. Undermining of our intelligence and rewarding the terrorist.

I wish we could lock up ALL our lawyers and Judges. What good are they anyway. They are constantly serving the enemy, the criminal and NOT the victim. They put bad guys back out onto the streets all the time and could care less about doing the right thing.

Somebody sworn to kill Americans and non believers isn’t an enemy combatant????

As far as this court saying that guy is not an enemy combatant, we’re on the slippery slope. Sheesh!

The Supreme Court ruling was that these people at Gitmo have the rights of habeas corpus as any U.S. citizen would. The next step was this lower court saying that this one guy is not an enemy combatant. I fear that the slippery slope is that we won’t legally be able to classify anyone as an enemy combatant, because it won’t be allowed by courts.

This war against Islam is not like other wars, there will be no treaty, no terms of surrender, no conquering enemy territory. Instead, there is only vigilance until the enemy’s capacity to project power is quelled.

Who needs enemies? We will destroy ourselves from within. Our ‘law’ will ensure it.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (10)

June 20, 2008

House Approves $162 Billion War-spending Bill

House approves $162 billion war-spending bill

The House approved the largest war-spending bill to date Thursday, bending to President Bush's call for $162 billion in war funding with no strings attached and giving his successor enough money to wage the wars until July 2009.

In exchange, Democrats won Bush's blessing for several of their domestic priorities, including a 13-week extension of jobless benefits for workers who have exhausted theirs, and a new GI bill benefit allowing veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to attend a state college tuition-free.

The deal, negotiated between the White House and allies of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, takes the issue of the war off Congress' plate for the rest of this election year. Lawmakers also intended to give the next president some time to set a new Iraq policy before having to return to Congress for more money.

But anti-war activists called it a betrayal by Democrats, who had pledged to end the war. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, dubbed it "the biggest blank check ever." Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, said the vote was a "profound disappointment to the millions of Americans who put Democrats into power hoping we could force a change in Iraq."

The House vote is likely to end almost two years of clashes between Democrats and the White House over the Iraq war, which Bush and Republicans have largely won.

House Democrats this spring once against approved a nonbinding measure calling for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops by June 2009. But the Senate, unable to get the 60 votes needed to pass it, stripped it from the spending bill. The war bill ping-ponged between the House and Senate for weeks until Pelosi and other top Democrats decided to cut a deal.

"I don't consider it a failure," Pelosi told reporters Thursday. "We never sent them a bill that did not have deadlines, conditions and the rest." She blamed Republicans in the Senate. "They are complicit with the president to make sure he never has to get a bill on his desk with a timeline, because the American people want a timeline," she said.

The House passed the legislation by splitting it in two pieces to accommodate anti-war Democrats who refused to vote for any more war funding.

The first piece, on the war funding, passed 268-155, with support from 188 Republicans and 80 Democrats.

The second part, which included the domestic spending increases, was approved with strong backing from both parties, 416-12.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where Democratic leaders say it's likely to be passed.

The deal required major concessions from both sides. Democrats were able to get the 13-week extension of jobless benefits, but had to drop their push for an additional 13 weeks of benefits for workers in high-unemployment states. Republicans also insisted that individuals must have worked for at least 20 weeks to qualify for the benefits.

The extended benefits will apply to all those who exhaust their aid between November 2006 and March 2009, an estimated 3.8 million workers nationwide.

The new education benefit for veterans, proposed by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who served in the Marines, would offer any veteran who served active duty for at least three years since Sept. 11, 2001, a full college education - tuition, room, board and a monthly stipend covering the cost of the most expensive in-state public university. It would more than double the value of the current GI Bill education benefit from $40,000 to $90,000.

Bush had threatened to veto the proposal, saying it was too generous and could entice too many soldiers serving in Iraq or Afghanistan to leave the military. But the White House backed down after Democrats dropped a plan to pay for the benefit by raising taxes on individuals who earn at least $500,000 a year and couples who earn $1 million.

But the White House ended up adding at least $10 billion to the $52 billion price tag for the new benefit over 10 years by insisting that veterans be allowed to transfer the college education benefit to a family member.

The fiscally conservative House Blue Dog Democrats, who pushed for the tax hike to pay for the veterans' benefit, expressed frustration that the war spending and the new GI bill benefit will be added to the growing national debt.

"We are making a serious mistake by not paying for these things," said Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., a Blue Dog member. "It is one our children and grandchildren will pay for."

But House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who helped broker the deal, insisted that the spending for the war and for veterans' benefits was worth it. "The cost of this bill, frankly, is high, but it's a price of freedom. And I don't think you put a price on freedom and security in our country," he said.

Democrats succeeded in keeping language in the bill postponing six Medicaid rules proposed by the Bush administration, which critics say would have led to cuts in services to seniors, families and the disabled.

The bill also would bar the United States from spending more money on the reconstruction of Iraq unless the Iraqi government matches it dollar for dollar. And it would ban the use of military construction funds to build permanent bases in Iraq.

Anti-war groups delivered "certificates of shame" and cardboard cutout "bloody hands" to Pelosi and other House leaders before the vote.

"We really feel that they have betrayed the American people who voted for them to get us out of this war," said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group CodePink, based in San Francisco.

Pelosi gave a fiery anti-war speech Thursday night, but also expressed her disappointment that the bill will continue to fund Bush's Iraq policy.

"Let us think and hope that this is the last time there will ever be another dollar spent without constraints, without conditions, without direction," she said.

To see how members voted on the war spending bill:

Wild Thing's comment.......

LOL Someone emailed me that the moonbats are beside themselves over at Democrat Underground.

They are they want Pelosi removed if Obama wins.
Calling Pelosi a traitor. (Nancy Is a Traitor, That's Criminal. Congress is Complicit. They're Criminal, Too)

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 PM | Comments (4)

Marine To Sue Murtha Over Haditha ~ Good!

Haditha Marine prepares to sue Murtha over smear

wnd

Congressman had accused soldiers of killing 'in cold blood'

With most of the eight Marines charged in the Haditha, Iraq, incident now exonerated, the highest-ranking officer among the accused is considering a lawsuit against Democratic Rep. John Murtha, who fueled the case by declaring the men cold-blooded killers.

In an interview with nationally syndicated radio talk host Michael Savage, the lead attorney for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani said he and his client will look into suing Murtha and the Time magazine reporter, Tim McGuirk, who first published the accusations by Iraqi insurgents.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani

But the attorney, Brian Rooney, said nothing will happen immediately because he wants Chessani, described as a devout Christian and the father of six homeschooled children, completely "out of the woods" legally before any action is taken. The government, through Lt. Col. S.M. Sullivan, today filed a notice that it would appeal the case to the next judicial level.

Please continue HERE for complete story , thank you.

Wild Thing's comment........

Give that traitorous Mullah Murtha hell. I hope all 8 of the Marines join in on this. There is still one more Marine to face charges.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (10)

June 14, 2008

Taliban Free 1,200 in Attack on Afghan Prison

New York Times

Carlotta Gall reported from Islamabad, Pakistan
Abdul Waheed Wafa contributed reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan.

In a brazen attack, Taliban fighters assaulted the main prison in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Friday night, blowing up the mud walls, killing 15 guards and freeing around 1,200 inmates.

Among the escapees were about 350 Taliban members, including commanders, would-be suicide bombers and assassins, said Ahmed Wali Karzai, the head of Kandahar’s provincial council and a brother of President Hamid Karzai.

“It is very dangerous for security. They are the most experienced killers and they all managed to escape,” he said by telephone from Kandahar.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said that the attack was carried out by 30 insurgents on motorbikes and two suicide bombers, and that they had freed about 400 Taliban members, The Associated Press reported.

The breakout from Sarposa Prison will present enormous security challenges for Afghan and NATO forces surrounding Kandahar, President Karzai’s home city but also the spiritual capital of the Taliban. Traditionally, Kandahar is home to the rulers of Afghanistan, and control of it is seen as critical to the government’s hold on the entire country.

The city has been in a precarious situation since Taliban forces massed in the nearby district of Panjwai in 2006. Since then Canadian forces have struggled to secure the area, and the Taliban have repeatedly sought to gain a foothold in the districts surrounding the town.

The prison break is also likely to increase pressure on President Karzai, who is coming under increasing criticism at home and abroad for his faltering leadership and his inability to manage the country. Even as international donors pledged $21 billion in aid for Afghanistan this week, many of them have criticized his failure to tackle the problems of security and corruption.

The attack began at 9:20 p.m., when two truck bombs exploded at the prison gates, breaking down a part of the mud walls, Ahmed Karzai said. It seemed to be well planned, officials said. After the bombings, a group of fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles mounted an attack, said a spokesman for the provincial governor. They then ran through the prison, breaking open the cell doors.

The prison lies on the west side of the city. Residents living about a half mile away in the center of town said the explosions broke windows in their street and that they could hear fighting raging for an hour after that.

Mr. Karzai said that the attackers focused their efforts on the political section of the prison, where the Taliban suspects were being held. There is also a section for ordinary criminals and one for some 80 female prisoners. Mr. Karzai said that the police and prison guards managed to prevent around 200 prisoners from escaping, but other officials contacted in the town said that every last prisoner had escaped.

While there were also ordinary criminals in the jail, families of many of the prisoners have said their relatives were swept up in military operations and wrongly imprisoned.

Villagers living near the prison said they saw prisoners running along the roads, and scattering into nearby villages, generally heading north and east to the districts of Dand and Argandab outside the city, a security official in the city, Abdul Haleem, said. He warned that the Taliban could be sheltering very close to the city.

Canadian troops, part of the NATO force that is based outside Kandahar, were deployed to the prison but arrived after the prisoners had escaped. Afghan Army, police and intelligence personnel were pursuing the prisoners in the surrounding villages, Mr. Karzai said.

The prison was recently the scene of unrest, with some 400 prisoners staging a hunger strike in May to protest their long detention without trial. Some had been held for as long as two years without trial, and some were being refused the right to appeal very harsh sentences, they said. More than 40 of the prisoners stitched their lips together with needle and thread to demonstrate their determination.

Some 300 women who came to protest outside the prison at the time said their relatives inside had been picked up by NATO and American military sweeps and were innocent but nevertheless held without trial for months and even years. Local elders and government officials negotiated an end to the protest and promised better conditions and justice. Yet, the jailbreak is likely to prove popular with many local families.

Taliban prisoners staged another escape from the prison several years ago by digging a tunnel from a cell. Officials at the time said some of the guards had been bribed to look the other way.

Another source of this:

Jail Blast Frees Hundreds Of Taliban

Sky News

Nearly all of an estimated 1,150 prisoners fled when a Taliban suicide bomber blew open the main gate, officials said.

Eyewitnesses reported that the fighters fired several rockets at various parts of the mud-built prison.

"All the prisoners escaped. There is no one left," said Wali Karzai, the brother of President Hamid Karzai and the president of Kandahar's provincial council.

Militants first exploded a water tanker near the entrance to the gate of the prison, then several suicide bombers entered and blew themselves up, he added.

A shopkeeper who sells vegetables near the prison said he saw escaped prisoners run toward pomegranate and grape groves that lie behind it.

The blast caused an unknown number of casualties, prison director Abdul Qadir said.

"The Taliban used a truck to blow the gate open and all of the guards (at the gate) have been killed and are under rubble," he said.

As he spoke, bursts of gunfire could be heard in the background.

Officials with Nato's International Security Assistance Force said they were aware of the attack.

Sky News Asia correspondent Alex Crawford, speaking from the Afghan capital, Kabul, said: "This will be seen as a major propagana coup for the Taliban, who will certainly use it as such.

"It is also a blow to Nato and the fight against the militants, who have been claiming their influence is spreading throughout the country."

Wild Thing's comment.......

All the work our troops did to capture these terrorists. GRRRRRR And now they are all out of prison.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (8)

June 13, 2008

Court Gives Detainees Habeas Rights ~ Lawyers Thrilled

"The Nation will live to regret what the Court had done today," Justice Antonin Scalia writes at the end of his dissent in Boumediene v. Bush, the case in which a bare majority of the Supreme Court, for the first time ever, extended rights under the U.S. constitution to enemy combatants who have never set foot on U.S. soil.

Court gives detainees habeas rights

In a stunning blow to the Bush Administration in its war-on-terrorism policies, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign nationals held at Guantanamo Bay have a right to pursue habeas challenges to their detention. The Court, dividing 5-4, ruled that Congress had not validly taken away habeas rights. If Congress wishes to suspend habeas, it must do so only as the Constitution allows — when the country faces rebellion or invasion.
The Court stressed that it was not ruling that the detainees are entitled to be released — that is, entitled to have writs issued to end their confinement. That issue, it said, is left to the District Court judges who will be hearing the challenges. The Court also said that “we do not address whether the President has authority to detain” individuals during the war on terrorism, and hold them at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba; that, too, it said, is to be considered first by the District judges.

The Court also declared that detainees do not have to go through the special civilian court review process that Congress created in 2005, since that is not an adequate substitute for habeas rights. The Court refused to interpret the Detainee Treatment Act — as the Bush Administration had suggested — to include enough legal protection to make it an adequate replacement for habeas. Congress, it concluded, unconstitutionally suspended the writ in enacting that Act.

Justice Scalia

Both the Chief Justice and Justice Antonin Scalia issued dissenting opinions, and all four dissenters joined in both dissents. In his dissent, Justice Scalia writes, “The game of bait-and-switch that today’s opinion plays upon the Nation’s Commander in Chief will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.” Justice Scalia’s 25-page dissenting opinion concludes, “The Nation will live to regret what the Court has done today. I dissent.”

Chief Justice John Roberts

Chief Justice John Roberts says the rule of law and the American people have lost out–and with this ruling, we “lose a bit more control over the conduct of this Nation’s foreign policy to unelected, politically unaccountable judges.”

So who has won? Not the detainees. The Court’s analysis leaves them with only the prospect of further litigation to determine the content of their new habeas right, followed by further litigation to resolve their particular cases,followed by further litigation before the D. C. Circuit— where they could have started had they invoked the DTA procedure. Not Congress, whose attempt to “determine— through democratic means—how best” to balance the security of the American people with the detainees’ liberty interests, see Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U. S. 557, 636 (2006) (BREYER, J., concurring), has been unceremoniously brushed aside. Not the Great Writ, whose majesty is hardly enhanced by its extension to a jurisdictionally quirky outpost, with no tangible benefit to anyone. Not the rule of law, unless by that is meant the rule of lawyers, who will now arguably have a greater role than military and intelligence officials in shaping policy for alien enemy combatants. And certainly not the American people, who today lose a bit more control over the conduct of this Nation’s foreign policy to unelected, politically unaccountable judges. I respectfully dissent."

UPDATE :

The District Court judges in Washington who will hear the detainees’ habeas challenges mandated by the Supreme Court will meet soon to decide how to proceed, that Court announced shortly after the Supreme Court ruled. Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth said “I expect we’ll call in the lawyers for both sides to see what suggestions they have for how we can approach our task most effectively and efficiently.”

Wild Thing's comment.....

Lock and load comes to mind.

It was bad enough when McCain said he would close GITMO the day after he becomes President and how all on the left want to shut it down too. And now this????!!!

“The Nation will live to regret what the Court had done today”

No truer words.

Supreme Court, for the first time ever, extended rights under the U.S. constitution to enemy combatants who have never set foot on U.S. soil.

Unbelievable!

This is just outrageous. Never before in the history of US warfare have we had to go out and Mirandize prisoners of war. That's what we're going to effectively have to do. We're going to have to read prisoners of war their rights just as we would a thief at the local convenience store. These 270 prisoners now have access to the US Constitution as though they are citizens.

This is a victory for the enemy. It is a disgrace. is bad for the country. This is bad for US national security.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (20)

June 12, 2008

Democrats aka CODE Pink vs. Veterans and Those That LOVE America

In this shocking video, code pink calls all United States Marines war criminals. They also claim al qaeda is not a threat to the United States and that World War two was "wrong." And she says nothing wrong with communism.

Code Pink protesters entice veterans and other patriotic Americans during an anti-war protest in Washington, D.C. A veteran, a veteran's wife, and some college students turn the tables on Code Pink and send them away with their traitorous tails between their legs.

Wild Thing's comment........

Don't you just love the Veteran that ran over and took their sign away from them. YEE HAW!

I would give hima huge hug!

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:18 PM | Comments (6)

June 09, 2008

First lady Laura Bush in Afghanistan

First Lady Laura Bush made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Sunday with an appeal to the international community not to abandon the war-torn country in the face of resurgent Taliban violence.

This is Mrs. Bush's third trip to Afghanistan, where the repressive Taliban ruled until U.S. forces invaded following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"The people of Afghanistan don't want to go back and live like that," Mrs. Bush told reporters on her plane as it made the nearly 14-hour flight to the Afghan capital. "They know what it was like. The international community can't drop Afghanistan now, at this very crucial time."

United States first lady Laura Bush, (R) watches a traditional New Zealand arrival dance with Afghanistan's first woman provincial mayor of Bamiran Province Habiba Sarabi (L) after arriving at the Bamiyan Provincial Reconstruction Team Base controlled by the New Zealand military.

U.S. first lady Laura Bush, center, poses for a group photo with New Zealand soliders during a welcoming ceremony at the military compound in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 8, 2008. New Zealand military took over Bamiyan's Provincial Reconstruction Team Base from U.S. Troops in 2003.

U.S. first lady Laura Bush speaks to Afghan women during a visit to Kabul June 8, 2008. Bush appealed to the international community on Sunday not to abandon Afghanistan in the face of resurgent Taliban violence. Rocked by daily battles with Taliban rebels that have killed some 12,000 people in two years, Kabul is to ask international donors in Paris this week to fund a $50-billion five-year development plan it hopes will undercut the insurgency.

U.S. first lady Laura Bush poses with U.S. military personnel stationed at Bagram AB before her departure for Slovenia after a surprise visit to Afghanistan

Wild Thing's comment........

Laura Bush is first class all the way. I thought it would be nice to do a post about her trip to Afghanistan.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 AM | Comments (7)

June 02, 2008

Lance Cpl. Crutchfield On Leave From Iraq Killed For His $ 8.00

Rest in peace, Lance Cpl. Crutchfield. America is proud of you.

Marine, back from Iraq, shot dead in his home town

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- On leave from the violence he had survived in the war in Iraq, a young Marine was so wary of crime on the streets of his own home town that he carried only $8 to avoid becoming a robbery target.

Despite his caution, Lance Cpl. Robert Crutchfield, 21, was shot point-blank in the neck during a robbery at a bus stop.

Feeding and breathing tubes kept him alive 41/2 months, until he died of an infection on May 18.

Two men have been charged in the attack, and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason said Friday the case was under review to decide whether to seek the death penalty.

"It is an awful story," said Alberta Holt, the young Marine's aunt and his legal guardian when he was a teenager determined to flee a troubled Cleveland school for safer surroundings in the suburbs.

Crutchfield was attacked on January 5 while he and his girlfriend were waiting for a bus. He had heeded the warnings of commanders that a Marine on leave might be seen as a prime robbery target with a pocketful of money, so he only carried $8, his military ID card and a bank card.

"They took it, turned his pockets inside out, took what he had and told him since he was a Marine and didn't have any money he didn't deserve to live. They put the gun to his neck and shot him," Holt told The Associated Press.

The two men charged in the attack were identified as Ean Farrow, 19, and Thomas Ray III, 20, both of Cleveland. Their attorneys did not respond to The Associated Press' requests for comment.

Crutchfield knew he was returning to Iraq for another tour of duty, but had hesitated to tell his family until he was nearing the end of his 30-day leave.

He apparently had a troubled family. Holt wouldn't discuss it except to say "his mom and dad didn't raise him, just his grandmother and me." He didn't smoke or drink, she said.

He had attended Cleveland's inner-city East High School, but asked that he be allowed to live with his aunt and grandmother and attend suburban Bedford High School for his final two years.

"He saw his school was in turmoil and asked to get out," Holt said.

Bedford High teachers recalled Crutchfield's smile, his pride in his appearance, his determination to join the Marine Corps after graduation in 2005 and his aspiration to become an architect.

"He was friendly and kind and willing to help out in any way that he could," counselor Yvonne Sims said in an e-mail.

Connie LaNasa, who works in the school office, said Crutchfield was a well-behaved student and went about his school work with little notice.

"He lived out what he wanted to do and that is to be a Marine," LaNasa said.

Faculty members remembered Crutchfield as a top student in the computer design program, an office assistant and participant in the prom fashion show.

After his long hospitalization, an infection broke out a week before he died. "He said it felt like he was getting hit by lightning," Holt said.

When Crutchfield's body was laid out Tuesday in the Sacrificial Missionary Baptist Church, his white military dress hat was tugged down close to his eyes to conceal the skull flap that had been kept open to relieve swelling in his brain.

Marines provided an honor guard at his funeral service and carried the casket to his grave at the Western Reserve National Cemetery near Akron.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This is so sad!! What an awful tragedy!! Prayers for his family. LCpl Crutchfield wasn't the one who didn't deserve to live. I hope they fry those two worthless creeps.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (11)

May 30, 2008

Nancy Pelosi Says We Should All Be Thanking....IRAN!

"Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn’t happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn’t accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians - they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities - the Iranians."

— Nancy Pelosi, during an 80-minute interview with reporters and members of the editorial board of The San Francisco Chronicle, 5/28

80-minute interview can be found HERE.

Wild Thing's comment........

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has set us all straight. Our soldiers, risking their lives, aren't responsible for the reduction of violence in Iraq and the solidifying of their government. According to Madam Speaker, we should all be thanking… Iran.....OMG she is nuts! Discounting the success of the American military, denying the accomplishments of U.S. and our allies, and giving the credit to our most dangerous enemies!

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (13)

May 18, 2008

Matthis Chiroux US soldier refuses to serve in 'illegal Iraq war'

Breitbart ....for complete article

"I was from a poor, white family from the south, and I did badly in school," the now 24-year-old told AFP.

"I was 'filet mignon' for recruiters. They started phoning me when I was in 10th grade," or around 16 years old, he added.

Chiroux joined the US army straight out of high school nearly six years ago, and worked his way up from private to sergeant.

He served in Afghanistan, Germany, Japan, and the Philippines and was due to be deployed next month in Iraq.

On Thursday, he refused to go, saying he considers Iraq an illegal war.

"I stand before you today with the strength and clarity and resolve to declare to the military, my government and the world that this soldier will not be deploying to Iraq," Chiroux said in the sun-filled rotunda of a congressional building in Washington.

"My decision is based on my desire to no longer continue violating my core values to support an illegal and unconstitutional occupation... I refuse to participate in the Iraq occupation," he said, as a dozen veterans of the five-year-old Iraq war looked on.

Minutes earlier, Chiroux had cried openly as he listened to former comrades-in-arms testify before members of Congress about the failings of the Iraq war.

IVAW member Matthis Chiroux announces his refusal to deploy to Iraq
Here it is Winter Soldier on the Hill and this twit is their latest claim to so called fame.

IVAW

Wild Thing's comment........

This crap is John Kerry revisited!!!

Six years down the road after promotions and reenlistments, he’s blaming it on the recruiters????

What a hypocritical jerk!!!!!

He volunteered, then he reenlisted and I'm sure got a big reup bonus out of it too. He has been cashing those paychecks for many years and now the cowardly bastard wants to quit because he is afraid to go to Iraq.!!!!!!

Patriotic dissent my arse...The enemy supporting propaganda from the left is working.

"My decision is based on my desire to no longer continue violating my core values to support an illegal and unconstitutional occupation..."

From a bad high school student to an expert on constitutional law in a few short years. Guess that will be his claim to those teaching him the propaganda in to his mush brain.

Once a traitor...always a traitor!!

Patton knew what to do with someone like this:

Patton's Speech to the Troops in England May 31, 1944

"Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the G_ddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men."

....Thank you Mark for sending the link to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (18)

Smackdown Of Keith Olbermann By Mark Levin

Olbermann on Wednesday's "Countdown" "accused the President of 'panoramic and murderous deceit,' and of 'creating' an America that 'includes cold-blooded killers who will kill people to achieve their political objectives.'"

Wild Thing's comment........

This scum Olbermann needs to be removed or forced to resign. Our guys are getting killed and this puke gets paid to say this stuff. I am sick of these anti-American creeps on the media defaming our country.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (6)

Olbermann Calls US Troops "Cold Blooded Killers"!

Laura Ingraham Blasts Olbermann for Calling US Troops "Cold Blooded Killers"!

Wild Thing's comment........

I agree with what the second to the last caller said......Olberman's head on a platter! "

This bashing our troops should never be ignored.

Someone said to me yesterday about what Olbermann said to just ignore it that he is just asking for attention.

Maybe so, but there is a danger in NOT pointing things like this out, because it is like saying it is OK to say such a thing and it is NOT!

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (6)

May 10, 2008

The Threat That Radical Islam Represents To The West

The threat that radical islam represents to the west

Wild Thing's comment.......

Walid Shoebat is amazing and well worth it to hear him speak. His books are excellent as well. He became a Christian and his life has been in danger ever since.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (8)

May 09, 2008

Dust Off The Waterboarding Equipment!!

UPDATE:

This is an update to the story further down. Thank you Lynn for the heads up about this.

Al Qeada in Iraq leader not captured - U.S. military

BAGHDAD, May 9 (Reuters) - A man seized by Iraqi forces in the northern city of Mosul is not Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, a senior U.S. military official said on Friday.

"He has not been detained," the official told Reuters, without giving further details. Several Iraqi officials had earlier said Masri had been captured in an operation late on Wednesday

Suspected al Qaeda leader in Iraq arrested

Iraqi security forces have detained a man suspected of being the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq after a captured associate led them to him sleeping in a house in the northern city of Mosul, Iraqi officials said on Friday May 9,2008).

The U.S. military in Baghdad said it was checking the reports that Abu Ayyab al-Masri, an Egyptian also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, had been detained.

If confirmed, the arrest would be another blow for Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in Iraq, which has reeled under a wave of U.S. military operations in the past year and been forced to regroup in northern Iraq.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said an associate of Masri detained in an earlier operation took security forces late on Wednesday to where the al Qaeda leader was hiding.

After being detained, Masri confessed to being the al Qaeda in Iraq leader, he said, adding that his identity still had to be confirmed. Other Iraqi security officials said the suspect was in American custody for identification.

Al Qaeda in Iraq was headed by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until he was killed in a U.S. air strike in June 2006. His successor, Masri, was Zarqawi's close associate, and has a U.S. bounty of $5 million (2.6 million pounds) on his head.

Duraid Kashmula, the governor of Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, also said the detained man had confessed to being Masri.

"When police entered the house, they found him asleep," Kashmula said, adding the suspect was alone.

"These is no doubt that the person arrested is Masri. The operation was very quick and easy. There were no clashes."

U.S. officials blame al Qaeda in Iraq for most big bombings in the country, including an attack on a revered Shi'ite shrine in Samarra in February 2006 that sparked a wave of sectarian carnage that nearly tipped Iraq into all-out civil war.

But a build-up of U.S. troops last year allowed the military to focus a series of offensives against the group. The emergence of Sunni Arab tribal security units also helped to provide intelligence on al Qaeda activities.

URBAN STRONGHOLD

The result was that al Qaeda has largely been pushed out of Baghdad and its former stronghold in the western Anbar province to areas in northern Iraq, such as Mosul.

American generals say Mosul is al Qaeda in Iraq's last remaining urban stronghold in the country.

But U.S. commanders warn that the group, while significantly weakened, can still carry out large-scale attacks.

Iraq's Interior Ministry said last May that Masri had been killed, but soon afterwards al Qaeda released an audio tape purportedly from him.

And in an hour-long audio tape issued last month also said to be from him, Masri called for renewed attacks on American troops and lashed out at U.S. President George Bush.

He urged militants from the Sunni Islamist group to "celebrate" the recent announcement that the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq had passed 4,000.

"We must celebrate this event in our special way, and make the defeated Bush join us in this celebration," he said.

He called on al Qaeda fighters to provide "a head of an American as a present to the trickster Bush" in a month-long campaign that he called the "Attack of Righteousness".

Al Qaeda in Iraq shares a name and ideology if not organisational ties with Osama bin Laden's network, which was blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

The U.S. military says al Qaeda in Iraq is largely foreign led but that its foot soldiers are mainly Iraqis.

Wild Thing's comment........

This is a big fish .. he’s full of valuable info. This is HUGE! Tah dah Troops!

OH wait incoming memo from B.Hussein Obama....Obama says he wants to talk with him and work out an understanding.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (10)

I Say Take The Prisoners At GITMO Out Once But Only Once!

Recycling Terrorists

Investors Business Daily

The U.S. has been releasing Gitmo terrorists only to see them rejoin the jihad and kill again. The blood of their victims is on the hands of the ACLU .

Taliban leader Abdullah Mehsud spent 25 months at Gitmo until his release from cruel American bondage in 2004. He insisted he was an innocent traveler when captured in Afghanistan, not a terrorist fighting with the Taliban. While out on his own recognizance, he returned to his native South Waziristan, where he rebuilt a Taliban cadre estimated at 5,000 foot soldiers.

Last year, Mehsud blew himself up with a grenade to avoid arrest during a raid.

But his brother, Baitullah Mehsud, now commands 30,000 fighters who actively support al-Qaida in Pakistan. He also allegedly masterminded the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

These are the supposedly innocent goatherders, shepherds and bedouins the ACLU and other bleeding hearts claim the military is torturing at the camp they so desperately want to shut down.

Last year, the ACLU even started a "Close Guantanamo" campaign that included celebrities at the Oscars wearing orange ribbons to show support for the poor Gitmo terrorists forced to play soccer and pray five times a day in hot orange jumpsuits.

The ACLU is lobbying Congress to bulldoze the "dungeons," unshackle the terrorists and "release them to countries where they won't be tortured." Their campaign is working. Of the 770 enemy combatants detained at Gitmo, 390 have been set free or remanded to Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the U.K. and other countries.

The ACLU apparently doesn't care if they're being recycled for jihad against the West. The human rights of live terrorists appear to be more important than the rights of their dead victims.

But the latest case of the Kuwaiti suicide bomber is yet another reason to keep Gitmo open, stocked and locked. In fact, we should throw away the key on these monsters.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Take them out but shoot them and be done with it. I will never forget the bodies of our soliders that were found or returned in pieces. These people worship death not life and I am all for helping them get to their fairytale 72 virgins on a carpet soaked in pig blood.

A few days ago I did a post :Former Guantanamo Detainee Carried Out Iraq Suicide Attack, about Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti released from Guantanamo. He was one the suicide bombers in the latest attack in Mosul.

When are we going to learn that these vermin have NO qualms about lying? Shame and guilt for dishonesty is not in their culture -- it's going to kill us if we don't learn that!

Here is a past quote from Vice President Dick Cheney (June 23, 2005), Cheney does not want GITMO closed:

"The people that are there are people we picked up on the battlefield, primarily in Afghanistan. They’re terrorists. They’re bomb makers. They’re facilitators of terror. They’re members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban….We’ve let go those that we’ve deemed not to be a continuing threat. But the 520-some that are there now are serious, deadly threats to the United States."

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (22)

May 08, 2008

FBI Confirms Stateside Terror Cells

FBI confirms stateside terror cells, credits U.S. Muslim community

world tribune

FBI Director Robert Mueller said last week that the FBI has uncovered small groups of Al Qaida terrorists in the United States, although he declined to provide details.

In House Judiciary Committee testimony, Mueller was asked about cells of Al Qaida in the country.

“As to your first question as to whether we have found affiliates or, as you would call them, cells of Al Qaida in the United States, yes, we have. Again, I cannot get into it in public session, but I would say yes, we have.”

Mueller defended the FBI’s Muslim outreach program that critics say have put the bureau in a role of providing legitimacy to Muslim groups that support overseas extremists.

“And every opportunity I have, I reaffirm the fact that 99.9 percent of Muslim-Americans or Sikh-Americans, Arab-Americans are every bit as patriotic as anybody else in this room, and that many of our cases are a result of the cooperation from the Muslim community in the United States,” Mueller said.

The FBI has been stepping up intelligence-gathering activities in the United States aimed at providing intelligence that would stop a terrorist attack in advance, but U.S. officials said the intelligence program is still in its early stages.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Just do your jobs please because we out here sure will protect ourselves if you keep worrying more about kissing up to the enemy instead of putting America and we the citizens safety first.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (4)

Now MORE Words Added to Language Target List of No NO's

"It is absurd: how can the most advanced society in human history fall to death cultists? Well, who do you think advanced societies fall to? Something worse, something barbarous, something prepared to fight when you're not." - Mark Steyn, in America Alone

U.S. aims to unlink Islamic, terrorism

Bush Administration Targets Language In War On Terrorism

U.S. officials are being advised in internal government documents to avoid referring publicly to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups as Islamic or Muslim, and not to use terms like jihad or mujahedeen, which "unintentionally legitimize" terrorism.

"There' s a growing consensus [in the Bush administration] that we need to move away from that language," said a former senior administration official who was involved until recently in policy debates on the issue.

Instead, in two documents circulated last month by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), the multiagency center charged with strategic coordination of the U.S. war on terror, officials are urged to use terms such as violent extremists, totalitarian and death cult to characterize al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

"Avoid labeling everything 'Muslim.' It reinforces the 'U.S. vs. Islam' framework that al Qaeda promotes," according to "Words that Work and Words that Don't: A Guide for Counter-Terrorism Communication," produced last month by the center.

"You have a large percentage of the world' s population that subscribes to this religion," the former official said. "Unintentionally alienating them is not a judicious move."

The documents, first reported by the Associated Press, were posted online last week by the Investigative Project on Terrorism.

They highlight developments in the Bush administration's strategy for its war on terror that have been fiercely criticized by some who have been its closest allies on the issue, and apparently are being ignored by the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Some commentators noted after President Bush' s State of the Union speech in January that Mr. McCain had stopped using the term Islamic terrorism, instead referring — as the NCTC guide recommends — to "terrorists and extremists — evil men who despise freedom, despise America, and aim to subject millions to their violent rule."

But in a recent interview with The Washington Times, a McCain aide said the senator would continue to use the term Islamic terrorism.

Daniel Sutherland, who runs the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, insisted that the avoidance of the term Islam in conjunction with terrorism "is in no way an exercise in political correctness. ... We are not watering down what we say."

"There are some terms which al Qaeda wants us to use because they are helpful to them," he said.

The "Words That Work" guide notes, "Although the al Qaeda network exploits religious sentiments and tries to use religion to justify its actions, we should treat it as an illegitimate political organization, both terrorist and criminal."

Instead of calling terrorist groups Muslim or Islamic, the guide suggests using words like totalitarian, terrorist or violent extremist — "widely understood terms that define our enemies appropriately and simultaneously deny them any level of legitimacy."

By employing the language the extremists use about themselves, the guide says, officials can inadvertently help legitimize them in the eyes of Muslims.

"Never use the terms 'jihadist' or 'mujahedeen' ... to describe the terrorists," the guide says. "A mujahed, a holy warrior, is a positive characterization in the context of a just war.

In Arabic, jihad means 'striving in the path of God' and is used in many contexts beyond warfare. Calling our enemies jihadis and their movement a global jihad unintentionally legitimizes their actions."

A longer document produced by Mr. Sutherland' s office and also circulated by the NCTC compiles advice from Islamic community leaders and religious professionals in the United States about terminology officials should use and avoid.

"Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims," says officials should use "terms such as 'death cult,' 'cult-like,' 'sectarian cult,' and 'violent cultists' to describe the ideology and methodology of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups."

It also recommends eschewing the terms Islamist or Islamism — the advocacy of a political system based on Islam — "because the general public, including overseas audiences, may not appreciate the academic distinction between Islamism and Islam."

The use of the term may be accurate, the document says, but "it may not be strategic for [U.S. government] officials to use the term."

Wild Thing's comment........

OK So now we add two more words to the list.

News flash for the Bush/Rice State Department: since the downfall of the USSR, 99% of terrorists are MUSLIMS. ISLAMOFACISM is a real movement.

And last but not least......

ISLAMIC TERRORISM is an accurate description. ISLAM is the cause. TERRORISM is the effect.

"U.S. officials are being advised in internal government documents to avoid referring publicly to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups as Islamic or Muslim"

So these are the two new words added to the list : Muslim and Islamic. I have added them to the skull. If this keeps up I will have to get a bigger skull! Good grief!

My other post on this on April 25th, 2008

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (12)

May 05, 2008

Former Guantanamo Detainee Carried Out Iraq Suicide Attack

Former Guantanamo detainee carried out Iraq suicide attack

International Herald Tribune

Al-Arabiya television reports that a former Guantanamo detainee carried out a recent suicide bombing in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

A cousin says Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti released from Guantanamo in 2005, was reported missing two weeks ago and his family learned of his death Thursday through a friend in Iraq.

The cousin, Salem al-Ajmi, told Al-Arabiya on Thursday that the former detainee was behind the latest attack in Mosul, although he did not provide more details.

Three suicide car bombers targeted Iraqi security forces in Mosul on April 26, killing at least seven people.

Mosul is believed to be the last urban stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi is not the only Guantanamo releasee to return to the fighting. A half dozen have been killed fighting with Al Qa'ida and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

I think these lawyers should also be held accountable.

From Wikipedia:

" On September 2, 2003 attorneys Thomas Wilner, Neil H. Koslowe, Kristine A. Huskey, and Heather Lamberg Kafele filed a Petition for writ of Certiorari on behalf of Al Ajmi and eleven other Guantanamo detainees.
In April 2008 Al Ajmi was reported to have conducted a suicide attack in Iraq."

And let's not forget THIS too:
From John McCain

"I would immediately close Guantanamo Bay, move all the prisoners to Fort Leavenworth (Kansas) and truly expedite the judicial proceedings in their cases," he said.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:48 AM | Comments (8)

May 04, 2008

Explosively Formed Penetrators found in Baghdad

EFP cache found in Warij

FORWARD OPERATING BASE

KALSU, Iraq

Coalition forces found a weapons cache of explosively formed penetrators in the southern Baghdad community of Warij May 2.

Soldiers from 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were on patrol in Warij when they discovered four EFPs hidden in a closet shelf in a factory office. A brand new 107 mm rocket was also discovered. The EFPs were covered with foam and had wires leading from the back.

The cache also included 40 pounds of unknown bulk explosives, a rocket sled and blasting caps.

A guard at the factory was detained after it was determined he lied about having prior knowledge about the rocket and EFPs.

The cache was taken to a nearby forward operating base for investigation.

EFP is an explosively formed penetrator weapon. A high explosive behind a shallow cone of maleable metal (usually copper). When the high explosive detonates, the copper cone is instantly liquified. The now liquid copper forms a “slug” of molten metal flying towards the target at about 24,000 feet per second. The energy is enough to cut a small hole right through heavy armor. The molten metal ignites any flamable material it contacts on its way through the vehicle (preferred target is an armored vehicle such as a tank or armord fighting vehicle). It works like a LASER at ranges up to a couple of hundred yards, depending on the size of the copper disk and the type of explosive used. The Iranians have been making them and smuggling them into Iraq for use against our forces.

EFPs have been used in improvised explosive devices against armoured cars, for example[5] in the 1989 assassination of the German banker Alfred Herrhausen (attributed to the Red Army Faction)[citation needed], and by the Hezbollah in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict[citation needed]. A recent development is their widespread introduction in IEDs by insurgents in Iraq.[6] The charges are generally cylindrical, fabricated from commonly available metal pipe, with the forward end closed by a concave copper or steel disk-shaped liner to create a shaped charge. Explosive is loaded behind the metal liner to fill the pipe. Upon detonation, the explosive projects the liner to form a projectile at a speed well over 1 km/s, depending on the design and type of explosive used. Because they use explosives to form a molten (technically, a super-plastically formed, but still solid) copper penetrator, instead of using an explosive blast or solid metal penetrator, these charges are extremely dangerous, even to the new generation of MRAPs (which are made to withstand an anti-tank mine), and many tanks.[7] Often mounted on crash barriers at window level, they are placed along roadsides at choke points where vehicles must slow down, such as intersections and junctions. This gives the operator time to judge the moment to fire, when the vehicle is moving more slowly.[8] Detonation is controlled by cable, radio control (RC), or remote arming with passive IR (PIR) trigger. EFPs can be deployed singly, in pairs, or in arrays, depending on the tactical situation.

source: WIKIpedia

Wild Thing's comment.......

This is bad news for our military vehicles and their occupants. I am sooo glad they found this and maybe they will find any others so they are not out there anymore. Damn Iran!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (5)

May 02, 2008

Amnesty International Targets Waterboarding In Ad At Cinemas

Amnesty International targets waterboarding

The advertisement can be also be seen starting at 50 cinemas from next month and onwards.

Source : CNN

"Amnesty International is leading the campaign to persuade the US to abandon the practice -- a form of torture used as long ago as the Spanish Inquisition -- and is stepping up its efforts with the release of a graphic and disturbing advertisement.
Kate Allen, the UK director of Amnesty International, said: "Our film shows you what the CIA doesn't want you to see -- the disgusting reality of half-drowning a person.

"For a few seconds, our film-makers did it for real. Even for those few seconds, it's horrifying to watch. The reality -- in a secret prison with no one to stop it -- is much, much worse."

Wild Thing's comment........

Does Amnesty International care about how our soldiers that were taken were mutilated?
Does Amnesty International care about the beheadings of contractors and others from our country?

no ..No... NO! ...Amnesty International could care less!

...Thank you Linda for the link.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (14)

May 01, 2008

Bye Bye US Sovereignty~ US Accepts International Criminal Court

U.S. Accepts International Criminal Court

The Wall Street Journal

A senior Bush administration official said Friday that the U.S. now accepts the "reality" of the International Criminal Court, and that Washington would consider aiding the Hague tribunal in its investigation of atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region.

"The U.S. must acknowledge that the ICC enjoys a large body of international support, and that many countries will look to the ICC as the preferred mechanism" for punishing war crimes that individual countries can't or won't address, John Bellinger, the State Department's chief lawyer, told a conference in Chicago marking the 10th anniversary of the tribunal's founding treaty, the Rome Statute. More than 100 countries have ratified the treaty.

Although it reiterated longstanding U.S. concerns about the court, Mr. Bellinger's speech represented a rhetorical turnabout for an administration that came to power determined to hobble the movement for a permanent war crimes tribunal.

"This is a meaty piece of work," said Richard Dicker, international justice director for Human Rights Watch. "It's impossible to imagine such a statement four years ago."

Shortly before the court opened in 2002, the Bush administration "unsigned" the Rome Statute, which President Clinton had approved before leaving office. President Bush subsequently signed legislation authorizing military action, should the court arrest an American, and limiting U.S. dealings with the tribunal.

An architect of the White House's earlier policies dismissed Mr. Bellinger's remarks as "pabulum" from a State Department that is too solicitous of international institutions. "It would be a great speech in the first Clinton administration, and probably a great speech in the second Clinton administration," said John Bolton, the former ambassador to the United Nations who, as undersecretary of state, signed the letter repudiating Rome Statute.

"It reflects the yearning the Rice State Department has for acceptance" by academics and foreign intellectuals, Mr. Bolton said. "The fight resumes after Jan. 20," when a new administration takes office, he added.

All three senators running for president -- Republican John McCain and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- have voiced reservations about the court, but said they would consider closer cooperation with it.

In 2002, both Arizona Sen. McCain and New York Sen. Clinton voted for the anti-court legislation. But Sen. McCain said in 2005 that "I want us in the ICC, but I'm not satisfied that there are enough safeguards," Reuters reported.

This year, Sen. Clinton said she would "reassess how we can best engage with this institution and hold the worst abusers of human rights to account," in a candidate questionnaire from the American Society of International Law.

Illinois Sen. Obama said much the same, adding, "I will consult thoroughly with our military commanders and also examine the track record of the court before reaching a decision on whether the United States should" join.

The Darfur investigation "is likely to do more than any other factor...to shape U.S. perceptions of the role and impact of the ICC," Mr. Bellinger said Friday. "We want to see the ICC's Darfur work succeed," and are "prepared to consider" providing assistance, he said.

The thaw between the Bush White House and the court began in 2005, when the U.S. refrained from vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution referring Darfur atrocities to the court.

Mr. Bellinger said the U.S. wanted the court to "complement" the U.N. Security Council's agenda. That would ensure the court remains aligned with American interests, because the council can take no action without assent from its permanent members -- the U.S., Britain, China, France and Russia.

Mr. Bellinger said the U.S. would look to a diplomatic conference slated for 2010, which is expected to discuss definitions for the international crime of "aggression."

At the Nuremberg tribunal after World War II, the Allies prosecuted Nazi leaders for waging "wars of aggression." More recently, however, the U.S. has worried that a vague definition could be used as a pretext to prosecute American officials for military operations.

The International Criminal Court is intended as a court of last resort for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, when national justice systems can't or won't take action. It has cases open in several countries, including the Central African Republic, Congo and Uganda, but has yet to conduct a trial.

Wild Thing's comment........

Is Bellinger INSANE? State Dept. always looking out for other countries at the expense of ours.

A senior Bush administration official said Friday that the U.S. now accepts the “reality” of the International Criminal Court....Are politicians just born stupid or what?

US Military Personel would be at risk or prosecution for obeying orders in a theater of war that are later portrayed by the press as " War Crimes."

Because our nation has a sense of morality, it can be used against us, and a soldier who is an alleged "baby killer" could actually halt or redefine US policy by virtue of action of the ICC and press coverage.

I am not sure but I think this would mean we would no longer have a sovereign nation.

Wouldn't it be possible then for the ICC to also effectively implement gun control laws enacted by the United Nations, in direct treaty superiority to the 2nd ammendment.

This is really horrible news, and if its an initiative at State, it needs to be halted and decapitated, forthwith!

I sure miss John Bolton!

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:45 AM | Comments (14)

April 25, 2008

Bush Administration Targets Language In War On Terrorism

‘Jihadist’ booted from U.S. government lexicon

MSNBC

WASHINGTON

Don't call them jihadists any more.

And don't call al-Qaida a movement.

The Bush administration has launched a new front in the war on terrorism, this time targeting language.

Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter Terrorism Center, are telling their people not to describe Islamic extremists as "jihadists" or "mujahedeen," according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Lingo like "Islamo-fascism" is out, too.

The reason: Such words may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or by causing offense to moderates.

For example, while Americans may understand "jihad" to mean "holy war," it is in fact a broader Islamic concept of the struggle to do good, says the guidance prepared for diplomats and other officials tasked with explaining the war on terror to the public. Similarly, "mujahedeen," which means those engaged in jihad, must be seen in its broader context.

U.S. officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesmen for ordinary Muslims," says a Homeland Security report. It's entitled "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims."

"Regarding 'jihad,' even if it is accurate to reference the term, it may not be strategic because it glamorizes terrorism, imbues terrorists with religious authority they do not have and damages relations with Muslims around the world," the report says.

'Official use only'

Language is critical in the war on terrorism, says another document, an internal "official use only" memorandum circulating through Washington entitled "Words that Work and Words that Don't: A Guide for Counterterrorism Communication."

The memo, originally prepared in March by the Extremist Messaging Branch at the National Counter Terrorism Center, was approved for diplomatic use this week by the State Department, which plans to distribute a version to all U.S. embassies, officials said.

"It's not what you say but what they hear," the memo says in bold italic lettering, listing 14 points about how to better present the war on terrorism.

"Don't take the bait," it says, urging officials not to react when Osama bin Laden or al-Qaida affiliates speak. "We should offer only minimal, if any, response to their messages. When we respond loudly, we raise their prestige in the Muslim world."

"Don't compromise our credibility" by using words and phrases that may ascribe benign motives to terrorists.

Some other specifics:

* "Never use the terms 'jihadist' or 'mujahedeen' in conversation to describe the terrorists. ... Calling our enemies 'jihadis' and their movement a global 'jihad' unintentionally legitimizes their actions."

* "Use the terms 'violent extremist' or 'terrorist.' Both are widely understood terms that define our enemies appropriately and simultaneously deny them any level of legitimacy."

* On the other hand, avoid ill-defined and offensive terminology: "We are communicating with, not confronting, our audiences. Don't insult or confuse them with pejorative terms such as 'Islamo-fascism,' which are considered offensive by many Muslims."

The memo says the advice is not binding and does not apply to official policy papers but should be used as a guide for conversations with Muslims and media.

Caution against 'grandiose descriptions'

At least at the top level, it appears to have made an impact. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who once frequently referred to "jihad" in her public remarks, does not appear to have used the word, except when talking about the name of a specific terrorist group, since last September.

The memo mirrors advice distributed to British and European Union diplomats last year to better explain the war on terrorism to Muslim communities there.

It also draws heavily on the Homeland Security report that examined the way American Muslims reacted to different phrases used by U.S. officials to describe terrorists and recommended ways to improve the message.

Because of religious connotations, that report, released in January and obtained by AP this week, counseled "caution in using terms such as, 'jihadist,' 'Islamic terrorist,' 'Islamist,' and 'holy warrior' as grandiose descriptions."

"We should not concede the terrorists' claim that they are legitimate adherents of Islam," the report said, adding that bin Laden and his adherents fear "irrelevance" more than anything else.

"We must carefully avoid giving bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders the legitimacy they crave, but do not possess, by characterizing them as religious figures, or in terms that may make them seem to be noble in the eyes of some," it said.

Wild Thing's comment..........

You just know I am not liking this.

My comment will be brought to you via the 1st Amendment, thank you ever so.

If not jihadists, how about bitter Muslims who cling to guns/swords and religion.

All of this political correctness is literally an open door to the deaths of more innocent Americans (civilian and military).

So what are we to call the Gaza Strip palis and Hamas, are we to rename them Obamamaniacs? Since they have stated they support B. Hussein Obama 08.

Until we get a President who will deal with that reality, we will not fight them as effectively as we should. And I will include in this our open borders.

Does this trump freedom of speech, ,maybe not among us but certainly among those that got the memo's sent out.

What a crock.

So the government says I can not call these MUSLIM SCUM BAG Islamic extremists “jihadists” or “mujahedeen,” err...what was that JIHADISTS OR MUJAHEDEEN.

If we can't call them what they are, then we might as we stop fighting with them. How about calling them "our future rulers"? That shouldn't offend them. What kind of war is this, where we are afraid of describing our enemy?

These jihadists must be laughing their a$$e$ off as they contemplate the simpering fecklessness of the politically correct infidel clowns whom they are bent on obliterating.

This largest jihad in world history is highly, wildly successful, and, it is in the later stages as published by the Muslim Brotherhoods masterplan discovered in Switzerland in 1991 and published for all that want to read it.

This foolishness, as the EU has also adopted for all its officials, will have no effect on the Muslim plan. While they fight among themselves as well, the plan goes on with steady progress. Sharia financial banking will bring Sharia law to the West thru financial institutions if nothing else. Already 30 percent of the London exchange, 20 per cent of the NASDAQ, and the presence of a Sharia law oriented Muslim advisory board for the Dow Index and the establishment of Islamic banks in Europe are advancing Sharia law rapidly. Of greater import is the decision to downplay the clear and present danger this jihad represents for the United States by refusing to identify it by the correct terminology to our own population.

At a house hearing on Darfur on C Span last night, the directive on the avoidance of jihad, Islamist, islamofascism was clear...all these were replaced by the term ‘bad actor or bad actors’ by Negroponte, Boxer, Mendez, etc.

Such neutering of correct descriptive terms will weaken our own ability to defend ourselves as it will at the same time have no effect on this jihad which is on every continent and growing.

It is preposterous that our State Dept., copycatting the EU which is becoming Sharia oriented more daily, has decided to call jihad ‘bad acting’.

Maybe the EU will now copycat the US state department. Will the US political parties attempt ‘one upsmanship’ and move further to readdress jihad as ‘childish historical behavior’?

I am sure you all remember this movie that was made........

Obsession is a film about the threat of Radical Islam to Western civilization. Using unique footage from Arab television, it reveals an 'insiders view' of the hatred the Radicals are teaching, their incitement of global jihad, and their goal of world domination.

This just part V of a 10 part video series. The film Obsession is also on DVD.

CLICK HERE to see part V of Obsession

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (23)

April 24, 2008

Congratulations General Petraeus On The Nomination

Bush Nominates Petraeus To Lead Central Command

washington post

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq and the public face of the war effort there, became President Bush's nominee yesterday to supervise U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia as head of Central Command, putting him in position to oversee American strategy in Iraq for years to come.

Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who worked closely with Petraeus as the No. 2 commander in Iraq until two months ago, was nominated to receive a fourth star and to take Petraeus's current job as the leader of Multi-National Force-Iraq.

Together, the moves would elevate the two military officers most responsible for executing last year's new counterinsurgency strategy and "surge" of nearly 30,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Senior officials said the shifts in top command are aimed at minimizing disruption to the military campaign in Iraq, at a time when security there remains fragile, and as the prospect looms in Washington of major changes in Iraq policy after the U.S. presidential election in November.

"This arrangement probably preserves the likelihood of continued momentum and progress," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in announcing the nominations at the Pentagon yesterday morning. Referring to Odierno as Petraeus's "right-hand man" and pointing to the officers' close relationships with U.S. and Iraqi commanders, Gates said the decisions will "provide some continuity for a new administration," though he added that the next president will "always have the opportunity to make a change."

In a pattern similar to that of World War II, the nominations mark the ascent within the military of a generation of Army division commanders who rose to prominence as combat leaders during multiple battlefield tours. Petraeus led the 101st Airborne Division during the Iraq invasion, then returned as a three-star general overseeing the building of Iraqi forces before taking his current job -- in all, spending nearly four of the past five years in Iraq. Odierno led the 4th Infantry Division in the Sunni Triangle early in the war and returned to Baghdad as the top commander for day-to-day military operations.

Gates also announced that his senior military assistant, Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, will replace Odierno as Bush's nominee to become the Army's vice chief of staff. Chiarelli, a veteran of two commands in Iraq who has written articles advocating fresh thinking within the Army, would run the service day-to-day and would seek to manage the strain on the force from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gates said he hopes the Senate will confirm the nominees before Memorial Day.

Wild Thing's comment.........

I am very happy for GEN Petreus on the recommendation for the CENTCOM. My understanding is that as CENTCOM Commander, he will have direct command of all forces in the Southwest Asian theater -- including Iraq but not limited to Iraq. So if Iran is put on the table, it will be on CENTCOM's table.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (10)

Saddam's ex-deputy in Syria Leading Insurgents In Iraq

A wanted poster, released by the US-led coalition in Baghdad in 2003, shows Saddam Hussein's number two, Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, offering 10 million dollars for his capture.

RIYADH

VIDEO of B. Hussein Obama

Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, who tops the Iraqi government's list of most-wanted fugitives, is in Syria from where he leads the insurgency in Iraq, an Iraqi official said in remarks published Wednesday.

"We have precise and definite information. Izzat al-Duri is in Syria, we know it. He funds several terrorist groups and leads a Baath group," national security adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat.

"We spoke about this to the Syrians several times. They deny his presence (in Syria) despite the evidence we have," he said.

Duri, the most senior official in the ousted Saddam Hussein regime to be still on the run, heads a 41 most-wanted list released by the Iraqi government in 2006 with a 10-million-dollar bounty.

He was Saddam's number two under the former Baath regime and is considered an operational leader with close ties to anti-US insurgents.

Wild Thing's comment........

Sickening! I would love for us to drop a bomb right on this guy while he is saying one of his prayers.

There was an announcement earlier that he was captured but it is a false rumor. This is the lastest from the military.

afp report

"The US military on Wednesday denied reports it is holding Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, the number two under Saddam Hussein.

"We are aware of media reports that Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri has been captured," the military told AFP in an email.

"At this point, we can say that he is not in coalition custody and we have no reports that he was captured by Iraqi security forces either."

Al-Arabiya television channel reported that a man suspected to be Duri, who tops the Iraqi government's list of most-wanted fugitives, has been captured in Iraq."

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (12)

April 15, 2008

Son's Of Iraq Working With Our Troops

PLEASE CLICK IMAGE ABOVE FOR LARGER SIZE, Thank you.

A Multinational Force Iraq map shows the number of Iraqis who've become part of the Sons of Iraq working to counter al-Qaida and insurgents in Iraq.

U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus submitted the chart as part of his testimony before Congress April 8 and 9, 2008.

Defense Dept. chart
Source: Strategy Page.com Military

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (4)

April 09, 2008

Call for Congressional Investigation of Islamic Symbolism in the Flight 93 Memorial

Many features of the chosen Flight 93 Memorial design are intolerable:

1. THE GIANT CRESCENT. The centerpiece of the original “Crescent of Embrace” design was a giant red Islamic shaped crescent. Every particle of this original crescent design remains completely intact in the so-called redesign, which only added a few irrelevant trees. The giant crescent is still there.

2. IT POINTS TO MECCA. The giant crescent points to Mecca. A crescent that Muslims face into to face Mecca is called a "mihrab," and is the central feature around which every mosque is built. The Flight 93 Memorial is on track to become the world's largest mosque.

3. THE ISLAMIC SUNDIAL. The minaret-like Tower of Voices is a year-round accurate Islamic prayer-time sundial (one of many typical mosque features that are realized in the crescent design, all on the same epic scale as the half mile wide central crescent).

4. THE 44 BLOCKS. There are 44 glass blocks on the flight path, equaling the number of passengers, crew, AND terrorists.

Intentional or not, these features are entirely unacceptable. This travesty must stop and investigations must begin.

There is a Petition:

Online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/HonorFlight93/

Sponsor of Petition:
Tom Burnett Sr. (father of Tom Burnett Jr., murdered on Flight 93)

Other sponsors of the Petition:
Alec Rawls
Bill Steiner
Lt Col. Harry Beam U.S. Army Ret.
Fran Bevan

From Tom Burnett Sr:

Dear Fellow Americans:

The planned Flight 93 Memorial contains extensive Islamic symbolism. It is an insult to my son Tom, and to the other murdered heroes of Flight 93 who stopped Islamic terrorists from destroying the White House or the Capitol that terrible September day.

Please consider signing this online petition that I and some compatriots have put together. It calls for a new memorial design, and for investigation of the present design. If you want to do more, feel free to forward or post this appeal.

For those who are not familiar, the original “Crescent of Embrace” design was laid out in the crescent and star configuration of an Islamic flag:

Outrage over this overt Islamic symbolism forced the Memorial Project to disguise the original crescent with a few additional trees, but every particle of the original design remains completely intact in the so-called redesign. The giant crescent and star flag is still there!

The Memorial Project assumes that any similarity to an Islamic crescent has to be unintentional. Even if it WERE unintentional it would still be intolerable, but how can anyone look at that crescent and star configuration and think that it CAN’T be intentional? That is like seeing an airliner fly into the World Trade Center and thinking that it CAN’T be intentional. Worst of all, the Memorial Project refuses to confront voluminous evidence that the Islamic symbolism IS intentional.

It turns out that a person facing into the giant crescent will be facing Mecca. A crescent that Muslims face into to face Mecca is called a “mihrab” and is the central feature around which every mosque is built. The crescent memorial will be the world’s largest mosque!

When TWO airplanes fly into the World Trade Center, even the most naïve person has start taking the possibility of intent seriously, but not the Memorial Project. The Islamic symbolism in Flight 93 Memorial goes on and on, but the Park Service refuses to be concerned.

Architect Paul Murdoch says that the crescent shape comes from the hijacked airplane breaking the circle where it crosses the upper crescent tip. The flight path then continues down to between the crescent tips where Flight 93 crashed. (That’s right: the crash site is the star on the crescent and star flag.)

Along the flight path are to be placed 44 translucent blocks, equaling the number of passengers, crew, AND terrorist

Left image: The Memorial Wall, traces flight path just above the point of impact. The white line at eye level is a set of 43 glass blocks, 40 to be inscribed with the names of my son and the other passengers and crew, and three (on the near side of the gap) to be inscribed with 9/11 date. Right image: At the upper crescent tip, at the end of the Entry Portal Walkway, sits a huge glass block, the 44th glass block on the flight path. It marks the spot where, in the architect’s description, the terrorists broke our humanitarian circle, turning it into a giant (Islamic shaped) crescent. Inscription: “A field of honor forever.”

I don’t want to celebrate the terrorist’s circle-breaking crescent-creating feat, and I certainly don’t want my son’s name inscribed on that terrorist memorializing block count.

We need to get the word out: the Flight 93 Memorial has been re-hijacked, and this time the whole nation is aboard. We have to get up out of our seats and stop this abomination!

Sincerely,

Tom Burnett Sr.

Northfield Minnesota, March 2008

Online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/HonorFlight93/

Wild Thing's comment........

The terrorists had years to plan. The passengers; mere minutes. The terrorists presumed all the weak Americans aboard the various flights they hijacked could be cowed with box cutters and fake bombs. When those cowards targeted United Flight 93 their presumption didn't serve them well. They tangled with the wrong bunch of Americans.

We will never forget the heroism, of Todd Beamer, of Jeremy Glick, Mark Bingham, and Tom Burnett, and of flight attendants CeeCee Lyles and Sandy Bradshaw.

"The first American flag flown by the patriots of the early Revolutionary War was not the Stars and Stripes but a banner showing a coiled snake, with the inscription DON'T TREAD ON ME. America's latest war for freedom did not begin with a speech by George W. Bush or a cruise-missile attack on a terrorist-training camp in Afghanistan. It began with a group of citizen soldiers on Flight 93 who rose up, like their forefathers, to defy tyranny. And when they came storming down the aisle, it wasn't the Americans who were afraid."

9:03

United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the WTC. United warns pilots to "Beware cockpit intrusion." One of the two pilots simply typed, "Confirmed."

9:27

United Flight 93 checks in with Cleveland flight control with a jaunty, "Good Morning."

9:28

Cleveland control hears screams and scuffling over the radio channel. Asks if somebody called and gets no answer. One minute later, a controller hears a pilot yelling, "Get out of here! Get out of here."

9:30

Passengers are herded to the back of the plane. One terrorist, with a red box strapped around him, guards them. They immediately start phoning loved ones and discussing amongst themselves what to do. Who are these "weak and impudent" American infidels?

Jeremy Glick, a 6-foot-1 220-pound NCAA Judo champion.

Tom Burnett, a take-charge kind of guy who was a college quarterback.

Todd Beamer, a college point guard known as a "gamer," the team member who makes the winning play.

Mark Bingham, 6 feet 5, had played rugby on a championship team at Cal (once arrested for tackling the Stanford mascot at a football game!) Lou Nacke, 5 feet 3 and 200 pounds, was a weightlifter with a superman tattoo on his shoulder.

Rich Guadagno, trained in hand to hand combat.

William Cashman a former iron worker and paratrooper with the 101st Airborne.

Alan Beaven, 6 feet 3, a rock climber and former Scotland Yard prosecutor

Flight attendant CeeCee Lyles had been a detective with the Ft. Pierce, Florida police force.

Linda Gronlund, a lawyer, had a brown belt in karate.

Lauren Grandcolas had organized a skydiving expedition. On her fridge she had a note, GET BUSY LIVING OR GET BUSY DYING.

There was even a pilot among them:Don Greene, who, with the right instructions from ground control might have been able to land the Boeing 757.

9:36

United Flight 93 makes a hairpin turn west of Cleveland and heads southeast toward, D.C.

Deena Burnett was preparing breakfast for her three girls in San Ramon, CA when the phone rang. It was Tom. He told her they were being hijacked and told her to call the authorities. Deena called the FBI. She was on the phone with them when her call waiting beeped. This time Tom told her the hijackers were in the cockpit. Deena told Tom about the World Trade Center.

Jeremy Glick called his wife Lyz. He described "three Iranian-looking men" wearing red headbands and said they had a bomb. Lyz panicked for a moment when she heard the word 'bomb." For several minutes husband and wife said "I love you" over and over. Jeremy asked Lyz if it was true, as other passengers were saying, that the WTC had been attacked. Lyz told him about it. Lyz asked Jeremy if the hijackers had machine guns. "No machine guns, just knives."

Todd Beamer's call, at 9:45, was routed from an Airfone to operator Lisa Jefferson at GTE's Customer Center in Oakbrook, Illinois. Lisa and Todd were all business until the plan lurched and bobbed (some speculate the terrorists, knowing the passengers were up to something, were attempting to knock them off their feet and frighten them). For a moment his composure cracked, "Jesus we're going down." Then he steadied. "We're coming back up." "Lisa," he said suddenly. "Yes?" responded Jefferson. "That's my wife," said Beamer . "Well, that's my name, too, Todd." "Oh, my God. [pause] I don't think we're going to get out of this thing. I'm going to have to go out on faith." Jefferson tried to comfort him. Todd made Jefferson promise to call his wife if he didn't make it home. He told her about his little boys and the new baby on the way. Then he said the passengers were going to try to jump the hijackers. "Are you sure that's what you want to do, Todd?" "It's what we have to do." He asked her to pray with him.

Sandy Bradshaw's husband, Phil, could hear a group of men reciting the 23rd Psalm in the background. "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Sandy told Phil, the flight attendants were filling pots with hot water to throw on the hijackers. "It's time to go now, we're running up to first class."

CeeCee Lyles was telling her husband, Lorne about the situation. They were saying their good-byes when suddenly Lorne heard screaming, and CeeCee yelled, "They're doing it! They're doing it!"

Tom Burnett called Deena for a fourth time. "We're going to do something," said Tom. Deena pleaded with him to sit down and not draw attention to himself. "If they are going to run this plane into the ground, we're going to do something." Deena told him she loved him and asked what else she should do. "Just pray, Deena, pray." He hung up.

Todd Beamer and Lisa Jefferson prayed the Lord's Prayer. "Jesus help me!" he said, then Jefferson heard him recite the 23rd Psalm and say, "Are you guys ready? Let's roll."

"Beginning at 9:57 the cockpit voice recorder began to pick up the sounds of a death struggle. There is the crash of galley dishes and trays being hurled, a man's voice screaming loudly. The hijackers can be heard calling on each other to hold the door. One of the passengers cries out, "Let's get them!" More crashing and screaming. In a desperate measure to control the rebellion, a hijacker suggests cutting off the oxygen. Another one tells his confederates to "take it easy." The end is near. The hijackers can be heard talking about finishing off the plane, which has begun to dive. The hijackers cry out, "God is great!" The cockpit voice recorder picks up shouting by one of the male passengers. It is unclear whether the passengers have breached the cockpit or are just outside the door. Eyewitnesses on the ground in Somerset County, PA, saw the plane rocking from side to side as it plunged to earth. United Flight 93 was about 20 minutes from the Whitehouse when it crashed.

On September 15, Lisa Beamer and Lisa Jefferson had a tearful conversation. Jefferson told Beamer that her husband had been calm and matter-of-fact. Lisa Beamer was relieved; she had not wanted her husband to die in terror. Actually, Todd had been afraid. They all had been deathly afraid. More than once, he cried out for his Savior. But Beamer, like so many other passengers and crew aboard United Flight 93, overcame his fear. They did not wait to die. They went out fighting and by doing so they may have saved countless others and spared the Whitehouse from death and destruction. And the fifty foot crater United Flight 93 left in that PA hillside was the first strike of our new war on global terrorism.

Lisa Beamer found this Teddy Roosevelt quotation on a piece of paper at the bottom of the in-box on Todd's den office:

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . . who strives valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in worthy causes.

When you go to the site for the Petition there are also many articles listed on the left side of the site that you can also read more about this.

There is something very sick happening in our country when this kind of thing would even be thought of and to see it actually being considered and happening is disgusting beyond words.

Islam followers attacked us, killed Americans and we are to allow a Memorial that favors there DAMN cult, the death cult of Islam???????????

We are so screwed!

....Thank you RAC so much for sending this to me!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 PM | Comments (18)

Excerpts of Tuesday's Senate Testimony

Excerpt of Tuesday's Senate testimony:

Sen. John Warner (R-VA): “Can you now, just in simple language, tell us, ‘yes, it is worth it’ and ‘it is making us safer here at home’?“

Gen. David Petraeus: “Senator, I do believe it is worth it … I took on the task, the privilege, of command of Multinational Force-Iraq, because I do believe that it is worth it and I do believe the interests there are of enormous importance, again, to our country, not just to the people of Iraq and the people of that region and the world.”

Sen. Warner: “Mr. Ambassador, how do you answer? Is it providing greater security here at home?”

Ambassador Ryan Crocker: “Sir, I will try to answer that at two levels. First, in the little over a year that I have been in Iraq we have seen a significant degradation of al Qaeda's presence and its abilities. Al Qaeda is our mortal and strategic enemy. So, to the extent that al Qaeda’s capacities have been lessened in Iraq, and they have been significantly lessened, I do believe that makes America safer.”

Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, a longtime critic of the administration's war strategy, told Petraeus: "The American people have had it up to here."

Petraeus responded, "I certainly share the frustration."

But when it came to promising or predicting a timetable for further withdrawals, Petraeus didn't budge. He said he had recommended to Bush that he complete, by the end of July, the withdrawal of the 20,000 extra troops. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day period of "consolidation and evaluation," to be followed by an indefinite period of assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts.
The Petraeus plan, which Bush is expected to embrace, reflects a conservative approach that leaves open the possibility that roughly 140,000 U.S. troops could remain in Iraq when the president leaves office next year.

On Thursday Bush will make a speech about the war, now in its sixth year, and his decision about troop levels.

In exchanges with several senators, Petraeus refused to say when he thought it would be safe to resume troop reductions beyond July without risking "fragile and reversible" security gains.

Asked Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee: "Could that be a month, could that be two months?"

Petraeus began to respond: "Sir, it could be less than that. It could be. ..."

Levin: "Could it be more than that?"

Petraeus: "It could be more than that. Again, it's when the conditions are met that we can make a recommendation for further reductions."

Levin: "Could it be three months?"

Petraeus: "Sir, again, at the end of the period of consolidation and evaluation. ..."

On they went in the same vein, even after a demonstrator - "Bring them home! Bring them home!" - interrupted the hearing and was escorted out.

When Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., started in again later, Petraeus said it would defy logic to establish a timetable before knowing what conditions will be like this summer.

Petraeus said.: "If you believe as I do - and the commanders on the ground believe - that the way forward on reductions should be conditions-based then it is just flat not responsible to try to put down a stake in the ground and say this is when it would be or that is when it would be,"

One of three senators who could be the new president by January, Hillary Rodham Clinton, said much earlier, not in a response to Petraeus, that she disagreed with those who criticized lawmakers who are calling for an orderly withdrawal.

Hillary Clinton: "Rather, I think it could be fair to say that it might well be irresponsible to continue the policy that has not produced the results that have been promised time and time again at such tremendous cost to our national security and to the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States military," she said.

Sen. Barack Obama, her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, told Petraeus that while he wants U.S. troops out of Iraq he would not initiate a precipitous withdrawal. And he said talking regularly to the Iranians is critical to getting to the point where it would be safe to end American involvement.

"I do not believe we are going to be able to stabilize the situation without them," Obama said.

War supporter John McCain, who will be the GOP nominee, said: "Our goal - my goal - is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops. And I believe we can achieve that goal, perhaps sooner than many imagine. But I also believe that to promise a withdrawal of our forces, regardless of the consequences, would constitute a failure of political and moral leadership."

Petraeus said his plan is supported by Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been notably public in his expressions of concern that the heavy commitment of troops in Iraq has limited U.S. military options elsewhere and has put enormous strain on troops and their families.

Petraeus made no mention of reducing soldiers' tours of duty in Iraq from the current 15 months to 12 months, but the administration is expected to announce a decision to do that this week. It would take effect this summer, coinciding with the completion of the drawdown to 15 combat brigades in Iraq.

Petraeus said the recent flare-up of violence in Basra, in Baghdad and elsewhere points up the importance of the cease-fire declared last year by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and highlighted the role Iran allegedly plays in funding and training Shiite militias through cells the U.S. military calls "special groups."

"Unchecked, the special groups pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq," Petraeus said.

Testifying beside Petraeus was Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, who also focused on the violence in Basra, where Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dispatched Iraqi security forces to combat Shiite militias.

Crocker said : "Taken as a snapshot, with scenes of increasing violence, and masked gunmen in the streets, it is hard to see how this situation supports a narrative of progress in Iraq," "There is still very much to be done to bring full government control to the streets of Basra and eliminate entrenched extremist, criminal, and militia groups. When viewed with a broader lens, the Iraqi decision to combat these groups in Basra has major significance."

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (12)

You Can Say Thank you General David Petraeus

This week General David Petraeus will report to Congress on the recent progress in Iraq. When General Petraeus testified six months ago, he was the victim of personal and vicious attacks by ultra-liberal groups. MoveOn.org took out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling General Petraeus a traitor.

The truth is most Americans do not approve of MoveOn.org’s actions, nor do they support MoveOn’s radical positions on many issues. So this time as he testifies before Congress, we want General Petraeus and the troops he leads to know we stand with them.

Join Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in thanking General Petraeus by signing this special thank-you card at this website.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:45 AM | Comments (5)

April 08, 2008

General Petraeus vs. UnAmerican Democrats

US Democratic presidential candidate New York Sen. Hillary Clinton poured disdain on assurances by the top US general and diplomat in Iraq that US policy was working and demanded an orderly troop withdrawal .

Demonstrators from the group Code Pink stand in line to hear the testimony of US Army Gen. David Petraeus, Commander of American forces in Iraq, and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker before the Senate Armed Services Committe on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. US lawmakers Tuesday grilled the top US general in Iraq amid fierce fighting on the ground.

Obama stammering and babbling away. “Uh uh uh uh.” Both Gen. Petraeus and Amb. Crocker are starting their answers with: “As I said before. . . “

Then B. Hussein Obama called for a "diplomatic surge" including talks with US foe Iran, to help stabilize the situation in Iraq. Then he called for more pressure on the Iraqi government to embrace political reconciliation and a regional "diplomatic surge that includes Iran."

"We should be talking to them as well," Obama told the top US General in Iraq David Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker.

"I do not believe we are going to be able to stablize the situation without that."

"I think that increased pressure in a measured way, in my mind, and this is where we disagree, includes a timetable for withdrawal. Nobody is asking for a precipitous withdrawal."

"We all have the greatest interest in seeing a successful resolution to Iraq," Obama told Petraeus and Crocker.

"I continue to believe that the original decision to go into Iraq was a massive strategic blunder, that the two problems you pointed out, Al-Qaeda in Iraq and increased Iranian influence in the region are a direct result of that original decision.

"That's not a decision you gentlemen made. I will not lay it at your feet. You are cleaning up the mess afterwards."

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 PM | Comments (15)

Vets for Freedom On The Hill Today

Vets to press lawmakers on Iraq

The Hill

More than 400 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be storming Capitol Hill on Tuesday in support of the military operations in Iraq.

Vets for Freedom, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit Washington organization composed of combat veterans, set up more than 300 meetings with House and Senate lawmakers. The group supports keeping U.S. troops in Iraq.

The visits coincide with much-awaited testimony from Gen. David Petraeus on the situation in Iraq, and will be jump-started by way of a press conference Tuesday with presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the ranking Republican on the Armed Services panel.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Ga.), who have supported continued military operations in Iraq, are also expected to attend the press conference.

The veterans will argue it is important to listen to the military commanders on the ground instead of politicians, said Pete Hegseth, the group’s executive director. He said most of the meetings in the Senate are with the senators themselves and not staff.

The veterans on the Hill Tuesday will highlight progress in security and a decline in sectarian violence, as well as political progress. “We are winning. We can win,” said Hegseth, who received the Bronze Star and Combat Infantryman Badge for his service in Iraq in 2005.

Democrats have been criticizing the administration for signaling it will not continue to withdraw troops after July, when the number of soldiers in Iraq will reach the level it was at before a “surge” in troops last year. Petraeus is expected to recommend a halt in troop withdrawal after July, and Democrats are expected to press him on an exit strategy from Iraq.

The Vets for Freedom stop on the Hill comes at the tail end of a bus tour through 14 cities and 21 states.

THIS is directly from Vets for Freedom

Senators McCain, Lieberman, Graham & Rep. Marshall to Address Hundreds of Veterans from Iraq and Afghan Fronts

WHO/WHAT:
More than 400 members of Vets for Freedom will gather on Capitol Hill to hear words of support from various Senators—including presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)—before individual meetings with their legislators.

Vets for Freedom (VFF) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the largest U.S. organization of its kind, with 44 state chapters and some 22,000 members. Its mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in Iraq and Afghanistan and to compel Congress to listen to the Generals on the ground. VFF supports policymakers from both sides of the aisle.

WHY:
Tuesday’s gathering will provide a unique opportunity to get first-hand perspective from recent veterans who came from across the U.S., to spread a message of support for the troops, and to support General David Petraeus as he testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee about progress in Iraq that day.

Included in the group are Bronze Star, Silver Star and Navy Cross recipients at the tail end of the VFF National Heroes Tour.

The educational bus-tour spent the last three weeks rolling through 14 states and making 21 stops sharing stories of success in Iraq. Among the rotating group of elite heroes on the bus are the commander of the battalion that found Saddam Hussein; a Navy SEAL famous for being the sole survivor of the most deadly mission for NAVY special operations since WWII; a Marine who kept rushing back into a building to save his peers despite being severely injured, and others.

WHERE:
8:00 a.m. Pre-event interview-availability – Upper Senate Park, Capitol Hill

" So much of todays political foreground is about getting our troops out by people who are at home, yet it seems so few are actually listening to the voices from the people who are or have been in country and who see the results of our blood, sweat, tears and sacrifices. I've met and spoken with many first and second tour vets who would return and or are hoping for the opportunity to go back. It seems only one candidate (and I'm not campaigning here) speaks of staying the course and of the importance of victory. We’ve become a nation of instant gratification, of bloodless wars and little will to endure. So while the candidates, the medai and the liberals hail the 4,000th life lost mark as some type of victory, they conveniently forget that our forefathers sufferd many times that number in a matter of hours, yet the nation as a whole had the intestinal fortitude to carry on and see the end in victory. SSG W.Little CO H, RTS, 278th ACR "

Wild Thing's comment........

I am so proud of our Vets!! I am in awe and all I can say is a huge thank you!

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (8)

Gathering of Eagles On The Hill Update

Gathering of Eagles Capitol Hill After Action Report from Chris Hill, National Director

Following the 10am News Conference on Capitol Hill today, GOE visited 437 Congressional offices in support of the troops and their mission.

Chris said that "probably half of the offices were happy to see us," with "one quarter apathetic and one quarter passive-aggressive." Predictably, Southern Democrats and Republicans were more typically glad to see GOE representatives.

Overall, more than 200 in the House of Representatives gave a positive response to the Eagles.

Vets for Freedom will be doing follow-up lobbying Capitol Hill on Tuesday, and the VFW follows through on Friday, with all groups having coordinated their position papers, standing and speaking as one.

One of the best stories of the day was from the House side. State of Washington U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D) recently came back from a visit to Iraq. His firsthand conclusion now is that, despite steadfast opposition to the Iraq mission, that we've WON and he was glad for the visit. The truth is getting out!

A Florida Congresswoman's office the Military Liasion came out of a back office, wanted to be sure and not miss the visit, glad to have knowledgeable people visit.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (2)

April 06, 2008

Democrats Already Threatening General Petraeus BEFORE His Report

Congressional Democrats Warn Petraeus, Crocker Not to Minimize Seriousness of Situation in Iraq

VOA

Congressional Democrats are warning U.S. Iraq commander General David Petraeus, and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, not to attempt to minimize the seriousness of the situation in Iraq when they testify to Congress next week. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

A few days before General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker appear before House and Senate committees to deliver their latest update on Iraq, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes clear what she hopes they will not say.

In a news conference together with the chairmen of the House committees on Armed Services and Foreign Affairs, she refers to the recent fighting in Iraq's southern port city of Basra, saying Petraeus and Crocker should not attempt to put a positive spin on events.

"We have to know the real ground truths of what is happening there, not put a shine on events because of a resolution [of the situation in Basra] that looks less violent when it has in fact been dictated by someone [Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada] al-Sadr who can grant or withhold that call for violence or not," said Nancy Pelosi.

Thursday's news conference came in the wake of seemingly critical comments by Ambassador Crocker in a New York Times interview about the Iraqi government's handling of military operations in Basra.

Elaborating during a Baghdad news conference, Crocker indicated again that Iraqi military decisions caught U.S. forces by surprise. But he described Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as having acted decisively, and praised the Iraqi military for its ability to plan, execute and adjust its operation.

Whatever versions that emerge between now and next week, lawmakers are making clear they don't intend to accept a picture that candy coats (minimizes) the military, political or reconciliation situation.

Democratic House foreign affairs chairman Howard Berman says the Iraqi government appears, in his words, to have largely frittered away chances for political reconciliation:

"The purpose of the [U.S. military] surge was to create political space for Iraqis to make meaningful strides toward national reconciliation, but sectarianism sadly remains the dominant force in Iraq and the sacrifices involved in getting us to this point don't seem to have put us much closer to the goal," said Howard Berman.

Democrats will also underscore what they call the heavy strain on U.S. troops from the five-year conflict in Iraq, damage to U.S. capabilities to respond to other challenges, and diverting energy from the fight against al-Qaida and Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

Congressman Berman and House armed services chairman Ike Skelton also expressed new concerns about Iranian involvement in Iraq.

SKELTON: "Iran is the 'bull in the china shop'. In all of this, they seem to have links to all of the Shiite groups, whether they be political or military."

BERMAN: "The most disturbing aspect of the war is the inarguable strengthening of Iran, the most dangerous state in the Middle East."

Neither man provided information about any new details they might have obtained about Iranian actions in Iraq.

However, Berman says Iran's role in the events in Basra is something he and others will explore with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker next week.

Wild Thing's comment........

Who the heck do these people think they are anyway. This is not England, they are not a KING or a Queen, this is America and they have the nerve to give a warning to the U.S. Iraq commander General David Petraeus, and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.

This must look great to the enemy!!! Thanks a lot for helping out in the war effort Democrats!!! NOT!

And as far as it appears to our troops and they will know about this because they get the news there too. They must wish they could tell these jerks to shut up!! I know I would!

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (9)

Democrats On The Hill Petition Bush On Iraq

Hill Dems petition Bush on Iraq - Democrats Letter to President Bush April 4, 2008

A group of senior house Democrats today urged President Bush to overhaul current Iraq policy and encourage leaders of that country to bolster its political and military infrastructure.

The leaders said the recent troop buildup in Iraq had not achieved its purpose and urged Bush to direct troops to play a more limited role in Iraq and divert freed up resources to other regions such as the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"The current Iraq strategy has no discernible end in sight and requires the United States to spend additional hundreds of billions of dollars despite urgent national needs in education, health care, and infrastructure improvement, and when high oil prices have provided the Iraqi government with billions in additional revenue that could pay for their own redevelopment and security," states the letter, signed by 18 senior Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.

You can read the full letter here.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, responded to word of the letter, saying it was prematurely sent in advance of testimony on Capitol Hill by Gen. David Petraeus and Iraq Amb. Ryan Crocker, who are slated to testify on Capitol Hill next Tuesday.

"Rather than hear from our ambassador about the political and economic progress in Iraq, and rather than listen to the Petraeus plan for safely drawing down troops in Iraq, the Democrat leadership is relying on a letter to paper over the disparate views in their party," McConnell said. "While Democrats are divided on how best to assuage MoveOn, the military has described the safe way to return troops to the U.S. without abandoning an ally or our regional interests."

Wild Thing's comment........

Well those names signing the letter are the usual list of suspects .

Wouldn't it be neat if Bush could just write across the Petition Screw you and send it back to them. heh heh

I have always been a firm believer that the military should be the one to decide the when, and how a mission should be halted or changed. Give input to the Commander in Chief yes but not be at the mercy or attacks of input from some career politicians that have made a point of wanting never to win this war.

And from the letter look who has signed it and why the heck are they still allowed to be on these particular committees????????? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Nancy Pelosi Harry Reid
Speaker of the House Senate Majority Leader

Steny H. Hoyer Richard J. Durbin
House Majority Leader Senate Assistant Majority Leader

Ike Skelton Carl Levin
Chairman, House Armed Services Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee Committee

Howard Berman Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Committee

Silvestre Reyes John D. Rockefeller IV Chairman, House Permanent Chairman, Senate Select
Select Committee on Committee on Intelligence Intelligence

John Murtha Daniel K. Inouye
Chairman, House Defense Chairman, Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Appropriations Subcommittee

Nita Lowey Patrick J. Leahy
Chairwoman, House State Chairman, Senate State and
and Foreign Operations Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Appropriations Subcommittee

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (7)

April 05, 2008

Democrat: Report on Iraq 'too rosy'

PLEASE go here for complete article

Senior Democratic senators challenged a new intelligence report's assessment of President Bush's "surge" strategy Friday, saying the troop increase in Iraq has failed to achieve its strategic goals.

The classified National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, which was distributed to key lawmakers this week, sets the stage for the latest public progress report on Iraq that will be delivered Tuesday and Wednesday to congressional committees by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the top U.S. diplomat in Baghdad.

"In my judgment, it's too rosy, but there are parts of it that are not so rosy, and both pieces need to be declassified," Sen. Carl Levin said, pointing in particular to the portion of the report describing Iraq's political progress.

Levin chairs the Armed Services Committee, one of the panels Crocker and Petraeus will testify before next week.

The top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, however, said the Democrats were complaining about the report because they did not like the report's finding and were trying to "politicize it."

"Old adage from the Midwest: When you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, you know who's been hit by who hollers," said Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri. "All I can say is, the people who are bitching obviously didn't like the results. I happen to have confidence in the analysis that's now being conducted.

"From everything I know, it is a fair representation on what is going on in Iraq, and people will have the opportunity to question Gen. Petraeus and others," he said. "But the fact that it has not been released and you see some violent anti-war, anti-Iraq war people complaining about it lets you know what the general tone of it is."

For their part, Bush administration officials have declined to characterize the findings of the intelligence estimate, largely because they do not want to get ahead of the public testimony from Petraeus and Crocker.

The previous report on Iraq, issued last summer in advance of the first progress report from Petraeus and Crocker, suggested that progress was more uneven and the situation more precarious.

Democrats are raising concerns that the new report is downplaying recent violence on the ground to strengthen the president's hand in advance of the Petraeus-Crocker testimony.

One Democratic aide said the latest report "is not inconsistent with public statements on Iraq" made in recent Bush speeches casting the war in a more positive light by highlighting security and political gains in Iraq.

A second Democratic aide criticized the intelligence estimate for not delving much further than recent news reports on Iraq, charging that it is "not a very useful or innovative intelligence analysis overall."

Violence in Iraq recently increased after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a military operation in Basra on March 25 meant to root out criminals who had been carrying out indiscriminate attacks, burglaries and oil smuggling.

The operation sparked fighting against the Iraqi troops and the multiple Shiite militias that control parts of the city, despite Iraqi and U.S. authorities' repeated insistence that militias weren't targeted.

Much of the fighting occurred in strongholds of the Mehdi Army militia, loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Firefights occurred in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City as well as in Basra.

On Friday, al-Maliki ordered a stop on the raids against the militias to "give time to those who are repentant" to lay down their weapons after al-Sadr offered to purge the Iraqi security forces of militia members.

Democrats familiar with the report are also saying the 50-plus page document does not adequately delve into what impact U.S. troop reductions may have on the situation in Iraq.

"It just seems to indicate that there is almost no consideration of alternatives to the status quo going on in government right now," one of the Democratic aides said.

Sen. Joseph Biden said Friday that the troop surge had contributed to the reduction in violence since it started last year but that the political reconciliation that the reduction in violence was supposed to facilitate had not been realized.

"The military has done its job. The violence has come down, but the Iraqis have not come together," said Biden, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. "That's like going from drowning to treading water."

"This is kind of like 'Groundhog Day.' We're right back to where we were before the surge," he added.

Petraeus and Crocker are also scheduled to appear before Biden's committee next week.

Levin also said he expected Petraeus to recommend an indefinite pause in the withdrawal of troops from Iraq this summer, which he described as an "open-ended pause that compounds the problem of an open-ended policy."

Levin and Sen. Edward Kennedy have called for John McConnell, the director of national intelligence, to declassify the report's key conclusions before Crocker and Petraeus testify.

"This information is critical to the public debate in the coming weeks and months," Levin and Kennedy wrote in a letter to McConnell.

The pair noted that unclassified versions of Iraq intelligence estimates have been released.

"There is no compelling reason not to release an unclassified version of this latest NIE that summarizes the major conclusions and judgments of the classified report, while still protecting the sources and methods of our intelligence community," the two wrote.

Wild Thing's comment........

The Democrats just can’t wait to surrender! I am so sick of their doom and gloom, their endless hate America, anti-troop defeatism.

The Rats wouldn’t understand the founding of this country being they’re all from a different Galaxy.

And another thing, how DARE they go to see our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. That REALLY ticks me off. They are NOT going there to thank them, to do anything positive. These Democrats don't deserve to breath the same air our troops breath.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (13)

Kerry Among Lawmakers With Investments In Defense Co.'s

Includes investments in companies with DOD contracts of $5 million or more, according to 2006 data on FedSpending.org. Members of Congress must report their personal finances annually. Holdings shown here were as of December 31, 2006.

Capitol Eye

Strategic Assets

As Congress gets an update next week on the Iraq war, lawmakers are personally invested in companies reaping billions of dollars from defense contracts.

By Lindsay Renick Mayer

When Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S military officer in Iraq, comes to Capitol Hill next week to brief Congress, he will be addressing lawmakers who have more than just a political stake in the five-year war.

Along with their colleagues in the House and Senate, the politicians who will get a status report from the general and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq have as much as $196 million of their own money invested in companies doing business with the Department of Defense, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has calculated.

From aircraft and weapons manufacturers to producers of medical supplies and soft drinks, the investment portfolios of more than a quarter of Congress—and of countless constituents—include holdings in companies paid billions of dollars each month to support America's military in Iraq and elsewhere.

According to the most recent reports of their personal finances, 151 current members of Congress had between $78.7 million and $195.5 million invested in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5 million in 2006. In all, these companies received more than $275.6 billion from the government in 2006, or $755 million per day, according to FedSpending.org, a website of the budget watchdog group OMB Watch.

The minimum value of Congress members' personal investments in these contractors increased 5 percent from 2004 to 2006, but because lawmakers are only required to report their assets in broad ranges, the value of these investments could have risen as much as 160 percent—or even dropped 51 percent. It is also unclear how many members still hold these investments, since reports for 2007 are not due until May 15, 2008. In 2004, the first full year after the Iraq war began, Republican and Democratic lawmakers—both hawks and doves—had between $74.9 million and $161.3 million invested in companies under contract with the Department of Defense.

As the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have expanded and transformed, so, too, has the need for goods and services that extend beyond helicopters, armored vehicles and guns. Giant corporations outside of the defense sector, such as Pepsico, IBM, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson, have received defense contracts and are all popular investments for both members of Congress and the general public. So common are these companies, both as personal investments and as defense contractors, it would appear difficult to build a diverse blue-chip stock portfolio without at least some of them.

Lawmakers' investments in these contractors yielded them between $15.8 million and $62 million in income from 2004 through 2006, through dividends, capital gains, royalties and interest, the Center found. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who are two of Congress's wealthiest members, were among the lawmakers who earned the most income from these contractors between 2004 and 2006, with Sensenbrenner making at least $3.2 million and Kerry reaping at least $2.6 million.

A spokesman for Sensenbrenner, who has supported the administration's policy in Iraq, said the congressman's stocks were left to him by his grandparents and are managed almost entirely by his investment advisors. There has been no conscious effort on Sensenbrenner's part to invest in companies that have received defense contracts, his representative said. Kerry, who has been particularly outspoken against the Bush administration's strategy and policies in Iraq, is a beneficiary of family trusts, which he doesn't control, the senator's spokesman said.

Overseers of Defense Hold Stock in Contractors

Owning stock in companies under contract with the Department of Defense could be more problematic for members of Congress who sit on committees that oversee defense policy and budgeting. Petraeus will speak on April 8 and 9 to the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees. In 2006, members of these two committees had between $32 million and $44 million invested in companies with DOD contracts. Foreign Relations member Kerry's investments accounted for most of it—between $28.9 million and $38.2 million. Members of the two committees held between $3 million and $5.1 million in defense-only companies.

Chairs of other defense-related committees are similarly invested. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, had at least $51,000 invested in these companies in 2006. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had at least $30,000, including between $1,001 and $15,000 invested in defense company Raytheon, which has one of its major facilities right outside of Berman's district. According to Berman's office, that holding is in a trust the congressman inherited from his parents.

"It's a couple thousand dollars," Berman's spokeswoman said. "We're not talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's a teeny investment, and he inherited it. He didn't make it."

In the case of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chair of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, his stock in Pepsico, which is worth at least $1 million, is actually held by his wife, who is on the food and beverage corporation's board of directors. Pepsico received $187 million in defense contracts in 2006, according to OMB Watch. "His wife's separate holdings have no influence," Rockefeller spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said. "Sen. Rockefeller, out of an abundance of caution to ensure there's no conflict of interest, has held all his assets in a blind trust since he was the governor of West Virginia."

Members of Congress who want to make a public statement about their opposition to the Iraq war don't have to divest from businesses that may be profiting from the persistent conflict, some financial planners say.

As the Iraq war continues and companies supporting the effort continue to make money, lawmakers will have an easier time justifying their investments in corporations that are known for producing food and clothing—companies whose defense contracts represent a tiny fraction of their overall revenue.

Many of the Defense Department's contracts "will likely be there whether you're in a war or not," said Cheryl Smith, executive vice president and senior portfolio manager at Trillium Asset Management Corporation, a firm that screens companies' policies for socially responsible investors. "A standing army still needs soft drinks, toothpaste and clothing. If [the lawmaker's] position is there should not be a military at all, then you might want to exclude anyone with a defense contract, but if they want to stand up against the war," they should avoid investing in companies with weapons contracts, specifically.

And there are members of Congress invested in those companies—major defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Honeywell.

Forty-seven current members of Congress (or 9 percent of all members of the House and Senate) were invested in 2006 in companies that are primarily in the defense sector, for a total investment of between $4.2 million and $8 million. The average share price of these corporations today is nearly twice what it was in 2004.

Hawks and Doves Are Similarly Invested in Defense

While Democrats are more likely to advocate for ending the Iraq war sooner than Republicans, as a group they have more of their own money invested in America's military efforts. In 2006 Democrats had at least $3.7 million invested in the defense sector alone, compared to Republicans' $577,500. More Republicans, however, held stock in defense companies in 2006—28 of them, compared to 19 Democrats.

According to a spokesman for one of these investors, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who held at least $15,000 in Lockheed Martin stock in 2006, it's "insulting" to make a connection between personal investments and a lawmaker's job. "Congressman Blunt does not consider his personal finances when voting for legislation, especially on issues as weighty as sending our troops into harm's way," Blunt spokesman Nick Simpson said. (Update: After the posting of this story, Simpson added that the stock is an investment held by Blunt's wife, who received it from her mother as a gift.)

Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), who has spoken out against the administration's policy in Iraq and belongs to the Out of Iraq Congressional Caucus, had at least $50,000 invested in Boeing in 2006. Farr's office did not respond to Capital Eye's inquiries about this investment and whether he still holds the stock.

Other lawmakers have decided to sell their shares in defense companies. In 2006, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) had $1,000 in Honeywell and $1,000 in United Technologies but has since gotten rid of those holdings, which represented a tiny percentage of his net worth, according to his office. According to her presidential personal financial disclosures, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) had stock in some defense companies, such as Honeywell, Boeing and Raytheon, but sold the stock in May 2007. Neither of the remaining presidential hopefuls, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, reported such holdings on their filings.

Smith of Trillium Asset Management said that lawmakers who plan to divest could consider putting that money into community rebuilding, such as in hurricane-damaged New Orleans, or alternative energy projects to reduce U.S. dependence on oil. "There's a lot of opportunities to make a double statement by taking [the funds] from one place and putting them into another," she said.

Lockheed Martin declined to comment for this article, and a Honeywell spokeswoman said lawmakers should be free to do as they choose, but that the company provides necessary services to the military. "Honeywell provides support to develop products, services and technologies to meet the needs determined by the U.S. government and its entities that appropriate the funding, and elected officials and taxpayers who elect them into office," said Cathy Gedvilas, media relations manager for the defense aerospace company. "We support the spirit of the U.S. democracy and free enterprise system, and in keeping our nation and our troops safe from harm."

Wild Thing's comment.......

I don't mind if a person invests in these things at all. It helps our troops when they do. IMO it is pro military I would think anyway. Even if we were not at war, our military needs equipment and the best supplies no matter where they are deployed and for training and so many things.

BUT what I do find sickening and a total outrage is when someone is making money from a war and they spew their hate, demoralize our military, and say horrible lies about our soldiers like Kerry has done so many times. John Kerry is notorious for his anti-war stance and personal testimony against U.S. soldiers with whom he served in Vietnam and he has been trying to do it in his own way about our troops today too.

Dec. 2005:
CBS "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer there was no reason for U.S. soldiers to continue "terrorizing" Iraqi children.

"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," Kerry said Sunday. "Whether you like it or not ... Iraqis should be doing that."

Another time John Kerry said, "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well, and if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq”

Kerry in 1970 in his testimony before the nation

"They told stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country," he said.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (13)

April 01, 2008

When Does It Ever End?

Will Marine Show Trials End?

newsmax

By: Nathaniel R. Helms

The tarnished image of the Marine Corps continues to darken as more trials, more acquittals and more scandals corrode the brightly burnished steel that armors America’s premier fighting force.

Defense attorneys and beleaguered Marines say their cherished Corps’ surprise decision Friday to dismiss criminal charges against a Marine infantryman accused of mass murder at Haditha, Iraq, is just another billboard announcing the troubles plaguing Marine Corps morale today. Loyalty up and down the ranks, the bedrock on which the 232-year old fighting force was built, is under attack.

“First the Corps takes their innocence and then the enemy tries to take their life, and then when they finally come home the government tries to take their freedom,” said James Culp, a military defense lawyer in Austin, Texas, who worked on the Haditha case for more than a year. “When does it ever end?”

It is an honest question.

The growing list of places in Iraq associated with allegations of Marine Corps misconduct continues to spread across the map like a malignant weed.

This reporter has spoken with dozens of seasoned Marines and soldiers who claim they would rather take a bullet than shoot the wrong person during mortal combat and possibly spend their life in jail. Hyperbole perhaps, but Marines are trained to make the other guy, the bad ones, take the bullet.

The situation of Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum explains the morass the Marine Corps faces.

On Friday he was unexpectedly exonerated of all criminal charges leveled against him for serving at Haditha. The laundry list of charges that ranged from murder to bad judgment were dismissed by Lt. Gen Samuel Helland, the convening authority at Camp Pendleton and final arbiter in his case.

Without explanation Helland dismissed the criminal charges against Tatum just hours before he was to face a general court-martial. Tatum, of Edmond, Okla., is the third enlisted Marine from 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines originally charged with murder in the 30-month-old Haditha investigation that has been completely cleared of alleged misdeeds.

Cleared But Charged Anyway

In the run-up to the Tatum court martial proceeding, there was clear evidence that military's case was based on a tissues of hearsay, face-saving and political expediency.

For example, in the case of another Marine also facing court martial, the military prosecutors tried to block the testimony of the intelligence officer, Lt. Jeff Dinsmore, who monitored the Haditha action via radio transmissions and overhead video surveillance drone. His testimony and the video evidence shows that the Marines did not lie when they said the received hostile file from insurgents occupying civilian buildings.

When the Marines cleared the building using standard military procedures, both the insurgents and civilians were dead.

The Dinsmore evidence and testimony proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that claims by Time magazine and Congressman Jack Murtha, that a platoon of Marines went on a rampage in My Lai fashion after one of their fellow Marines, was killed was an out and out fantasy.

But efforts to prevent Dinsmore from testifying demonstrated the military want a Soviet-style show trial of a hero Marine. Fortunately, the presiding military judged ruled Dinsmore could testify. The prosecution "case" against Tatum began to crumble.

Though preliminary Article 32 hearings had cleared the Marines of most of the allegations, the military has been intent in making an example of them.

Nevertheless, two officers and the enlisted Marines were all charged with slaying civilians at Haditha and sent to court martial.

The military's floundering case has come to symbolize the Pentagon’s tenacious efforts to turn warriors into policemen. Pointing out that our combat troops are engaged in a war zone makes many of their alleged misdeeds understandable.

But the Pentagon follows the administration line: American troops are simply helpers to the Iraqi civil government. American troops are not an occupying force. American troops are welcomed as liberators by the Iraqis. And so the spin-story spins and spins.

Fueled by specious media claims and driven by rapacious politicians more concerned with face time than preserving precious freedoms, the Marine Corps brass willingly served them up for prosecution rather than admit it was handed a mission it was never trained to perform and never intended to take, so the unfolding of the Haditha case has revealed.

Waiting on the wings of the malevolent stage where the Haditha investigation is still playing out, the Fallujah murder cases are being prepared to take over top billing. In that unrelated case three enlisted Marine infantrymen from the same platoon that Tatum served in have been charged with murdering four Iraqi prisoners of war more than three years ago.

another snipet from the article:

“Marines are not policeman,” a senior Marine Corps officer said Friday night. He has served multiple tours in Iraq that show in his eyes.

“We are warriors. Occupation duty is the Army’s responsibility. The Marine Corps is our country’s blunt force instrument and we are destroying it – eating our young. Pray we still have Marines in the next war. Sometimes I am not so sure.”

But Fallujah may end up being nothing more than another Haditha where soldiers acted in combat in ways we might find totally unacceptable of they were members of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Two years, thousands of man hours and millions of dollars later nobody charged in the alleged Haditha massacre has been convicted of anything.

In the interim morale plummeted, the Marine Corps rewrote the manual on how it fights, and the Pentagon wants shorter leashes on its frontline troops.

Wild Thing's comment........

Good article about what has been going on.

When this kind of thing gets started like it has I wonder what it will take for it to finally stop. I know part of it I think would be a true Conservative for President aka Commander in Chief. But since that is not happening in this next election then it has to come from the top military I would think saying enough is enough.

Being strong about it and more or less laying down the law as to something like " we are trained to do what we do, we are not the police, this is war against an enemy with no country, and no uniform.

Maybe if several of the top brass would say " put me on trial, the responsibility starts at the top, we are a brotherhood and you don't go after one of my men and not think it effects all of us. We go to places you only see in a nightmare, see things you cannot imagine, have an enemy that is not satisfied with only killing us they take great pleasure in chopping us up into pieces, literally pulling our guts out and other horrors that would turn your stomach and you think we are going to ask for permission to take out someone that is bent on killing us? Someone that is connected to the enemy's camp and will run off and tell them where we are located? Your sitting around in Georgetown or in your offices in D.C. trying to figure out a way to pull amnesty over on true Americans that are concerned about securing borders, and you want to tell us how to fight a war and win while you are perched mentally on every shoulder of every soldier risking all? You better think again Sir/Madam because without us there never has been peace and without us you would not even have a country. " ....just an idea of what one or heck all of them could say. If the Brass on their uniforms had included balls in the britches.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:48 AM | Comments (14)

March 25, 2008

Negative U.S. media linked to increased insurgent attacks

Negative U.S. media linked to increased insurgent attacks

Researchers at Harvard say that publicly voiced doubts about the U.S. occupation of Iraq have a measurable "emboldenment effect" on insurgents there.

Periods of intense news media coverage in the United States of criticism about the war, or of polling about public opinion on the conflict, are followed by a small but quantifiable increases in the number of attacks on civilians and U.S. forces in Iraq, according to a study by Radha Iyengar, a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in health policy research at Harvard and Jonathan Monten of the Belfer Center at the university's Kennedy School of Government.

The increase in attacks is more pronounced in areas of Iraq that have better access to international news media, the authors conclude in a report titled "Is There an 'Emboldenment' Effect? Evidence from the Insurgency in Iraq."

The researchers studied data about insurgent attacks and U.S. media coverage up to November, tracking what they called "anti-resolve statements" by U.S. politicians and reports about American public opinion on the war.

"We find that in periods immediately after a spike in anti-resolve statements, the level of insurgent attacks increases," says the study, published earlier this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a leading U.S. nonprofit economic research organization.

In Iraqi provinces that were broadly comparable in social and economic terms, attacks increased between 7 percent and 10 percent following what the researchers call "high-mention weeks," like the two just before the November 2006 election.

The study also found that attacks increased more in parts of Iraq like Anbar province, where there is greater access to international news media, measured by the proportion of households with satellite TV, which its authors say increases the credibility of their findings.

The researchers conclude that the increases in attacks are a necessary cost of the way democratic societies fight wars and say they are concerned that the research may be seized upon by the Iraq war's supporters to try and silence its critics.

"We are a little bit worried about that," Mr. Monten said in an interview. "Our data suggests that there is a small, but measurable cost" to "anything that provides information about attitudes towards the war."

Wild Thing's comment.........

Where do I begin at how much this has my blood boiling.

First let's start with this......"Periods of intense news media coverage in the United States of criticism about the war...are followed by a small but quantifiable increases in the number of attacks on civilians and U.S. forces in Iraq".

Any person with half a brain would KNOW that negative comments, negative press (media), politicians spewing BS about pulling out, anti-war protests, violence and protest at recruiting centers etc., politicians and the American haters like Code Pink, ANSWER, and others saying we are NOT winning when our military reports of tremendous success in so many areas, that the surge IS working ............... a person with a brain would know these things effect the war and give aide to the enemy!

So there is NO need to spend 1 second on some stupid study about it. What a total waste of time, and you just know these idiots got paid probably to do this kind of investigation and report on it.

Secondly........"The increase in attacks is more pronounced in areas of Iraq that have better access to international news media".....again anyone with a brain would know that the areas that have access to the media would hear of these people above that I mentioned and the things they have been saying and take it that they have friends in America that are on their side NOT on the side of the troops. How soon they forget that Saddam LOVED CNN and loved to watch it. That is why I post about the things Murtha, Reid and others say and call them what they are TRAITORS to America one and all, and that IMO they should be punished as anyone committing treason and being a traitor should be punished.

And third...... "concerned that the research may be seized upon by the Iraq war's supporters to try and silence its critics.".......they say they are worried about you and I, and wanting to silence the critics of the war when this information in their report is exposed. What on earth do they think the support the troops rallies are about.

What the heck do they think drives a blogger to never give up and want to share the awesome things our troops are doing since the communist media will not. Did they do a full investigation or not!?!?!? Because IF they did they would find out from Murtha and Reid and Pelosi, Code Pink , ANSWER and the rest of our enemy within that they have received tons of emails, tons of Fax's, and phone calls of our protesting THEM, and how dangerous what they say and do is for our troops in harms way.

The many rallies that go on are to support the troops and to make sure that the voice of those of us in America is heard. That we appreciate the sacrifices and are aware of the danger our troops are in every day 24/7.

This is NOT the 60's and early 70's when we had no real internet, no blogs to get the word out, to plan rallies of support. We will never forget how our Vietnam Vets were treated, how the media and the vile leftie bunch I spoke of at the beginning of my comment existed back then and we had no real way of setting up our own rallies like today.

Then there are the numerous support the troops organizations we know of from being on the internet where we can find ways of giving more support to the troops too.

I swore to myself back during the Vietnam War, that NEVER AGAIN would the left have a voice without my fighting back, letting them know how I felt with all I am. From my fisrt visit to Nam, there were things a person could do back here at home. I remember back then how when a few soldiers got out of the hospitial a bunch of us drove up the coast in Calif. and put Hanoi Jane stickers in the urnials in the bathrooms along the drive up and back down the coast. heh heh

Today there are rallies, and t-shirts that a person can wear and it is fun to see how many get upset when they see me wear "the party of cut and run" with a few of the Dems on the front image. Or one of my favorite Marine t-shirts that says...." USMC Spring Break in Iraq, making it possible for the enemy to die for his country".

And fourth, they say "Our data suggests that there is a small, but measurable cost" to "anything that provides information about attitudes towards the war."

Oh my gosh, the lives of our troops is a small but measurable cost when negative remarks about the war are made? SMALL but measurable cost???????? This isn't about the stock market for pete's sake!

Ready on the right
Ready on the left
Ready on the firing line.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (13)

March 15, 2008

Execution Would Make Martyrs of 9/11 Plotters

Mukasey: Execution, Though Appropriate, Would Make Martyrs of 9/11 Plotters

LONDON

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Friday he hopes the men charged with participating in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks aren't executed if found guilty in order to avoid creating any martyrs.

Mukasey said many terrorists want to be martyrs and that by sentencing them to death, U.S. authorities risk granting that wish. He made the comments while answering a question after a talk at the London School of Economics.

Mukasey said, however, that the punishment would be fitting if the accused are executed.

"One of them at least is proud enough of it to have written to his wife that he thinks he is innocent because it was only 3,000 (people who died in the attacks)," he said. "If those are not poster children for the death penalty I don't know who is."

Still, Mukasey said he leans against the death penalty in this case "many of them want to be martyrs."

The attorney general said his view was a personal opinion. The Justice Department will participate in the trial, he said, but the Defense Department will be in charge.

The U.S. military is moving ahead with plans to try six men at Guantanamo Bay in connection with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but only one military defense lawyer has been assigned to the case. None of the defendants has seen a defense lawyer yet.

Prosecutors filed charges Feb. 11 against the six high-profile detainees, who include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged architect of the Sept. 11 attacks, and Mohammed al-Qahtani, who allegedly would have been one of the hijackers if immigration officers had not prevented him from entering the United States.

Wild Thing's comment........

So what, let them be martyr's. Any Muslim who wants to be a martyr should be martyred. Quickly, efficiently, and brutally. I think it’s better if these people are killed, so that we don’t have to feed and provide medical care for them.

We have to show our friends that we have the strength of our convictions and are not constantly bedeviled by self doubt. The contempt that Osama bin Laden and friends hold us in is based largely on our perceived lack of moral courage and commitment.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (10)

March 12, 2008

Navy Adm. William Fallon Resigns as Mideast Military Chief

U.S. Central Command Navy Adm. William Fallon

Fallon Resigns as Mideast Military Chief

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cutoffberkeleynow

The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East resigned Tuesday amid speculation about a rift over U.S. policy in Iran. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Adm. William J. Fallon, whose area of responsibility includes Iraq, had asked for permission to retire and that Gates agreed.

Gates said the decision, effective March 31, was entirely Fallon's and that Gates believed it was "the right thing to do."

Fallon was the subject of an article published last week in Esquire magazine that portrayed him as opposed to President Bush's Iran policy. It described Fallon as a lone voice against taking military action to stop the Iranian nuclear program.

"Recent press reports suggesting a disconnect between my views and the president's policy objectives have become a distraction at a critical time and hamper efforts in the Centcom region," Fallon, who is traveling in Iraq, said in a statement issued by his U.S. headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

"And although I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility, the simple perception that there is makes it difficult for me to effectively serve America's interests there," he said.

President Bush praised Fallon in a statement. "During his tenure at Centcom, Admiral Fallon's job has been to help ensure that America's military forces are ready to meet the threats of an often-troubled region of the world, and he deserves considerable credit for progress that has been made there, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan," Bush said.

Gates announced that Fallon's top deputy, Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, will take over temporarily when Fallon leaves. A permanent successor, requiring nomination by the president and confirmation by the Senate, might not be designated in the near term.

Dempsey could be elevated to Central Command chief, although he already has been selected to become the top U.S. Army general in Europe. Among other possible candidates for the post — considered one of the most important in the U.S. military — is Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who had just been named to a top post on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and who had been commander of U.S. special operations forces in Iraq.

Another possibility is Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who serves as Gates' senior military assistant and is a former senior commander in Iraq.

Gates described as "ridiculous" any notion that Fallon's departure signals the United States is planning to go to war with Iran. And he said "there is a misperception" that Fallon disagrees with the administration's approach to Iran.

"I don't think there were differences at all," Gates added. He said he believed Fallon was fully supportive of the administration's policy on dealing with Iran through diplomatic and economic pressures.

Fallon, 63, a veteran of the Vietnam War and a former vice chief of naval operations, has had a 41-year Navy career. He took the Central Command post on March 16, 2007, succeeding Army Gen. John Abizaid, who retired. Fallon previously served as commander of U.S. Pacific Command.

Gates called Fallon a very able military strategist and said his advice will be missed at the Pentagon.

"I think this is a cumulative kind of thing," said Gates, speaking of the circumstances leading up to Fallon's decision. "It isn't the result of any one article or any one issue."

Wild Thing's comment........

From a policy standpoint it makes little sense to use the threat of war as a diplomatic tool if your commanding general is openly opposed to it. I think this move may be more in line with keeping all our options open. Iran doesn’t understand subtlety.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (6)

March 04, 2008

Sailor's Trial Reveals Top Navy Fears

Paul Hall aka Abu-Jihaad

Sailor's Trial Reveals Top Navy Fears

NEW HAVEN, Conn.

U.S. Navy commanders were wary as their ships headed to the Persian Gulf in the months after a terrorist ambush in 2000 killed 17 sailors aboard the USS Cole.

Passing the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow, busy shipping lane that often invited challenges from Iran, was never easy. Ship commanders decided to travel quickly at night after conducting a drill. Sailors took up machine gun positions and shut valves and hatches to limit damage in case of attack.

"We really weren't sure what to expect," said Lt. Commander Jay Wylie, who was on board the USS Benfold.

No one expected to find a threat from within.

But federal authorities say there was. A Benfold signalman, Hassan Abu-Jihaad, had provided suspected terrorist supporters in London with sensitive details of when U.S. ships would pass through the strait and their vulnerability to attack, prosecutors say.

Testimony last week in Abu-Jihaad's trial has provided a window into the fears of top Navy officials after an explosives-laden boat rammed the Cole as it refueled in a Yemen harbor. It also revealed how heightened vigilance after Sept. 11 triggered an investigation that began in Connecticut and expanded to London before Abu-Jihaad and others were arrested.

Abu-Jihaad, 32, of Phoenix, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he provided material support to terrorists and disclosed classified national defense information.

Prosecutors rested their case Friday. Abu-Jihaad does not plan to take the stand Monday when his attorneys call one witness before closing arguments.

Abu-Jihaad, an American born Muslim convert, changed his name from Paul Hall in 1997. A year later, he was granted security clearance that gave him access to secrets, according to Navy officials.

Abu-Jihaad was one of the first sailors Petty Officer Josh Kelly met when he boarded the Benfold. Abu-Jihaad was chatty about where the ship was headed, Kelly says.

"We always wonder where we were going," Kelly testified, noting the stress of life at sea.

But advance movements were a closely guarded secret. Dennis Amador, a quartermaster and Abu-Jihaad's supervisor, told his wife where he was in code.

"We in the Navy are taught from the minute we come in that loose lips sink ships," he said.

Those details were kept locked in a safe with a red sticker marked secret. But when the charts and travel plans were laid out, Abu-Jihaad could see them in his job as a signalman, Navy officials say.

The Benfold and other ships left San Diego in March 2001. Their first stop was Hawaii, where the sailors were treated to a luau feast.

As the ship headed toward the Middle East, Abu-Jihaad began to send e-mails to Azzam Publications, a Web site that authorities say provided money and equipment to terrorists.

While the Cole was the worst nightmare for commanders, Abu-Jihaad called it a martyrdom operation in one of his e-mails to Azzam and praised "the men who have brong (sic) honor ... in the lands of jihad Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, etc."

Abu-Jihaad signed the e-mail: "A brother serving a kuffar nation," meaning nonbeliever or infidel, according to testimony. He also ordered graphic videos from Azzam that depicted Muslim fighters in Chechnya and Bosnia.

"He seemed to be fascinated with the Chechen conflict and seemed to be supportive of the Chechen rebels," Amador said, not thinking much of it at the time.

Abu-Jihaad kept communicating with Azzam until a little over a week before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Shortly after the attacks, a company that hosted Web sites raised concerns with federal authorities about one of Azzam's Web sites in Connecticut. That complaint led investigators to those they say ran Azzam in London, where they say they found the leaked ship details in an apartment.

Authorities also say they found Abu-Jihaad's e-mail account with Azzam. They were able to recover e-mails he exchanged with the group, but say accounts were regularly purged by e-mail service providers.

Authorities acknowledge they do not have direct proof that Abu-Jihaad leaked the classified details. His attorneys call the case weak, urging a judge Friday to dismiss the charges while prosecutors objected.

Navy officials acknowledged that the allegedly leaked details were filled with errors. Still, they say the leak was alarming and they would have immediately changed plans had they known about the compromise at the time.

The ships were never attacked.

The Navy did plenty of soul searching after the Cole attack, said Rear Adm. David Hart Jr., commander of the battle group.

"It was a very vulnerable period of time for us," Hart testified.

Wild Thing's comment........

Its called treason and if you review the record, you see that American Muslims are on the same sheet of music as their overseas murderous brothers and sisters......Item: Several days before the invasion of Iraq, a muslim in the 101st Airborne Division murdered a Major and Captain in their tent in a fragging incident. Now this. There are more examples. Yet the PC crowd at the Pentagon led by that dishrag Gordon England crow about the "religon of peace" and crap about its contribution to civilization.

“His attorneys call the case weak, urging a judge Friday to dismiss the charges while prosecutors objected.”

Hang this bastard from the yard arm for treason.

This is horrible all this PC rules applying in our military and it puts our service men and women in tremendous danger!

This saiilor should be given the old punishment of being given lashes around the Fleet and when completed, be strung up on the USS Cole’s yardarm, in front of his muslim “Buddies”....I have no remorse for these type of traitors.

The Navy did plenty of soul searching after the Cole attack, said Rear Adm. David Hart Jr., commander of the battle group. "It was a very vulnerable period of time for us," Hart testified.

Notice how Rear Adm. David Hart Jr. uses past tense in his testimony. Last I heard, there were some 15,000 Muslims in the Armed Forces, and how many converts might there be NOT using an Arabic name, who have NOT declared their mohammadanism and their intent to fight the kuffar in the cause of Allah?

Seems to me the folks at the Defense Department are aware of the danger that lurks within, but while the official policy is 'Islam is just one of the three great religions' an entire flotilla of Navy ships could be blown out of the water before the threat from mohammadanism is officially declared. In other words, a whole lot of good people need to die first.

The solution will not come from the top...rather, the service people themselves need to understand that each one of their lives is at stake - when their declared enemies are able to dine at the same table and are privy to operational secrets. As it is, the young men and women who are at the front lines of the war against the killer-cult of Mohammad are sacrificial lambs.

This with the Muslims in our military reminds me of the Walkers spy ring. When the Soviet Union was receiving U.S. Naval code keys from the Walker family spy ring, and that spy ring began in 1967 and was not be broken until 1985. The spy ring made it possible for the Soviets to read U.S. Navy coded transmissions like an open book for much of that time.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (16)

March 01, 2008

Iraq War Budget Barabara Boxer Calls Our Troops Occupying Forces

Foreign Relations Committee hearing with Condoleezza Rice. This video is of the portion where Barbara Boxer questions Condi Rice.

2/13/08 Iraq War Budget: Sen. Boxer Vs. Rice
Uploaded by apfnorg

Wild Thing's comment.........

People like this Barbara Boxer should NEVER ever be in power of any kind, not ever! To call our troops occupying forces is bad enough. She kept saying it over and over too. This should be called what it is TREASON and there should be some kind of horrible punishment for this.

* Yankeemom....Thank you so much Yankeemom for having this video at your blog.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:48 AM | Comments (11)

February 25, 2008

To Code Pink and Other American Hating Monsters

Move America Forward Fights Berkeley Council

Move America Forward is proud to unveil our brand-new TV ad that fights back against the Berkeley City Council's campaign against our military.

The petition

We, the undersigned condemn the Berkeley City Council’s treasonous attack on US Marine Recruiters stationed in their city. We ask that Congress cut off funds from any and all municipal entity within the confines of the city of Berkeley, California, until such time as the city council withdraws it’s action.

The City Council has voted to tell the Marines their downtown recruiting station is not welcome and “if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests.”

The measure passed last week by a vote of 8-1.

The council also voted to explore enforcing a city anti-discrimination law, focusing on the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

In a separate item, the council voted, also 8-1, to give the Marxist protest group Code Pink a parking space in front of the recruiting office once a week for six months and a free sound permit for protesting once a week.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I am so glad Move America Forward has done this ad. Anyway we can fight back is a good thing.

....Thank you SSgt. Steve for sending this to me.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 AM | Comments (12)

February 18, 2008

U.S.Congressman Asks Georgetown University About $20M Donated By Saudi Prince

Georgetown University

Wolf to Georgetown: Detail Use of Saudi Millions

The Investigative Project

A U.S. congressman is asking Georgetown University about its academic scrutiny of Saudi Arabia and its use of $20 million donated by a Saudi prince in 2005.

U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) wrote to Georgetown President John DeGioia Thursday, saying he was concerned about how the money was being spent at the university's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. Of particular concern, Wolf said, was the university's role in training current and prospective U.S. foreign service personnel.

"The Saudi government continues to permit textbooks to contain inflammatory language about other religions," Wolf wrote. "Restrictions on civil society and political activists continue to be pervasive. No changes have been made to the underlying legal authority relating to non-Muslim worship that the Saudis have relied on to enforce these rules. The Saudis have cleansed their own country of religious liberties by severely restricting public religious expression to their interpretation and enforcement of wahhabism."

Wolf's letter seeks assurances the Georgetown center "maintains the impartiality and integrity of scholarship that befits so distinguished a university as Georgetown." He then asks whether:

"the center has produced any analysis critical of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for example, in the fields of human rights, religious freedom, freedom of expression, women's rights, minority rights, protection for foreign workers, due process and the rule of law."

· "the center has examined Saudi links to extremism and terrorism, including the relationship between Saudi public education and the Kingdom-supported clerical establishment, on the one hand, and the rise of anti-American attitudes, extremism and violence in the Muslim world, on the other."

· "the center has examined or produced any critical study of the controversial religious textbooks produced by the government of Saudi Arabia that have been cited by the State Department, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and non-governmental groups for propagating extreme intolerance."

· "any of the Saudi-sourced finds have been used in the training, briefing or education of those going into or currently employed by the U.S. government.

Harvard University also received $20 million from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal but that is not addressed in the letter. Wolf is the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations and is co-Chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

The answer to his questions likely will be no, said Martin Kramer, former director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University and a fellow at Harvard and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Prince Alwaleed's money wasn't designed to stop academic scrutiny of Saudi Arabian society and policies, Kramer said. The Georgetown center wasn't doing that anyway. Rather, "It's a move to change the subject [and say the roots of terrorism lie elsewhere]. For the Saudis after 9/11, changing the subject is important."

snippet.....

Among the many examples cited was this, from a sixth grade textbook:

"Just as Muslims were successful in the past when they came together in a sincere endeavor to evict the Christian crusaders from Palestine, so will the Arabs and Muslims emerge victorious, God willing, against the Jews and their allies if they stand together and fight a true jihad for God, for this is within God's power."

The heart of Wolf's concern in both his letter to Georgetown, his alma mater, and in his opposition to the arms sales, appears to be a question of how reliable an ally Saudi Arabia is in the fight against terrorism and extremism. In addition, Wolf seems concerned over a cumulative effect Saudi interest in the U.S. has on policy. The letter notes a request to the Government Accounting Office about investigating "the revolving door" of senior officials who leave government only to lobby on behalf of governments where they previously served. And he specifically asks Georgetown about training current and future foreign service officers.

He notes that there has been a fair amount of promising talk, but "the Saudi government's promises remain unfulfilled

For the rest of the article it is located HERE

Wild Thing's comment........

U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) is considered a moderate Republican. And I am so glad he is doing this, I just have to wonder where the conservative Republican's are to back him up on this. I sure hope they do and that the pressure will be put on the Saudi's to give some answers.

I also think our Homeland Security should be concerned about this too. This war should not just be fought far away from here, it needs to be fought here at home too. We should be doing our part as a country to do what we can to be strong against those seeking to destroy us from within.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (8)

February 17, 2008

FBI Warns of Possible Hezbollah Revenge in U.S.

Los Angeles Times

State and local law enforcement receive an intelligence bulletin to watch for retaliation by the Lebanese militia group, which has vowed to avenge the death of its leader.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security sent a bulletin Friday to state and local law enforcement authorities advising them to watch for potential retaliatory strikes by Hezbollah, one day after the Lebanese militia group vowed to avenge the death of a top commander by attacking Israeli and Jewish targets around the world.

"While retaliation in the U.S. homeland is unlikely, Hezbollah has demonstrated a capability to respond outside the Middle East to similar events in the past," said the intelligence bulletin sent to about 18,000 state and local law enforcement officials late Friday afternoon.

The FBI also said it was intensifying its domestic intelligence-gathering efforts to identify any potential Hezbollah threats in the United States in the aftermath of Tuesday's car-bomb assassination of Imad Mughniyah in Syria.

On Wednesday, the FBI sent a confidential internal bulletin to its 101 Joint Terrorism Task Forces across the country warning of the possible domestic consequences of Mughniyah's killing. As part of that effort, FBI officials at headquarters told the bureau's field offices and multiagency task forces to increase monitoring and surveillance of suspected Hezbollah operatives and to conduct fresh interviews with sources and informants about the U.S.-designated terrorist group, according to two FBI officials.

U.S. authorities have long described Hezbollah as the "A-Team" of terrorism, with far more discipline than Al Qaeda, vast financing from the government of Iran, and a global network of sleeper operatives who could be called on to launch an attack at any time. Various federal investigations and prosecutions have uncovered dozens of Hezbollah fundraisers and supporters in the United States, but few people are believed to be actual "bomb throwers," according to a senior FBI counter-terrorism official who focuses on Hezbollah.

"My understanding has always been that Hezbollah would never strike in the United States unless they believed that we participated in an operation against them," said Bob Pertuso, a former FBI special agent assigned to the Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force from 2000 to 2004 who specialized in Hezbollah investigations. "So if they believed we assisted in the operation against Mughniyah, I would say they would strike in the United States."

Wild Thing's comment........

Well, this would be the best time to slip something through ( I pray they don't) what with the Liberals in Congress opting to walk out on the Republicans in order to allow the FISA laws to lapse while they’re on vacation. The Libs have dropped our guard. Hey, what’s a few thousand Americans dead when there’s political power to be won?

If an attack happens the libs will say it never would have taken place if it weren’t for Bush’s policies.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:48 AM | Comments (8)

Explosives Found in Capitol Hill Gunman’s Truck

National Terror Alert

Explosives have been found in the impounded pickup truck driven by the man discovered carrying a loaded shotgun on Capitol Hill last month, U.S. Capitol police told FOX News.

Michael Gorbey, 38, of Rapidian, Va was arrested in late January, and at the time police said there was a suspicious substance in his green pickup truck parked near the corner of North Capitol and D streets in Washington, D.C.

The truck was impounded at the Government Printing Office garage on Capitol Hill, not far from where the incident unfolded.

Police executed a search warrant Friday.

Kimberly Schneider, a police spokeswoman, said Gorbey could face additional charges.

Wild Thing's comment.......

That truck look like something a hippie would drive? Iti just needs some big flowers painted on it and a peace sign.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:45 AM | Comments (4)

February 16, 2008

Democrats Defy Bush On Spy Program By Taking 12-day Recess

Democrats defy Bush on spy program and immunity By Taking 12-day Recess)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) for complete article

The Democratic-led House of Representatives defied President George W. Bush on Friday and recessed without replacing an expiring spy law with one that would shield telephone companies from lawsuits.

With the temporary law set to expire on Saturday, Bush accused Democrats of undermining U.S. security. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer denied it and accused Bush of election-year fear-mongering.

Hoyer said he and fellow Democrats were reaching out to Republicans, and hoped to soon agree on a bill to replace the expiring law passed by Congress in August that expanded the power of U.S. authorities track suspected terrorists without a court order.

"We will not, however, be stampeded," Hoyer said.

Bush met with congressional Republican leaders at the White House on Friday morning and took aim at House Democrats.

"When they come back from that 12-day recess, the House leaders must understand that the decision they made to block good legislation has made it harder for us to protect you, the American people," Bush said.

"We expect now to get a good bill to my desk -- which is the Senate bill -- to my desk as soon as possible," Bush said before he departed on a six-day trip to Africa that he had considered delaying to try to resolve the stalemate over the eavesdropping bill.

The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to replace the "Protect America Act." But House Democratic leaders refused to bring it up for a vote, and Bush and his fellow Republicans along with some Democrats rejected a brief extension of the law.

And this....................

When the Clock Strikes Midnight, We Will Be Significantly Less Safe
The Democrats’ FISA talking points are nonsense.

National Review
Andrew McCarthy good article, click to read entire article

"According to top Democrats, the expiration of the Protect America Act (PAA) when the clock strikes midnight is no big deal. Our ability to monitor foreign threats to national security, they assure us, will be completely unaffected.
This is about as dumb a talking point as one can imagine. And it is just as demonstrably false.

Think for a moment about Tuesday’s crucial Senate bill overhauling our intelligence law that Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to allow the House to consider before recessing Friday ."

"Right now, we are permitted to collect foreign-to-foreign communications absent probable cause that the target is an agent of a foreign power. As of 12:00 A.M., we will no longer be permitted to do that. It is absurd to suggest that this huge drop-off in collection will have no impact on our security."

"There are ever larger numbers of potentially hostile operatives who are galvanized by jihadist ideology without necessarily being connected to a known terrorist organization. Casting a broad surveillance net to collect intelligence overseas is how we detect and thwart any threat they may pose. It’s how we protect Americans in the homeland and on the battlefield.
As of midnight, that net is gone."

Wild Thing's comment.......

Well midnight last night has come and gone and the House Democrats are enjoying their 12 day vacation.

The House Democrats severely crippled the United State' ability to gather intelligence from our foreign enemies as they let the 1978 Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act run out at midnight. The possible ramifications of this remarkable abdication of responsibility could well be literally, explosive. Without a reauthorization, wiretapping, listening in on the enemy overseas will now require obtaining a warrant each time such surveillance is undertaken, bogging investigations down in a thick and ugly mire of legal complication.

Pelosi wants an American city nuked in order to damage the Republicans. She is that evil. I am not saying that will happen, but it does leave the door open and ties the hands of those wanting to do their jobs.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (10)

February 15, 2008

High Noon at Midnight Friday

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)

FISA: High Noon at Midnight Friday

by Andy McCarthy

The Corner National Review

"In today's article, I catalogue some of the problems with the Senate bill which would overhaul FISA — while explaining that the bill absolutely must be passed by the House or our foreign intelligence collection is going to collapse. It would be unconscionable for Democrats to allow that to happen while our nation confronts an enemy hell-bent on reprising 9/11 and while we have 200,000 men and women in uniform relying on the continuing flow of information from our intelligence services.
Well it looks like the unconscionable is about to occur. I am hearing from several sources that the House is planning to recess on Friday without taking up the Senate bill. That would mean the lapse of our surveillance authority at midnight.

This is a game of roulette with our national security, spearheaded by the Democratic leadership in the House, which is following the lead of the party's two presidential contenders, Sens. Obama and Clinton. Both of them voted against the emergency authorization last summer, and Obama voted against the Senate bill on Tuesday (Clinton did not bother to vote). Make no mistake. The MoveOn.org crowd is calling the shots on that side of the aisle.

President Bush has to keep pounding this, as does Sen. McCain. This is not politics, folks. For grown-ups, this is life and death."

Wild Thing's comment........

So let's see within the next 48 hours or the current stopgap measure, the Protect America Act, will expire. (The Senate bill is bipartisan)

If that happens, the current statutory authority for the intelligence community to monitor foreign terrorists overseas will end. The CIA and NSA, under a secret FISA court ruling Americans have not been permitted to review, would be required to seek probable-cause judicial warrants to surveil terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere around the globe. That impossible burden — bringing tens of thousands of enemy communications under FISA’s arduous legal procedures, all for the benefit of alien enemies who have no right to privacy protection under American law — would shut down intelligence collection.

Obama voted against it and Mrs. Clinton didn’t even show up!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (6)

Senate Votes to Ban Waterboarding

I guess waterboarding is worse then this................Hello Senate!!!!

The Senate narrowly passed a ban on waterboarding as part of their intelligence bill, setting up a showdown between Congress and the White House on limitations for interrogation techniques. The bill clearly states approved and disapproved procedures, ending the ambiguity that has created much of the controversy over whether anyone has ever broken the law in interrogating terrorist suspects.

The Senate voted yesterday to ban waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics used by the CIA, matching a previous House vote and putting Congress on a collision course with the White House over a pivotal national security issue.

In a 51 to 45 vote, the Senate approved an intelligence bill that limits the CIA to using 19 less-aggressive interrogation tactics outlined in a U.S. Army Field Manual. The measure would effectively ban the use of simulated drowning, temperature extremes and other harsh tactics that the CIA used on al-Qaeda prisoners after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Congress banned any military use of waterboarding and other harsh tactics through the Detainee Treatment Act of 2006, which was co-sponsored by Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), now the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination.

But McCain sided with the Bush administration yesterday on the waterboarding ban passed by the Senate, saying in a statement that the measure goes too far by applying military standards to intelligence agencies. He also said current laws already forbid waterboarding, and he urged the administration to declare it illegal.

The problem with McCain's position is that the executive branch can't simply declare something illegal. Congress has to pass the law before the executive can enforce it. The DTA 2006 bill left enough room for the argument to be made either way.

When Congress did what was necessary if they wanted to make waterboarding an illegal interrogation process. However, they did more than that in this bill, which is why McCain rightly opposed it, and why Bush will wind up vetoing it. They basically gave terrorists a manual for American interrogation preparation. They went too far; they could have passed a very specific ban on waterboarding without having to publish the CIA's approved list of techniques.

Senate Votes to Ban Waterboarding

sfgate.com (AP)

Congress on Wednesday moved to prohibit the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects, despite President Bush's threat to veto any measure that limits the agency's interrogation techniques.
The prohibition was contained in a bill authorizing intelligence activities for the current year, which the Senate approved on a 51-45 vote. It would restrict the CIA to the 19 interrogation techniques outlined in the Army field manual. That manual prohibits waterboarding, a method that makes an interrogation subject feel he is drowning.

The House had approved the measure in December. Wednesday's Senate vote set up a confrontation with the White House, where Bush has promised to veto any bill that restricts CIA questioning.

Arguing for such restrictions, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the use of harsh tactics would boomerang on the United States.

"Retaliation is the way of the world. What we do to others, they will do to us — but worse," Rockefeller said. "This debate is about more than legality. It is also about morality, the way we see ourselves ... and what we represent to the world."

The legislation bars the CIA from using waterboarding, sensory deprivation or other harsh coercive methods to break a prisoner who refuses to answer questions. Those practices were banned by the military in 2006.

CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden said last week that current law and court decisions, including the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, cast doubt on whether waterboarding would be legal now. Hayden prohibited its use in CIA interrogations in 2006; it has not been used since 2003, he said.

The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 prohibited cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment for all detainees in U.S. custody, including CIA prisoners.

In comments last week to the House Intelligence Committee, Hayden acknowledged for the first time publicly that the CIA has used waterboarding against three prisoners.

The technique is still officially in the CIA tool kit but it requires the consent of the attorney general and president on a case-by-case basis.

Hayden warned Congress that if the CIA were limited to military techniques, it would adhere to them without wavering, even if it meant failing to get urgent and crucial information. He contends the CIA has different interrogation needs than the military and requires more latitude.

"I guarantee you we will live within those confines of any statute of that nature. But you have to understand there would be no exceptions," he said.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, backed by Senate Republicans Olympia Snowe of Maine and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, inserted the provision in December into a bill providing guidelines for the running of U.S. intelligence agencies this year.

The 19 approved interrogation techniques in the military field manual include "good cop/bad cop,""false flag" — making prisoners think they are in the custody of another country — and the separation of a prisoner from other prisoners for up to 30 days at a time.

It prohibits military interrogators from hooding prisoners or putting duct tape across their eyes. They may not be stripped naked or forced to perform or mimic sexual acts. They may not be beaten, electrocuted, burned or otherwise physically hurt. They may not be subjected to hypothermia or mock executions. It does not allow food, water and medical treatment to be withheld, and dogs may not be used in any aspect of interrogation.

Republican presidential contender Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, voted against the measure Wednesday.

Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York dared Bush to veto the bill, saying that the president's Iraq war commander, Gen. David Petraeus, rejects harsh interrogation.

"If it's good enough for General Petraeus and FBI Director Robert Mueller, it's good enough for all of America," Schumer said. "If the president vetoes this, he will be voting in favor of waterboarding."

Feinstein noted Bush's repeated declarations that the United States does not torture. "If he means what he says this is the bill to sign," she said.

This is an UPDATE:

Justice Dept: Waterboarding not legal

A senior Justice Department official says laws and other limits enacted since three terrorism suspects were waterboarded has eliminated the technique from what is now legally allowed, going a step beyond what CIA Director Michael Hayden has said.

"The set of interrogation methods authorized for current use is narrower than before, and it does not today include waterboarding," Steven G. Bradbury, acting head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, says in remarks prepared for his appearance Thursday before the House Judiciary Constitution subcommittee.

"There has been no determination by the Justice Department that the use of waterboarding, under any circumstances, would be lawful under current law," he said. It is the first time the department has expressed such an opinion publicly.

This will carry some weight; Bradbury was the man who signed off on waterboarding in 2005, before the DTA. It could be enough for the veto to get accepted by Congress without a big fight over an override.

Wild Thing's comment........

This is what I don't get about all of this. We have the military it should be the one to decide what it will do and won't do about anything to do in warfare period. That should include all aspects of war, how they treat prisoners etc. Why are politicians that for sure have an agenda get to put their two cents in to someting that so many of them have not even served in the military and don't have a clue what our troops are up against.

The liberals sure like to ban stuff that helps us win against our enemy's...eavesdropping, water-boarding. What a great bunch of fools!

Interrogation technique under Dems new plan: “Would you like tea with that?”

It’s very apparent that our Senate doesn’t take this war serious enough yet.

You can check out the names of the 51 (terrorists) senators who think special rights for terrorists are more important than American lives.

HERE is the roll call vote:

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (10)

February 09, 2008

Murtha: War funds in exchange for withdrawal

Murtha: War funds in exchange for withdrawal

Army Times ....for complete article

A top Democrat said Thursday he is preparing legislation that would give President Bush the war funding he wants this year, but on the condition that troops leave Iraq by the end of the year.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, said he’ll propose that the House vote this March on the spending measure. In addition to the troop withdrawal, he said he’ll ask for other conditions such as that all deploying troops must be fully trained and equipped.

Similar bills scraped by on party line votes in the House last year only to fail in the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrower margin of control and 60 votes are needed to overcome procedural hurdles.

Murtha, speaking to reporters following a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he’s confident this bill would pass the House, but he’s not sure about the Senate.

Democratic leaders have said they believe the military has enough money to last through April. They also suggested they want to hear first from Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, before approving more money. He is expected to testify by mid April, likely the week of April 7.

Murtha’s comments suggest he is willing to give the military the money it needs, but he doesn’t want to wait for Petraeus before he starts the next round of anti-war votes.

“What I told General Petraeus is you can’t continue to spend money like he’s spending it over there,” Murtha said. “The public is fed up with it.”

Wild Thing's comment........

What a pathetic little man Murtha is, he presumes to speak for all Americans.

Um Murtha liar liar pants on fire or did you this time speak the truth who you spoke to?!
Murtha has lied before so saying he spoke to General Petraeus may or may not be true. If he did what a POS Murtha is to speak that way to General Petraeus, a man that lead the surge, that turned so many things around in Iraq. GRRRR

And the second thought is this, and again about Murtha?!
Regarding the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Murtha said he made his speech TO this place not AT this place. Dems do word things to get around possible lies sometimes. Just a thought..... hmmmmmmm

This is from Politico

"What's a paltry one million dollars to a member of Congress?
Well, apparently not enough to know if an organization about to receive that big block of cash actually exists.

Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona, the fiscal crusader who's never met an earmark he likes, questioned Democratic Rep. Peter J. Visclosky of Indiana on the House floor Tuesday about whether the Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure actually exists - since, hey, it's getting like a million bucks or something.

Visclosky, who chairs the spending subcommittee responsible for the project, had to admit that, well, he didn't have a clue.

After a lengthy back-and-forth, Flake, complaining that his staff couldn't find a website for the center, asked Visclosky, "Does the center currently exist?"

"At this time, I do not know," the Indiana Democrat replied. "But if it does not exist, the monies could not go to it."

And who could possibly be the sponsor of such an earmark? Yes, you guessed it, the man Republicans love to hate, Pennsylvania Democrat John P. Murtha.

Despite the money's uncertain destination, the House rejected Flake's measure to strike the funds, 326-98. And the Visclosky bill also sailed through, 312-112.

As I said, what's one million dollars to a member of Congress?

UPDATE: I failed to report last night that a certificate filed with the requested funds says the money is actually earmarked to Concurrent Technologies Corporation, a nonprofit technological consulting firm. A brief search of campaign finance records shows CTC President and CEO Daniel R. DeVos, of alternately Central City and Johnstown, Pa. has contributed $7,000 to Murtha's reelection campaign since April 2002."

Soooooo here is something for us to think about.

If a treasonist Congressman made remarks at a center that doesn’t exist, would anyone hear him?

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (10)

Luxury For Guantanamo Detainees

Guantanamo Detainees Offered Classes, Movies in Push to Stem Frustration

Friday, February 08, 2008

http://wwitv.com/a1/b4086.asx

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba

Seeking to ease conditions for angry and frustrated detainees, the commander of Guantanamo's prison camps has instituted language classes and a literacy program, plans humanities courses and wants to open communal areas for men now held in isolation 22 hours a day.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Army Col. Bruce Vargo said he hopes the changes will lead to fewer attacks on guards by the 275 prisoners suspected of links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

"Make no bones about it, these are very dangerous men," Vargo said, citing incidents in which detainees splashed guards with bodily fluids, and head-butted, kicked and bit them. "But at the same time, you have to provide them with some type of out."

The makeover represents a policy reversal on the isolated base, where facilities were hardened to maximum-security and communal living areas were eliminated in 2006 after a guard-detainee clash and the suicides of three detainees.

Attorneys for detainees say the assaults are triggered partly by frustration among men who, more often than not, were captured far from any battlefield and have been locked up for as much as six years with no real chance to confront accusations that they are enemy combatants.

David Remes of Washington, who represents 16 Guantanamo detainees, said the military must improve its treatment of detainees and not simply justify minor changes by saying they are aimed at reducing assaults. He said most detainees are in virtual solitary confinement, reportedly leading to mental problems.

Vargo, who commands the military's Joint Detention Group at Guantanamo, says it is important to give the detainees more to look forward to each day.

Some of the best-behaved detainees now get TV night, with DVDs of movies and TV shows shown on a high-definition Sony TV. A classroom in Camp 4, designated for the most compliant detainees, has metal desks and plastic chairs, although detainees remain shackled by the leg to the floor in class.

Language courses have begun in English, Arabic and Pashto, Vargo said in the interview last week. He intends to soon offer classes on subjects as diverse as oceanography.

"If we can get them to focus on humanities programs, if we can get them to focus on recreation, then their sole focus is not going to be on the guard force," Vargo said. "It is my thought that if they are focused on those things, then the level of assaults and things of that nature will go down."

Soldiers escorted AP journalists inside the coils of barbed wire at Camp 4, where five detainees in loose-fitting white shirts and pants sat at tables, sharing a rice dish outside their communal living area. On the other side of a chain-link fence, a bored guard watched the men from the shade of a plastic tarp. White and tan prison uniforms, freshly washed by the detainees, hung along the fence, drying in the winter sun. Guantanamo rules prohibit journalists from talking to detainees.

"I have instituted a very strict vetting program to get into Camp 4," Vargo said. "If you abide by the rules and you get through the vetting program then we move you in there."

Living conditions in Camps 5 and 6 are far stricter. Detainees are isolated up to 22 hours a day in individual cells.

Vargo said he wants to make Camp 6 more like Camp 4, and has mock-ups of modifications that will allow detainees to use indoor communal areas. He wants to keep guards separate from the detainees but still enable them to check on each prisoner every three minutes to prevent suicides.

"We're doing something that is probably different in that this is a high-security detention facility with the amenities of a lower security facility," Vargo said. "That's what I'm trying to achieve."

Zachary Katznelson, an attorney representing detainees, said he welcomes planned changes.

"Right now the men in Camp 6 sit in steel boxes without windows for at least 22 hours a day," he said. "They have no mental stimulation, nothing to do.

"But the real issue remains the fact that the men are being held without charge or trial. English lessons do not equal a return to American values like due process. It's just putting lipstick on a pig."

Lawyer Sabin Willett said the military should completely shut down camps 5 and 6.

"Putting people in the central bomb silo of those tombs so that they can talk to each other is marginally better, but still insane," he said.

Wild Thing's comment........

Keep them entertained so they won’t get angry???? How about cracking the skulls of those who assault guards?
So now the leftie lawyers are running our military. This is insane!

Gitmo Resorts in collaboration with the US military is proud to offer this once in a lifetime opportunity. If you are or have been a member in good standing with either the Taliban or Al Qaeda then you could be the lucky recipient of a luxurious vacation in beautiful Guantanamo Bay Cuba .

To see if you qualify, simply visit one of the US Marine detachments located conveniently near your cave. If you are selected then you will be whisked away in one of our finest, state of the art, transport planes. Upon arrival at the Gitmo Resort you will be pampered beyond your wildest dreams.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (11)

Nicolas Sarkozy offers French troops To Fight In Kandahar

Nicolas Sarkozy offers French troops to join Canadians in fighting the Taleban in Kandahar

TimesOnline.co.uk

President Sarkozy rode to the rescue of beleaguered Nato forces in southern Afghanistan yesterday when he offered to deploy French troops alongside Canadians in Kandahar.

The French leader has been the most forthcoming of Nato leaders in answering the urgent call to help the troops fighting Taleban insurgents.

After Canada’s repeated warnings that it would pull its 2,500 troops out of Kandahar if no other alliance member came to support them, France has been the only country to hint at sending reinforcements.

French and Canadian officials are discussing the logistics of operating a combined force. A delegation was sent to Paris from Ottawa yesterday.

The move by the French was being seen as further evidence of President Sarkozy’s willingness to draw closer to the alliance, with the possibility of France rejoining Nato’s integrated military stucture, from which President de Gaulle withdrew in 1967.

Canada wants 1,000 extra soldiers to fight in Kandahar, but the indications so far are that Paris has a smaller-sized force in mind. A French diplomatic source said that decisions would not be made public until the Nato summit in Bucharest in April.

If France meets only a proportion of the required 1,000 extra troops, another Nato country will have to make an offer to ensure that Canada keeps its 2,500 soldiers in Kandahar. Canada has asked Poland to deploy troops but at the Nato defence ministers’ informal meeting in Vilnius yesterday, Bogdan Klich, the Polish minister, said there were no plans to send its 1,200 soldiers, based in eastern Afghanistan, to the south because of the increased risks. “This province doesn’t meet our baseline criteria, which hinge on reducing the risks to our contingent,” he told a Polish newspaper. However, Poland confirmed it would raise its troop numbers in Afghanistan to 1,600 later this year. Norway said it planned to send another 200 troops to add to its present 500.

British diplomatic sources said there were no obvious candidates yet for the appointment of UN special envoy to Afghanistan, after President Karzai’s rejection of Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon.

Wild Thing's comment........

I prefer to see them fighting the jihadist rather than surrendering to them. What a difference in this President then the last one France had.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (8)

January 02, 2008

No Massacre In Haditha But 3 Marines Still Stand Trial

No massacre in Haditha: new charges refute Murtha, media allegations

Defend Our Marines .....for entire article ( it is long so I am just putting some of it on here)

The Marine Corps has now acknowledged that none of the Marines charged with criminal offenses for their actions at Haditha, Iraq committed murder.

Lieutenant General Samuel Helland’s decision to dismiss charges of unpremeditated murder against Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich lay to rest specious allegations by Time Magazine reporter Tim McGirk and Congressman John Murtha that a My Lai-style massacre occurred in Haditha on November 19, 2005.

A Marine Corps spokesman said Monday that Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich will face trial on charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice for his role in the debacle that followed an Al Qaeda led attack on a squad of 12 Marines.

Lt Gen Helland, the final arbiter in the matter, dismissed twelve charges of unpremeditated murder, and separate charges of soliciting another to commit an offense and making a false official statement. His decision removes the onus that war crimes were committed by any of the American Marines who fought in the day-long battle for the strategic city.

Attorneys Neil Puckett and Mark Zaid, in Washington, D.C., co-counsels for SSgt Wuterich, responded:

"The good news is that SSgt Wuterich (and all of the Marines, for that matter), have been forever cleared of murder charges. That means that there is (and never was) any evidence to support Congressman Murtha's and Time magazine's allegations of these Marines killing Iraqis 'in cold blood.'
"The bad news is that the extensive pretrial investigation and legal analysis conducted by an experienced military judge was essentially ignored. It is always disappointing when professional military prosecutors profess to want to do the right thing by setting up the system to work, and then ignore its results because they refuse to give Marines under attack in combat the benefit of the doubt that they were responding according to their training. We are confident that a military jury will acquit SSgt Wuterich of all remaining charges, because he is, in fact, not guilty."

UPDATE: As of January 1st

Marine to stand trial for voluntary manslaughter in Haditha killings

CAMP PENDLETON
San Diego.com ...for complete article

One Marine will stand trial forvoluntary manslaughter and another for obstruction of justice in connection with an alleged war crime that left 24 civilians dead more than two years ago in Haditha, Iraq, Camp Pendleton officials announced Monday. Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland has ordered Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich to be tried on charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice.

Helland dismissed the charges of unpremeditated murder, soliciting another person to commit an offense and making a false official statement. As commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Helland is the convening authority for the Haditha case.
If convicted, Wuterich could be sentenced to 160.5 years in the brig, a bad-conduct discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.

Wuterich led some members of a Marine platoon in using rifles and grenades to kill men, women and children Nov. 19, 2005. The unit took such actions shortly after a roadside bomb struck their convoy, killing a Marine and wounding two others.

Helland also ordered a court-martial for 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, who is charged with making false official statements, obstruction of justice and attempting to fraudulently leave the Marine Corps.

Grayson was a commander overseeing Wuterich's platoon at the time. He is accused of trying to cover up the Haditha killings.

A conviction could force him to spend more than 10 years in prison and be dismissed from the service.

Wuterich and Grayson were among eight Marines from the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment to face charges in the Haditha case.

The government has dropped all charges against five of the defendants, either outright or in exchange for future testimony. Besides Wuterich and Grayson and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani will undergo court-martial, while the last defendant is awaiting word on whether he'll face trial.

Wild Thing's comment........

Pray that these Marine's will be exhonerated like the others.

..."CAMP PENDLETON – One Marine will stand trial for voluntary manslaughter and another for obstruction of justice in connection with an alleged war crime that left 24 civilians dead more than two years ago in Haditha, Iraq, Camp Pendleton officials announced Monday".....

Insurgents can be male, female, old, young and every spread in between.

From what I’ve read on this incident, the dead folk were insurgents. They might not have been armed at that exact moment, but too bad.

There’s nothing that happened to the folk at Haditha that wasn’t earned.

That whole *&*ing “innocent civilian” thing just chaps my arse when applied to the persons in the house(s) of concern. By definition, ALL terrorists are civilians, as they are not members of an organized, uniformed force under the auspices of a duly-constituted government.

All I can say for these particular “civilians” is that - you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.

The people in Murtha's district need to come to their senses and give him the boot. The slut Murtha took the word of Time Magazine over his fellow Marines. Murtha the EX Marine! He does not deserve to be called a Marine!

specious allegations by Time Magazine reporter Tim McGirk

This is the lying traitorous bastard that started the ball of crap rolling on this farce.

.... Thank you Jack, Conservative Insurgent Blog, for the information.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (14)

Presidential Candidates On War Crimes Court

International Criminal Court logo

Presidential candidates diverge on U.S. joining war crimes court

SFGate (San Fran Chronicle)
.....for complete article

The International Criminal Court isn't discussed much in the presidential campaign, but few issues are more revealing of a candidate's perspective on the United States' legal and political relations with the rest of the world.

-snip-

Unlike the rest of the Republican field, Sen. John McCain has said he would like to see the United States join the international court, although he would first require more protections for U.S. personnel.

-snip-

At the other end is Ron Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas, who said in 2002 that both the court and the United Nations "are inherently incompatible with national sovereignty. America must either remain a constitutional republic or submit to international law because it cannot do both."

McCain, who has expressed more willingness than other Republicans to consider court membership, also has spoken up for international law in other contexts, notably the nation's duty to follow the Geneva Conventions on the humane treatment of foreign prisoners.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has condemned the abuse of prisoners. But he has not responded to The Chronicle's inquiries about the international court and seems unlikely to support it, if his comment on another pending treaty is any indication: He referred to the Law of the Sea Treaty, a less-controversial pact that Bush supports, as a "crazy" plan that would "give away our sovereignty."

Other Republicans who haven't answered queries about the court are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has criticized the United Nations; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has suggested that the United States look for alternatives to the United Nations; and Hunter, a congressman from San Diego, who has denounced "treaties that infringe on basic U.S. sovereignty." Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee opposes U.S. membership in the court.

Wild Thing's comment........

Oh, but McCain would get “guarantees” of “protection” first... excuse me while I roll my eyes.

Excuse me McCain, but ah you are against waterbolarding and prefer to just talk nicely to the prisoners to get important informtion out of them. And now this? I don't think so.

McCain is like Bush and has an incessant need for approval from libs and independents!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (8)

December 29, 2007

Islam's Faithful The Terrorists and Our Troops The Mighty Warrior's

Kabul- Buzkashi game; European Union and UN thrown out.
In Kabul, Buzkashi game December 28, 2007

Both photos of Taliban terrorists in Musa Qala, southern Helmand province, south east of Kabul.

It's good to see that Ford is doing well overseas. What the heck?! Seats fifteen, with accoutrements, and meets all international emissions standards.---- Wild Thing

In Kabul, under the burka, a women with explosives under burka
One arrested in eastern Afghanistan.

U.S. Air Force identify ordnance found in a cache in Ruwaydah, Iraq, on Dec. 18, 2007.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (10)

December 27, 2007

Pakistan's Bhutto Assassinated And Others Killed In Bombing

Pakistan’s Bhutto assassinated at rally By SADAQAT JAN and ZARAR KHAN Associated Press Writers Article Launched: 12/27/2007 02:15:23 AM PST

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan—Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at the end of a campaign rally, aides said.
The death of the 54-year-old charismatic former prime minister threw the campaign for the Jan. 8 election into chaos and created fears of mass protests and an eruption of violence across the volatile south Asian nation.

The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed a rally of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, 8 miles south of Islamabad. She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself up, said, Rehman Malik, Bhutto’s security adviser.

At least 20 others were killed in the attack.

Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery.

“At 6:16 p.m. she expired,” said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto’s party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital.

“The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred,” Bhutto’s lawyer Babar Awan said.

Bhutto’s supporters at the hospital exploded in anger, smashing the glass door at the main entrance of the emergency unit. Others burst into tears. One man with a flag of Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party tied around his head was beating his chest.

Some at the hospital began chanting, “Killer, Killer, Musharraf,” referring to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Bhutto’s main political opponent. A few began stoning cars outside.

“We repeatedly informed the government to provide her proper security and appropriate equipment including jammers, but they paid no heed to our requests,” Malik said.

Nawaz Sharif, another former premier and opposition leader, arrived at the hospital and sat silently next to Bhutto’s body. Earlier on Thursday, four people were killed at a rally for Sharif when his supporters clashed with backers of Musharraf near Rawalpindi.

TV channel in English-Dawn News from Pakistan.

Link is:

This happened just the day before..........

PAKISTANI LEADER ESCAPES ATTEMPT AT ASSASSINATION

President Pervez Musharraf escaped an assassination attempt here on Thursday, the second in 11 days, when two suicide bombers plowed their vehicles into his motorcade and detonated car bombs.
He was unhurt, but Pakistani officials said the bombs had killed at least 14 people, including both bombers. At least 46 other people were wounded, they said.

It was the deadliest attempt on General Musharraf's life since he reversed Pakistan's support for the Taliban in Afghanistan and sided with the United States in 2001. The Bush administration relies on the general as an important ally in the fight against terrorism. But he has also been criticized for delaying the re-establishment of democracy in the country, failing to crack down on the Taliban and other Islamic militant groups and harassing critics.

Visibly shaken, General Musharraf appeared on national television Thursday night and blamed ''terrorists and extremists'' for the attack.

Pakistan: Al-Qaeda claims Bhutto's death
Karachi, 27 Dec. (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the death on Thursday of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English. Al-Yazid is the main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan.

It is believed that the decision to kill Bhutto, who is the leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was made by al-Qaeda No. 2, the Egyptian doctor, Ayman al-Zawahiri in October.

Death squads were allegedly constituted for the mission and ultimately one cell comprising a defunct Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s Punjabi volunteer succeeded in killing Bhutto.

Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally on Thursday in the garrison town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off.

She had come to Rawalpindi after finishing a rapid election campaign, ahead of the January polls, in Pakistan's volatile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) where she had talked about a war against terrorism and al-Qaeda.

Wild Thing's comment........

I put the second photo here, yes it is vile, horrible and hard to look at. BUT this IS the enemy and what they do. Too many, NOT at this blog, but too many simply read an article and go about their day. The reality of what an attack does like this is something unimaginable. But the truth is this is the kind of destruction that is on the agenda for America, our troops and all Christians and Jews, as well as their own fellow Muslims.

These followers of Islam do NOT value life at all, not even their own. That is what makes them more dangerous IMO then any other enemy the world has ever known. Parents being proud of their suicide bomber children, bragging about it, encouraging it from their own flesh and blood, young children being taught hate and how to kill as easily as our own American children are taught how to color in a coloring book and play the Twister game or jump rope.

"If we lose freedom here in America, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth."
- President Ronald Reagan
October 27, 1984

Posted by Wild Thing at 11:55 AM | Comments (15)

December 26, 2007

Kohler Co.Helps Save Lives In Iraq

In Iraq, this vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. The Buffalo Cyclone debris blower, mounted on the front, took the brunt of the blast.

A Cyclone blows a wide swath of air at 180 mph to expose roadside explosives. It's been used for two years in Iraq.

Engines fit devices that disperse bomb-hiding debris

Modified debris sweepers with Kohler engines are helping save the lives of U.S. troops in Iraq.

JS ONLINE
The machines, mounted at the front of military trucks and mine sweepers, blow away roadside debris to expose bombs planted by insurgents. Often they trigger the bombs and take the brunt of the explosion.

"But I would love to see plenty of engines taking the hits rather than soldiers getting killed," said Rich Koehl, director of marketing and quality at Kohler Co.'s engine division.

Insurgent attacks on vehicles have accounted for more than half of U.S. combat fatalities in Iraq, according to the military.

As the improvised explosive devices have become more deadly, the Army and Marines have stepped up efforts to get safer vehicles.

They're also using products such as Cyclone debris blowers made by Buffalo Turbine Co., of Springville, N.Y., with Wisconsin-made Kohler engines.

The Cyclone blows a broad, 180-mph jet of air to expose roadside explosives. The military has more than 100 of the machines in use in Iraq, with more on the way, said Paul Syracuse, general manager at Buffalo Turbine.

In the civilian world, the giant blowers are used to clean debris from streets, golf courses and race tracks. They've also been used at the last eight Super Bowls and in city parks.

"They're a rock-solid leaf blower," said Tom Tiernan, a Kohler distributor in Pennsylvania.

In Iraq, the blowers have been modified with armor plating and diesel engines. Mounted on the front of a vehicle, usually about 10 feet from the operator's cab, they blow away garbage and other debris used to hide roadside bombs.

Dozens of bombs found
The bombs are triggered a variety of ways, including electric eyes, infrared sensors and ordinary springs.

"Garbage is the main hiding place," Syracuse said. "The blowers either trigger the bombs or expose them."

No soldiers have been killed while using the debris blowers, according to Buffalo Turbine. In about two years of use, the machines have exposed or detonated dozens of roadside bombs.

The idea came from former U.S. troops working for an equipment contractor. Now, the machines are an important part of military convoys in Iraq.

"They cruise alongside the road, sometimes leading a convoy," Syracuse said.

The U.S. military uses thousands of Kohler portable generators in Iraq in addition to the engines used on debris blowers.

"I would call it the NASA effect. If the military finds a use for one of our civilian products, we will help them develop a special application for it," Koehl said.

Normally, it can take years for the military to develop and acquire field equipment.

But in 2002, the Army launched an effort to speed things up through a program aimed at identifying unmet needs of combat soldiers and satisfying those needs in 90 to 180 days.

The Army now buys small quantities of equipment and tests it in the field.

Other gadgets
One of the success stories was a remote-controlled robot that looks something like a radio-controlled toy car and is used for detecting roadside bombs. It has a video camera mounted on a retractable arm and headlights to see in the dark.

Another was the use of laser pointers like those used in classrooms as a nonlethal way of dissuading drivers from ignoring security checkpoints in Iraq.

In the past, the bright lights shone at drivers did little to stop erratic behavior. But the green laser pointers, about 50 times brighter than pointers used in classrooms, have proven to be startling and nearly blinding to drivers coming straight at them.

Unlike red laser pointers, the green ones can be seen in midair in the dark. And the unusual color makes them more noticeable.

Initially, at least, aggressive driving was reduced 60% to 80% when the laser pointers were used at checkpoints, according to the Army.

Wild Thing's comment........

This is so neat, I love to see a business advertising that they provide equipment used in Iraq. Like the ads long ago my Dad had in a book of saved things from WW11. Things like:

* from “Dodge PowerWagons in Burma”
* “On the Battle lines or the Transposrt lines - GMCs are out in front”
* “Pontiac Reports to the Nation on Arms Productivity”

And so on - back then businesess were proud to get a piece of both the ‘action’ and the contracts.

For more ads there is also a link to some here.

From the CBI website
This ad is not related to CBI but interestingly illustrates what could be called "Censored Advertising."

It looks like Pontiac submitted the copy for the ad to a military censor who crossed-out any information that might be of help to the enemy. They then prepared the ad with the censored information blacked-out.

The result is doubly patriotic advertising: Pontiac is building arms for the war effort and also will not jeopardize that effort by bragging about it in magazines.

In case the reader did not get the message, it was spelled out for them near the bottom of the ad:

"Seeking to cooperate fully in the war effort, Pontiac has voluntarily censored this advertisement."

Compare that to todays media who, it seems, cannot wait to leak the latest SECRET and risk the lives of our troops. Back then, the USofA was at War. Today, the Marines are at War, the US is at the Mall. Or as the left keeps saying it is Bush's war. GRRRRRRRRRRRR

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (12)

December 20, 2007

Control Sought On Military Lawyers

Bush wants power over promotions

Boston.com ...for complete article

The Bush administration is pushing to take control of the promotions of military lawyers, escalating a conflict over the independence of uniformed attorneys who have repeatedly raised objections to the White House's policies toward prisoners in the war on terrorism.

The administration has proposed a regulation requiring "coordination" with politically appointed Pentagon lawyers before any member of the Judge Advocate General corps - the military's 4,000-member uniformed legal force - can be promoted.

A Pentagon spokeswoman did not respond to questions.... But the requirement of coordination - which many former JAGs say would give the administration veto power over any JAG promotion or appointment - is consistent with past administration efforts to impose greater control over the military lawyers.

The former JAG officers say the regulation would end the uniformed lawyers' role as a check-and-balance on presidential power, because politically appointed lawyers could block the promotion of JAGs who they believe would speak up if they think a White House policy is illegal.

Retired Major General Thomas Romig, the Army's top JAG from 2001 to 2005, called the proposal an attempt "to control the military JAGs" by sending a message that if they want to be promoted, they should be "team players" who "bow to their political masters on legal advice."

It "would certainly have a chilling effect on the JAGs' advice to commanders," Romig said. "The implication is clear: without [the administration's] approval the officer will not be promoted."

The new JAG rule is part of a set of proposed changes to the military's procedures for promoting all commissioned officers.... The Pentagon began internally circulating a draft of the changes for comments by the services in mid-November, and the administration will decide whether to make the changes official later this month or early next year.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I would think this would increase politically-based prosecutions a thousandfold.

And wouldn't it enable the JAG officers to serve the function that the political officers did in the Red Army. It will make sure that they show loyalty to their political masters, rather than to the Constitution. Politics isn't a part of military promotions and shouldn't be. The Commander-in-Chief (whoever it is) shouldn't have oversight over company and field officers. That should be left to their own chain of command. imo

And to think or rememebr when Clinton was President (as we cannot be promised to always have a Republican and a conservative one at that) all those affirmative action political appointee Generals of the Clinton era. We have all heard the input of those that served during Clinton's reign of terror. His, Hillary and Chelsea's loathing of our Military!

This whole thing will end up making the military nothing but the political secret police of the party in charge.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (6)

December 14, 2007

House Votes To Outlaw CIA Waterboarding

House votes to outlaw CIA waterboarding

WASHINGTON

(Reuters)

Defying a White House veto threat, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to outlaw harsh interrogation methods, such as simulated drowning, that the CIA has used against suspected terrorists.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives voted on Thursday to outlaw harsh interrogation methods, such as simulated drowning, that the CIA has used against suspected terrorists.

On a 222-199 vote, the House approved a measure to require intelligence agents to comply with the Army Field Manual, which meets the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of war prisoners and prohibits torture.

Many countries, U.S. lawmakers and human rights groups have accused the United States of torturing terror suspects since the September 11 attacks.

President George W. Bush says the United States does not torture, but the administration will not disclose what interrogation methods it has approved for the CIA.

In threatening to veto the House-passed measure, which now awaits Senate action, the White House argued it would prevent the United States from conducting "lawful interrogations of senior al Qaeda terrorists."

House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer countered that the current administration had blurred the line "between legitimate, sanctioned interrogation tactics and torture."

"There is no doubt our international reputation has suffered and been stained as a result," Hoyer told colleagues.

Backers of harsh interrogation say it is needed to pry vital information out of enemy combatants. But critics say torture is inhumane and such information is often unreliable.

The CIA has told lawmakers they stopped waterboarding a few years ago, aides say.

The overall intelligence authorization bill that contains the interrogation provision faces another fight in the closely-divided, Democratic-led Senate.

The Army Field Manual provides 19 approved interrogation methods. They include isolating prisoners, allowing American interrogators to pose as representing another country and the "good-cop, bad-cop" interviewing technique.

It prohibits eight methods, including waterboarding.

Wild Thing's comment........

1) it worked and it saved lives
2) it's been used rarely
3) Al qeada could give a crap about humane treatment
4) using it will not encourage other countries to torture our soldiers, because they already have and would have anyway.
5) And the Geneva Convention does not cover terrorists, it covers prisoners of war who are wearing the uniform of their country when captured

Any moral argument against it is countered by a moral argument against sitting there and not doing all one could to to prevent the deaths of large numbers of Americans. The bottom line is - would you rather have blood on your hands because you failed to take action known to elicit the info. to save lives.

I can think of 50 ways right off the bat that would be torture. And I wouldn’t be opposed to outright torture of these Isamonuts.

I am tired of tour country pandering to terrorists. Our American government officials continue to work against the safety of the public. They continue to support the activities of sworn murderers and our enemies who are devoted to killing us. They continue to kiss our enemies asses. They continue to work to destroy the republic.

Our islamic jihadist enemies certainly don't limit themselves from employing any and every kind of torture imaginable. They're laughing their butts off right now over this one.

When are these politicians going to condemn the treatment our soldiers and citizens receive from Al Queda.

IMO the Dems and rino's already have blood on their hands. How many soldiers have died because the enemy was emboldened by the actions of the Dems and their kiss ups.

The House should stay out of the business of our Warriors!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (23)

December 12, 2007

DOD Notifies Congress of Furlough Moves If No GWOT Funding

Defense Department Notifies Congress of Furlough Moves

American Forces Press Service
DOD

WASHINGTON

Dec. 11, 2007

The Defense Department has officially notified Congress that the department will begin the furlough process for civilian employees of the Army, the Marine Corps and the combatant commands.

Congressional leaders have released a letter from Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England dated Dec. 7. In it, England gave legislators the required 45-day notice before beginning furloughs.

The furloughs will become necessary if Congress does not pass a global war on terror spending bill. “Without GWOT funding, only operations and maintenance funds in the base budget are available to cover war-related costs,” England said in the letter. “O&M funds also cover salary costs for a large number of Army and Marine Corps civilian employees.”

England reminded legislators of a letter he sent Nov. 8 to explain what would happen without supplemental war funding. “I emphasized that without this critical funding, the department would have no choice but to deplete key appropriations accounts in order to sustain essential military operations around the world,” he wrote in his Dec. 7 letter.

The House passed a $50 billion bill last month with funds to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it included legislation that directs the president to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq by December 2008. The measure failed in the Senate. President Bush has vowed to veto any bill that includes a troop-withdrawal timetable.

England’s letter begins a process that could affect 100,000 civilian employees. “Specific furlough notices will be issued in mid-January,” England said in his letter. “The department will also begin notifying appropriate labor organizations.”

If the legislation does not pass, the Army will be the first service affected, in mid-February, and the Marine Corps about a month later. The services will be forced to divert operations and maintenance funds to continuing combat operations. Civilian employees in the United States and overseas would be affected.

“The furlough will negatively affect our ability to execute base operations and training activities,” England wrote. “More importantly, it will affect the critical support our civilian employees provide to our warfighters -- support which is key to our current operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Congress has passed a $460 billion Defense Appropriations Act for 2008, but this is not enough to fund ongoing operations.

England told the lawmakers the Defense Department has no choice but to begin the furlough process. “While these actions will be detrimental to the nation, there are no other viable alternatives without additional congressional funding,” he wrote.

Wild Thing's comment........

So freaking despicable of these political tyrants. The Democrats are determined to destroy our military, and this ploy of not funding it is their ideal method to do so.

I wonder if they give ANY thought to the military, military family and military supporter VOTES out there that would be severely at risk, should they do this dastardly deed.

I would get the spineless together so those SOBs will hold the line... instead of flaking on Sunday shows and smoking cigars at the old boy’s club with the dems.

This isn’t a game.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (20)

December 01, 2007

Hockey Telecast to Feature U.S. Servicemembers in Kosovo

Dept. of Defense

(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jason Smith serves with the Kosovo Force Public Affairs Office.)

PRISTINA, Kosovo
Nov. 29, 2007

Versus, the U.S. cable television home of the National Hockey League, has partnered with some troops deployed to Kosovo to give an early Christmas present to the peacekeepers there and their families at home.

At 7 p.m. EST on Dec. 11 , everyone watching the Pittsburgh Penguins battle the Philadelphia Flyers on Versus will get to see some pictures of the American soldiers, airmen and sailors who are serving at Camps Film City and Bondsteel, Kosovo.

At the same time their pictures are being shown on television in the United States, the troops will be gathered at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center at Camp Film City to watch the game on the American Forces Network. Due to the time difference, the game starts in Kosovo at 1 a.m. Dec. 12, but the late start won’t discourage people from showing up. According to Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jay Valloric, one of the event coordinators, it’s easy to stay up because he knows his kids will be watching for him at home in Ohio.

“Most of us will be here through Christmas and New Years,” Valloric said. “I would rather be at home, but since that’s just not possible, I think it’s great that my kids will get to see me and know that I’m doing OK.”

The idea for the game came about in an unusual way. A small group of troops gathered for the Oct. 24 game between the Penguins and Rangers. A story was written about the game and sent to Versus. Eventually, Michael Baker, coordinating producer of the National Hockey League for the cable network, received an e-mail with the story. Baker contacted the author of the story to thank the troops for watching the game.

“Mike was happy to hear that we watched the games,” Army Sgt. Kai Tonti said. “He said if we wanted, he would try to show the photos that he received from the initial story during a future game we would be watching. Of course we were excited about it, so we said, ‘Yes.’ We were telling the other people here about it, and the idea just grew that it would be nice to do a live feed like they do sometimes during the Super Bowl.”

Baker was onboard with the troops’ idea, but mission requirements at Camp Film City trumped the valuable resources needed to pull off the transmission. The team putting the event together on the Kosovo side quickly started gathering troops for pictures that could be shown during breaks in the action.

“Our mission here doesn’t make the headlines at home the way Iraq and Afghanistan do,” Valloric said. “No one here is complaining, because the conditions aren’t as bad as a lot of people have it, but we still miss our families, and to get some of our pictures on TV is a real morale booster.”

In addition to American troops, other NATO and Partnership for Peace troops will be on hand at the MWR Center to cheer for their favorite team and watch the live broadcast. Camp Film City, which serves as the Kosovo Force Headquarters, is a deployed home to troops of 34 nations.

Wild Thing's comment........

The game is scheduled for December 12th in Kosovo. However, the shit may hit the fan on December 10th!

Serb minister: No negotiated Kosovo settlement possible unless independence threat dropped
International Herald Tribune

Negotiators from Serbia and Kosovo are due to meet next week in Brussels with mediators from the United States, Russia and the European Union in their latest attempt to force a breakthrough in deadlocked talks over the province's future.
The mediators are scheduled to report back to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by Dec. 10, and some Kosovo Albanian leaders, notably the outgoing prime minister, have warned that if no agreement is reached by then they will immediately declare independence.

Didn’t Clinton say these troops would be home by Christmas 1996? And Gen. Wesley Clark guarenteed it.

We better pray for all the Christians in Kosovo, because the the nasty is going to hit the fan there very soon and our troops are there — who will it be to defend, marauding Muslims who are supposed to be “our Allies” there, or old Serb Christians who just may get slaughtered in front of their eyes.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (6)

November 30, 2007

Is It Muslim or Moslem?

MOSLEM!

Why Do People Say Muslim Now Instead of Moslem?
By Yii-Ann Christine Chen
History News Network

When Baby Boomers were children it was Moslem. The American Heritage Dictionary (1992) noted, "Moslem is the form predominantly preferred in journalism and popular usage. Muslim is preferred by scholars and by English-speaking adherents of Islam." No more. Now, almost everybody uses Muslim.

According to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, "Moslem and Muslim are basically two different spellings for the same word." But the seemingly arbitrary choice of spellings is a sensitive subject for many followers of Islam. Whereas for most English speakers, the two words are synonymous in meaning, the Arabic roots of the two words are very different.

A Muslim in Arabic means "one who gives himself to God," and is by definition, someone who adheres to Islam. By contrast, a Moslem in Arabic means "one who is evil and unjust" when the word is pronounced, as it is in English, Mozlem with a z.

For others, this spelling differentiation is merely a linguistic matter, with the two spellings a result of variation in transliteration methods. Both Moslem and Muslim are used as nouns. But some writers use Moslem when the word is employed as an adjective.

Journalists switched to Muslim from Moslem in recent years under pressure from Islamic groups. But the use of the word Moslem has not entirely ceased. Established institutions which used the older form of the name have been reluctant to change. The American Moslem Foundation is still the American Moslem Foundation (much as the NAACP is still the NAACP--the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). The journal The Moslem World--published by the Hartford Seminary in Connecticut--is still The Moslem World.

Wild Thing's comment........

I wish I could remember to spell it this way. Moslem! Especially since the word itself is much more descriptive of what they truly are.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (14)

November 27, 2007

Bride (a-hem ?) and Groom Terror Suspects

Official: Bride, groom stopped in Iraq actually terror suspects

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Soldiers manning a checkpoint near Baghdad stopped a wedding convoy to find that the purported bride and groom were wanted terror suspects, an Iraqi Defense Ministry official said Monday.

The Army set up the checkpoint last week in the Taji area, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

The soldiers became suspicious of the convoy because its members -- save the "bride" -- were all male and because one of the cars in the convoy did not heed orders to stop, the official said.

Also, soldiers said, the people in the car seemed nervous and the groom refused to lift his bride's veil when soldiers asked him to, according to the official.

Soldiers ordered everyone out of the car, the official said.

Upon inspecting the convoy, soldiers found a stubbly-faced man, Haider al-Bahadli, decked out in a white bride's dress and veil.

Bahadli was wanted on terror-related charges, as was his groom, Abbas al-Dobbi, the official said.

Two other terror-related suspects were detained as well.

Wild Thing's comment........

OMG this is hilarious. They must think our troops are stupid and they sure as heck aren't!! I have heard the terrorists have done stuff like this before as well as dressing in burka's.

...Thank you SSgt Steve

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (11)

November 19, 2007

P.T.S.D. and Coming Home

Grim over at Black Five has a must read on the subject of PTSD. PTSD is not about weakness or strength and this write up is excellent in discussing it.

"What you need to know, first and last, is that so-called PTSD is not an illness. It is a normal condition for people who have been through what you have been through. The instinct to kill and war is native to humanity. It is very deeply rooted in me, as it is in you. We have rules and customs to restrain it, so that sometimes we may have peace. What you are experiencing is not an illness, but the awareness of what human nature is like deep down. It is the awareness of what life is like without the walls that protect civilization.

Those who have never been outside those walls don’t know: they can’t see. The walls form their horizon. You know what lays beyond them, and can’t forget it."....................

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (9)

November 18, 2007

Petraeus Helping Pick New Generals

Petraeus Helping Pick New Generals

washington post.com ...for complete article

The Army has summoned the top U.S. commander in Iraq back to Washington to preside over a board that will pick some of the next generation of Army leaders, an unusual decision that officials say represents a vote of confidence in Gen. David H. Petraeus's conduct of the war, as well as the Army counterinsurgency doctrine he helped rewrite.

The Army has long been criticized for rewarding conventional military thinking and experience in traditional combat operations, and current and former defense officials have pointed to Petraeus's involvement in the promotion board process this month as a sign of the Army's commitment to encouraging innovation and rewarding skills beyond the battlefield.

Some junior and midlevel officers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have been particularly outspoken in their criticisms, saying the Army's current leadership lacks a hands-on understanding of today's conflicts and has not listened to feedback from younger personnel.

"It's unprecedented for the commander of an active theater to be brought back to head something like a brigadier generals board," said retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, former head of the Army War College. A senior defense official said Petraeus is "far too high-profile for this to be a subtle thing."

The board, composed of 15 Army generals, will examine a pool of more than 1,000 colonels to select about 40 brigadier generals, expected to lead the service over the next decade or longer. Although each board member has an equal vote on the candidates, Petraeus will be able to guide the discussion.

Petraeus, a four-star general with a doctorate in international relations, has spent three of the past four years in Iraq and has observed firsthand many of the colonels under consideration for promotion. He is well-regarded by military officials for his political skills in Iraq and at home, including winning support from a skeptical Congress for a U.S. troop increase in Iraq.

"Dave Petraeus in many ways is viewed as the archetype of what this new generation of senior leader is all about," Scales said, "a guy . . . who understands information operations, who can be effective on Capitol Hill, who can communicate with Iraqis, who understands the value of original thought, who has the ability through the power of his intellect to lead people to change."

Wild Thing's comment........

I hope this mean they are going to retire the last of the Clinton mushhead Generals. and the POS like Wesley Clarke.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (13)

November 17, 2007

Senate Votes to Block Iraq War Money

Senate Votes to Block Iraq War Money

WASHINGTON

(AP)

The Senate on Friday blocked a Republican proposal to pay $70 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without strings attached.

The 53-45 vote was 15 votes short of the 60 needed to advance.

The measure was aimed at countering Democratic legislation that also would bankroll the operations, but would additionally require that troops start coming home in 30 days.

The Democratic bill, passed by the House on Wednesday, set a goal of ending combat by December 2008.

"We need to get the funds to the troops and we need to do it now," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the only way to get troops the money was to approve the restrictions outlined by Democrats.

"Anything else is political posturing," said Reid.

Democrats also were expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed to advance their bill.

Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said this week that if Congress cannot pass legislation that ties war money to troop withdrawals, they would not send Bush a bill this year.

Instead, they would revisit the issue upon returning in January, pushing the Pentagon to the brink of an accounting nightmare and deepening Democrats' conflict with the White House on the war.

In the meantime, Democrats say, the Pentagon can eat into its $471 billion annual budget without being forced to take drastic steps.

"The days of a free lunch are over," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that unless Congress passes funding for the war within days, he will direct the Army and Marine Corps to begin developing plans to lay off employees and terminate contracts early next year.

Wild Thing's comment........

“The days of a free lunch are over,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The country is at war and this is what the al qaeda operative in the Senate from New York said about our military ??? WTF

Here is the vote on the Democrat bill. RINOS Snow, Hagel and Smith voted with the Dims

And Chris Dodd, and Joseph Leiberman voted with the Republicans on this. what the heck, Chris Dodd? Well good.

If a single soldier is killed because they lacked the funding and equipment due to political posturing Harry Reid, and all those that voted against our troops, I will hold you PERSONALLY responsible!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (4)

November 13, 2007

'Mapping' A Danger

IBD Editorials

Homeland Security: Los Angeles police want to map potential terror hotbeds in the Muslim community, but critics are crying “religious profiling.” Actually, it’s just smart law enforcement.

And it couldn't come at a better time. The FBI is warning police in Los Angeles, as well as Chicago, that shopping malls there are possible targets of a new al-Qaida plot.

By mapping the local Muslim community, the LAPD would increase its chances of disrupting such plots. Its counterterrorism unit hopes to ID areas that might be more isolated and removed — and therefore riper targets for radicalization and even al-Qaida recruitment.

Shining a spotlight on these neighborhoods would take the terrorists and their facilitators out of the shadows where they prefer to operate.

"We just don't know enough about the communities," explains deputy LAPD chief Michael Downing, adding that the planned mapping project "has nothing to do with profiling."

But predictably, the ACLU has joined CAIR and other Muslim groups in denouncing the move.

"The mapping of Muslim communities seems premised on the faulty notion that Muslims are more likely to commit violent acts than people of other faiths," the ACLU complained.

Tolerant as this may sound, it ignores overwhelming statistical evidence to the contrary. Just since 9/11, more than 9,000 separate violent acts have been carried out in the name of Islam.

As Islamic terror expert Robert Spencer points out, we don't "see Presbyterians blowing themselves up in crowded restaurants, Buddhists flying planes into buildings and Amish waving placards crowing that they will soon dominate the world."

If the authorities ignored this reality just to appease the civil liberties crowd, they'd be committing politically correct suicide on behalf of the people they're charged with protecting. And civil rights are of no use to charred bodies.

You'd think patriotic Muslim groups would jump at the chance to cooperate in such a mapping project, which is supported by 69% of Americans, according to a CNN poll.

It's in the moderates' best interest to help police expose the extremists.

That way police can narrow their surveillance and gather more useful intelligence to protect not only society at large but also moderate Muslims who eschew violence.

The police are not the enemy here.

They know that the Muslim community is not monolithic or homogenous, especially in L.A., which is home to the second-largest Muslim population in the U.S.

They know that it contains harmless Sufi mysticists, as well as Shia and Sunni quietists, who neither support nor act out on jihad.

But police need to identify the pro-jihad Salafists — the radical fundamentalists — living among them who do pose a threat.

And the moderates can help them do it. They shouldn't let themselves be used by certain self-serving Muslim-rights groups looking for another false issue and inflammatory headline.

Wild Thing's comment........

I will never understand how a human being can say NO to doing things that make our country more secure. You all and I would do anything we could, say yes to whatever it takes to accomplish the things that needed to be done to protect all of us, and our country. It sickens me and angers me too when I hear of things like that and how certain PRO terrorists groups and that is what they are, fight those every step of the way that are wanting to do their job.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (11)

November 10, 2007

Weather Channel Founder: Global Warming ‘Greatest Scam'

Weather Channel Founder: Global Warming ‘Greatest Scam in History’
ICECAP, International Climate and Environmental Change Assessment Project

When John Coleman founded The Weather Channel in the early 1980's, he probably never could have guessed that TWC would be promoting the theory of global warming in the 2000's.

That's because Coleman doesn't believe in global warming, or so-called climate change. In a November 7 blog entry on icecap.us, Coleman makes it clear that he does not oppose environmentalism, but he says that global warming is a "non-event, a manufactured crisis and a total scam."

"I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct," Coleman wrote.

"The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril."

Coleman believes that in time, the global warming theory will be proven to be a scam when none of the predicted catastrophic events, such as coastal flooding and super storms, actually materialize.

"It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus. "

"Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild “scientific” scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmentally conscientious citizens. Only one reporter at ABC has been allowed to counter the Global Warming frenzy with one 15 minute documentary segment.
I do not oppose environmentalism. I do not oppose the political positions of either party. However, Global Warming, i.e. Climate Change, is not about environmentalism or politics. It is not a religion. It is not something you “believe in.” It is science; the science of meteorology. This is my field of life-long expertise. And I am telling you Global Warming is a non-event, a manufactured crisis and a total scam. I say this knowing you probably won’t believe a me, a mere TV weatherman, challenging a Nobel Prize, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning former Vice President of United States. So be it.

I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. I am incensed by the incredible media glamour, the politically correct silliness and rude dismissal of counter arguments by the high priest of Global Warming.

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious. As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped. The sky is not falling. And, natural cycles and drifts in climate are as much if not more responsible for any climate changes underway. I strongly believe that the next twenty years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend. "

Wild Thing's comment..........

With NBC going green with their logo and during the football game this Global warming thing is really getting out of hand. It is INSANE!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (15)

November 06, 2007

Uproar at the State Department Regarding Baghdad Embassy

'Special Report' Panel on Uproar at the State Department

Fox News for complete article

JACK CRODDY, FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER: It's one thing if someone believes in what is going on over there and volunteers. I am sorry, but, basically, that is a potential death sentence, and you know it.

And then another thought—who will take care of our children? Who will raise our children if we are dead or seriously wounded?

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER, R-CALIF.: I think we should fire those folks that don't want to go. You can't have people on the payroll who refuse to be deployed to the tough places.

BRET BAIER, CO-HOST: There you see some of the back-and-forth over this issue at the State Department this week at a town hall meeting, where some officers said they did not want to be assigned to go to Iraq.

Now the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has weighed in with a cable to all diplomats, sending it out today, saying "Regardless of how the jobs may be filled, they must be filled. It is our duty to do our part towards succeeding in the vital mission in Iraq given to us by the President."

Some of the back and—it was amazing to watch that town hall meeting, Jeff. The vitriol for some of these Foreign Service officers about possibly being assigned to Iraq—there has not been a decision yet, but it might be that.

JEFF BIRNBAUM: That's right, they may be forced to go. And they should be forced to go. I think that is part of their duty.

Hunter's Press Release that tossed gas on the fire:

DUNCAN HUNTER: GO TO WALTER REED AND BETHESDA FOR NEW STATE DEPT PERSONNEL

Washington, D.C.

U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, will be meeting with President Bush today regarding his Wounded Warrior proposal to Congress. During today’s meeting, Congressman Hunter intends to also suggest that State Department personnel who refuse deployment to Baghdad be replaced with wounded veterans at Walter Reed and Bethesda hospitals.
“When the State Department appears to be filled with reluctant personnel, let’s turn to those who have bravely followed the American flag in the most dangerous of assignments,” said Congressman Hunter. “The U.S. Marines, soldiers, airmen and Navy personnel presently recovering at our national military hospitals have all the character required by the Department of State. They are brave, loyal, intelligent and fiercely determined to win the War on Terror.

“They are veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters and you can be sure that when called on for difficult assignments, they won’t convene a town meeting to protest. Especially for those whose mobility has been impaired by wounds, State Department positions, not only in Baghdad but around the world, will provide excellent jobs as well as availing our nation of their enormous talent.”

Hunter will recommend a team of State Department recruiters be immediately sent to Walter Reed and Bethesda hospitals, as well as posting application forms on relevant employment websites.

“Let’s replace these reluctant Nellies with America’s finest citizens,” concluded Hunter. “Our wounded warriors will serve our country efficiently, effectively and with undying patriotism.”

Wild Thing's comment........

Yesterday Nick and I were talking about this and he said, they should send Veterans, soldiers that served in Iraq. They know Iraq now, they know the people, and how to deal with them.

Then when I just read this that Duncan Hunter said I agree. I see why it might be a great idea. I agree if we want intelligence, courage, and honor in our diplomatic postings, send vets.

The jerks with the State Dept. Firing them is also a great idea for any reason.

JACK CRODDY, FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER: It's one thing if someone believes in what is going on over there and volunteers. I am sorry, but, basically, that is a potential death sentence, and you know it.
And then another thought—who will take care of our children? Who will raise our children if we are dead or seriously wounded?

I'm willing to bet Mr. Croddy's political affiliation does not begin with an "R."

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (14)

November 03, 2007

Pakistani Troops Surrender

Masked militant supporters of Maulana Fazlullah, a hard line cleric, armed with AK-47 assault rifles stand guard in Charabagh near Mingora, the main town of Pakistan's Swat district bordering Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 2, 2007. Dozens of paramilitary troops defect in northwest Pakistan saying they do not want to fight their Muslim brothers, an embarrassment to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as he struggles to regain control of an mountainous region from Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants. (AP Photo/Mohammad Iqbal) Email Photo Print Photo

Pakistani troops surrender
November 2, 2007

AP ...for complete story

SWAT, Pakistan

Islamic militants paraded 48 men on Friday described as government troops who surrendered during fighting — an embarrassment to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as he struggles to regain control of a mountainous region from Taliban and al-Qaida-linked extremists.

Islamic militants said Saturday they had taken control of a police station in the volatile northwest region, hoisting their flag over its roof.

Officers fled the police station in Swat late Friday, said Sirajuddin, a spokesman for a radical cleric who leads the militants. "Our flag is hoisted above Matta police station now," said the spokesman, who only goes by one name.

No government official was immediately available to comment on Sirajuddin's claim, which comes a day after Adm. William Fallon, the chief of the U.S. Central Command, met with Musharraf and other top generals to discuss the security situation. Washington backs Musharraf as a bulwark in its war on terrorism.

The rising violence and political turmoil have fueled fears that Musharraf might extend his military rule by imposing a state of emergency or martial law, jeopardizing a promised transition to democracy. The Bush administration and European allies have urged against such measures, according to a Western diplomat in Islamabad.

"I think it would be quite obvious that the United States wouldn't be supportive of extraconstitutional means," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in Ireland ahead of a diplomatic mission to Turkey and the Middle East.

The Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said elements in Pakistan's ruling party were pushing for such a move in case the Supreme Court disqualifies Musharraf's Oct. 6 presidential victory because he did not first give up his position as army chief.

A verdict is due before his current term expires Nov. 15, after which Pakistan is due to hold parliamentary elections by January.

The deteriorating security situation is adding to the sense of crisis. Pakistan has been rocked by a string of suicide bombings and clashes between soldiers and Islamic militants who have expanded their influence inland beyond existing strongholds in border regions.

The army said it killed up to 70 rebels Thursday when helicopter gunships pounded the once-popular tourist destination of Swat, where a hard-line cleric is trying to enforce Taliban-style rule. The militants said the toll was exaggerated, and pointed to their own successes.

Masked extremists armed with AK-47 assault rifles and long knives escorted journalists Friday to a two-story concrete building in the town of Charabagh to show off 48 men who surrendered after the battle. Most were described as paramilitary troops from the Frontier Corps. They were released after the display.

"We have surrendered to these mujahedeen," said Barkat Ullah, 24, who, like other captives, was wearing civilian clothes, saying they had left their uniforms at their posts. "We had no ammunition. We had no other option."

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, who announced the reported militant death toll on Thursday, declined to comment Friday on the surrenders.

A video shop owner shows a jihadi or holy war CD at his shop in Mingora, the main town of Pakistani district Swat bordering Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007. Muslim extremists are expanding their control of northern Pakistan, challenging the U.S.-backed government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and adding to the geography where terrorists allied with Osama bin Laden can find refuge. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zubair)

Wild Thing's comment........

Well this sure stinks! There has been a lot of fighting in this area recently, more then usual. The Pakistani government has failed to meaningfully address the terrorist threat. We have given Pakistan $11 billion I think it is,
F-16's and other incentives ( military , and economic etc.) But even so the Pakistani government has not been able to do a a lot of what needs to be done.

Also, I have always been curious how this works, how does AP or Reuters get close enough to report and photograph things like this. I mean without being killed, or taken prisoner. Pay the terrorists money? Promise them great 8 X 10 glossies of themselves to send to put up in their caves? hahaha

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:50 AM | Comments (8)

Cheney Endorses Water Boarding ~ I Agree

Cheney endorses simulated drowning
Says use of water boarding to get terrorist intelligence is ‘no brainer’

Dick Cheney, US vice-president, has endorsed the use of "water boarding" for terror suspects and confirmed that the controversial interrogation technique was used on Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the senior al-Qaeda operative now being held at Guantánamo Bay.

Cheney was responding to a radio interviewer from North Dakota station WDAY who asked whether water boarding, which involves simulated drowning, was a "no-brainer" if the information it yielded would save American lives.

"It's a no-brainer for me," Cheney replied.

The comments by the vice-president, who has been one of the leading advocates of reducing limitations on what interrogation techniques can be used in the war on terror, are the first public confirmation that water boarding has been used on suspects held in US custody.

"For a while there, I was criticized as being the 'vice-president for torture'," Cheney added. "We don't torture ... We live up to our obligations in international treaties that we're party to and so forth.

"But the fact is, you can have a fairly robust interrogation program without torture and we need to be able to do that."

Cheney said recent legislation passed by Congress allowed the White House to continue its aggressive interrogation program.

But his remarks appear to stand at odds with the views of three key Republican senators who helped draft the recently passed Military Commission Act, and who argue that water boarding is not permitted according to that law.

"It's a direct affront to the primary authors of the Military Commission Act in the Senate — John McCain, Lindsey Graham and John Warner — all of whom have publicly stated that the legislation signed by the president last week makes water boarding a war crime," said Jennifer Daskal, advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

"This is Cheney ignoring the consensus of his own Pentagon," she said, referring to comments by senior officials that harsh interrogation techniques do not produce reliable intelligence.

John Bellinger, the State Department legal adviser, last week declined to answer specific questions on water boarding, saying Congress would have to determine whether specific interrogation techniques were permissible under the Geneva conventions.

Wild Thing's comment........

It's a no-brainer for me too. What kind of people do the Dem/Libs think we're dealing with anyhow? Our enemies would only put our heads under water AFTER they had sliced them from the rest of our bodies.

I heard Rep. Charles Rangel on FOX News the other day saying that "all the military experts" say torture used in interrogation doesn't work. This is another liberal media/Democrat chant that like Goebbels' "big lie" might be believed if publicly chanted enough times.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (16)

November 01, 2007

Phelps Liable In Marines Funeral Protest

Kansas church liable in Marine funeral protest

BALTIMORE (Reuters)

A jury on Wednesday ordered an anti-gay Kansas church to pay $10.9 million in damages to relatives of a U.S. Marine who died in Iraq after church members cheered his death at his funeral.

Church members said Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder's death was God's punishment of America for tolerating homosexuality, and they attended his 2006 funeral in Maryland with signs saying "You're going to hell" and "God hates you."

The federal jury determined the Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, and three of its principals invaded the privacy of the dead man's family and inflicted emotional distress.

Albert Snyder, the Marine's father, testified that his son was not gay, but the church targeted the military as a symbol of America's tolerance of gays. Matthew Snyder died in combat in Iraq in March 2006.

The jury awarded Snyder's family $2.9 million in compensatory damages plus $8 million in punitive damages in the first civil suit against the church, which has demonstrated at some 300 military funerals the past two years.

The lawsuit said church Web sites vilified U.S. soldiers, accusing them of being indoctrinated by "fag propaganda."

"I hope it's enough to deter them from doing this to other families. It was not about the money. It was about getting them to stop," said Snyder, of York, Pennsylvania.

The church, which is unaffiliated with any major denomination, is headed by Rev. Fred Phelps, who has led a campaign against homosexuality for years. Most of the estimated 70 members of the church belong to his extended family.

"It will take the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals a few minutes to reverse this silly thing," Phelps said.

His daughter and co-defendant, Shirley Phelps-Roper, vowed to continue protesting military funerals and called the court's decision a blow against free speech.

Outside court on Wednesday, Phelps and his children waved placards with slogans such as "Pray for more dead kids" and "God hates fag enablers," while passing drivers and pedestrians shouted abuse at them.

Defense attorney Jonathan Katz urged jurors not to award punitive damages because the $2.9 million in compensatory damages was already three times the defendants' net worth.

"It's enough already to bankrupt them and financially destroy them," Katz said.

Craig Trebilcock, an attorney for Snyder, said jurors should award sufficient punitive damages to deter Westboro from repeating its actions.

Reaction of Fred Phelps on CNN over the Snyder verdict

Wild Thing's comment........

This is from one of the Patriot Guards :

"Being in the Patriot Guard, I have personally witnessed this so-called “distance” where they don’t disrupt things. One funeral was for SGT Fuga in Independence, MO. The Westboro Baptist Church was placed 300 feet from the services. But that placed them around the parking lot of where the family parked, easily an ear shout distance from the family. Shirley Phelps and the gang sing SO loudly (things like God Hates America or the Marine Corps song with the lyrics that “Marine Corps fags coming home in body bags”) that you can hear them for blocks.

When this does start to occur at the funerals, the Patriot Guard will place their motorcycles in front of them to drown out their voices. If they were so far away and not disruptive, I guarantee you that the Patriot Guard would NEVER get to close to them. We’d rather keep our distance.

At the funeral for Kevin Ziegler in Kansas City, they were on the busy intersection where the family would pass to get to the funeral. As the family passed, they yelled out to the family that Kevin was in hell. I heard that, and I was at least 150 feet away at the time."

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (16)

October 29, 2007

Iraqi Army in Besmaya Collected a Donation For The San Diego, Ca. Fire Victims

U.S. Army Col. Darel Maxfield (center left), Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq, receives the check from Iraqi Army Col. Abbass (center right) at the Besmaya Range Complex Thursday for the San Diego, Calif., fire victims.

By U.S. Army Sgt 1st Class Charlene Sipperly, Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq

Members of the Iraqi Army in Besmaya collected a donation for the San Diego, Calif., fire victims Thursday night at the Besmaya Range Complex in a moving ceremony to support Besmaya's San Diego residents.

Iraqi Army Col. Abbass, the commander of the complex, presented a gift of $1,000 to U.S. Army Col. Darel Maxfield, Besmaya Range Complex officer in charge, Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq, to send to the fire victims in California.

The money was collected from Iraqi officers and enlisted soldiers in Besmaya. In a speech given during the presentation, Col. Abbass stated that he and the Iraqi soldiers were connected with the American people in many ways, and they will not forget the help that the American government has given the Iraqi people. Abbass was honored to participate by sending a simple fund of $1,000 to the American people in San Diego, to lower the suffering felt by the tragedy.

Wild Thing's comment........

Our soldiers are not only fighting the enemy, but when we see things like this happening it shows how much impact our awesome troops are on the people in Iraq as well.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (8)

October 28, 2007

U.S. Led Coalition Kills 80 Taliban In Battle

US says 80 Taliban killed in battle

KABUL, Afghanistan

U.S. led coalition forces killed about 80 Taliban fighters during a six-hour battle outside a Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the latest in a series of increasingly bloody engagements in the region, officials said.

Also Saturday, suicide bomber wearing an Afghan security uniform detonated his explosives at the entrance to a combined U.S.-Afghan base in the east of the country, killing four Afghan soldiers and a civilian, officials said.

The battle near Musa Qala in Helmand province — the world's largest poppy growing region — is at least the fifth major fight in the area since Sept. 1. The five battles have killed more than 250 Taliban fighters, a possible sign that U.S. or British forces could be trying to wrest the area back from Taliban militants.

The latest fight began when Taliban fighters attacked a combined U.S. coalition and Afghan patrol with rockets and gunfire, prompting the combined force to call in attack aircraft, which resulted in "almost seven dozen Taliban fighters killed," the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement early Sunday.

The coalition said that four bombs were dropped on a trench line filled with Taliban fighters, resulting in most of the deaths.

Taliban militants overran Musa Qala in February, four months after British troops left the town following a contentious peace agreement that handed over security responsibilities to Afghan elders. Musa Qala has been in control of Taliban fighters ever since.

Situated in the north of Helmand, Musa Qala and the region around it have been the front line of the bloodiest fighting this year. It is also the heartland of Afghanistan's illicit opium poppy farms.

Violence in Afghanistan this year has been the deadliest since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. More than 5,200 people have died this year due to the insurgency, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Afghan and Western officials

The suicide bomber walked up to a security gate for Afghan soldiers outside Forward Operating Base Bermel in the eastern province of Paktika, near the border with Pakistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.

Four Afghan soldiers and a civilian were killed and six Afghans were wounded, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. No Americans were hurt.

It was not immediately clear if the bomber had been trying to gain entry to the base.

Taliban insurgents have set off more than 100 suicide blasts this year, a record pace.

Elsewhere, Taliban militants killed three Afghan police who had been trying to prevent them from carrying out a kidnapping, said Helmand provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal. The militants successfully kidnapped an Afghan man during the gunbattle, he said.

Australia's prime minister, meanwhile, said more NATO powers must directly engage the Taliban to help ease the burden on Australia, the United States, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands, which all have troops in the dangerous southern and central parts of Afghanistan.

Germany, Italy, France and Spain have troops in the relatively safer northern sections, a fact that is causing a rift within NATO, and Australian Prime Minister John Howard said those countries need to help ease the burden on countries operating in the south.

"Some of the other countries have lots of troops in Afghanistan, but they're not in some of the areas that are experiencing the heaviest fighting," he said.

The governments of the Netherlands and Canada, in particular, are coming under domestic pressure to pull out troops because of heavy casualties.

"I think the Dutch government has been very courageous to date," Howard said. "It's not for me to comment on Dutch politics, but I do observe that the Dutch are making a great contribution and as are of course the Canadians."

Wild Thing's comment........

"The coalition said that four bombs were dropped on a trench line filled with Taliban fighters, resulting in most of the deaths."

Nice of them to dig a trench. Saves lots of work.

It was not immediately clear if the bomber had been trying to gain entry to the base.

Ummm.. maybe he was just stopping to ask for directions? Hellooooo. this must be a first time for the writer of this article. haha

God bless our troops and keep them safe.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (6)

Suicide Bomber Detonates Upon Discovery

Suicide bomber detonates upon discovery by CLCs (Muqdadiya)

MUQDADIYA, Iraq

Acting on a tip from a local citizen, a group of Concerned Local Citizens located a suicide bomber, who detonated himself upon discovery in Muqdadiya Oct. 26.

The suicide bomber, who was believed to be targeting a populated area, detonated as soon as the CLC group entered the house he was located in, causing it to collapse. The collapse wounded one CLC and a suspected extremist who was in the house with the suicide bomber.

“Today’s discovery is a sure sign the population continues to grow tired of al- Qaeda’s barbaric acts,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of Coalition Forces in Diyala province.

“The local citizens and CLCs are both playing active roles in securing their areas and neighborhoods across Diyala – an important sign that they realize they must be the definers of their own democracy.”

“Because of the actions by the CLCs, many lives were saved,” Sutherland continued. “This is not the first time the CLCs have saved lives in their neighborhoods.

They truly are patriots serving to protect their families, tribes and neighbors.”

The wounded were transferred to a Coalition Forces’ medical facility for treatment.

Wild Thing's comment........

Nice try, sucker. The only thing this clown succeeded in doing was blowing up his own house. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid , John Murtha and the rest of their ilk will now be in mourning.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (6)

October 11, 2007

Terrorist Recruiting Center Now A New School

Joint effort turns terrorist recruiting center into school

LUTIFIYAH — For American schoolchildren, libraries, restrooms and desks and chairs in the school are a given. For many Iraqi children, however, those elements of school life would be regarded as luxuries.

Thus, the exuberant celebration surrounding the re-opening of the Jolen School, reclaimed from terrorists who had overtaken the building.

“This school was once used as an al Qaida recruiting facility,” explained U.S. Army 1st Lt. Aaron Hall, civil affairs officer, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Military Transition Team. “I remember when this building was covered with graffiti.”

Hall asked his battalion commander, Lt. Col. Bob Morschauser, to approve the use of Commander’s Emergency Response Program funds to renovate the school for the children after the terrorists were driven out and the area was secured.

Once the project was approved, the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) worked with the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Iraqi contractors on the renovation project.

“We used a contracting company that was widely known for its work before the war started,” Hall explained.

Within a few months, the fruits of everyone’s labor showed as hundreds of Iraqi children gathered to see their newly renovated school.

“This really makes me happy,” said Mustafar, a student at Jolen School. “Our school has never been this nice.”

The two-story school is now large enough to house 1,200 students; 600 during the day and 600 at night. The school is equipped with a computer lab, new desks, renovated classrooms and even a playground in the school yard.

But it is the small amenities that really make the school special.

“Before the school had broken windows and only one bathroom that all 1,200 students used,” Hall said. “Now there are several bathrooms and all of the windows are fixed.”

School renovations are just a small way to show Iraqis the importance of their future, Hall said.

Iraqi Army Brig. Gen. Muhammad Ali Jassim al-Frejee, commander of the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, concurred, smiling as he walked through the schoolhouse and pausing to chat with students and to reflect on what the opening of a renovated school means to the local citizens.

“All of this is for our future. Our time is gone,” Ali said, speaking of the Iraqi elders as he looked at the children, “but our future is right here.”

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (2)

October 08, 2007

Al Qaeda in Haditha: The battle the media ignored

Al Qaeda in Haditha: The battle the media ignored
Defend Our Marines
War Chronicle.com
by Nathaniel R. Helms 2007

October 6, 2007 – Buried in the mountain of exhibits attached to the once secret Haditha, Iraq murder inquiry prepared by US Army Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell is an obscure Marine Corps intelligence summary (see pdf) that says the deadly encounter was an intentional propaganda ploy planned and paid for by Al Qaeda foreign fighters.

Veteran military defense attorney Gary Meyers said he never understood why the Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agents leading the Haditha criminal investigation didn’t "examine the linkage" between Al Qaeda, the local insurgency and the events at Haditha. Meyers was an attorney on the defense team that successfully defended Justin Sharratt, a Marine infantryman accused of multiple murders at Haditha.

The report – apparently overlooked by a Washington press corps awash in leaked Bargewell documents and secret Naval Criminal Investigative Service reports – shows that Marine Corps intelligence operatives were advised of the scheme to demonize the Marines by an informant named Muhannad Hassan Hamadi. The informant was snared by 3/1 Marines on December 11 2005 and decided to cooperate.

Planning a "massacre"

The attack was carried out by multiple cells of local Wahabi extremists and well-paid local gunmen from Al Asa’ib al-Iraq [the Clans of the People of Iraq] that were led by Al Qaeda foreign fighters, the summary claims. Their case was bolstered by Marine signal intercepts revealing that the al Qaeda fighters planned to videotape the attacks and exploit the resulting carnage for propaganda purposes.
Eleven insurgents involved in the attack are identified by name and affiliation in the details of the summary. All of them were killed or captured in the days immediately following the Haditha incident.

During the November Haditha battle, the insurgents secreted themselves among local civilians to guarantee pursuing Marines would catch innocent civilians in the ensuing crossfire. On January 6, 2006 six insurgents who tried to do the same thing at another location in Haditha were turned in to Coalition authorities before they could mount a similar assault, the report says.

On January 18, 2006, almost two months after the infamous Haditha attack, Iraqi insurgents identified as Talal Abdullah Yusif and Omar Ramsey “planned to attack a dismounted C[oalition] F[orces] patrol” along with four brothers named Khalif Muhammad Hassan.

It wasn't coincidental that brother Sa'ib Khalif Muhammad Hassan lived next to an Al Qaeda "safe house" destroyed on November 19 by Marine jets. Sa'ib had rented the house to the foreign fighters. That attack was stopped by local Iraqis and Sa'ib Hassan was arrested, the report says.

The summary also details the Marines finding three dead bodies near the Sub Hani Mosque after the November 19 fight was over. The dead men are described as “military-aged males” wearing “chest rigs.” Two of the decedents were “missing parts of lower torso.” The authors opined the victims were foreign fighters killed in one of the Marine bombings during the day-long combat.

Our media, the enemy within

The prosecutors in the case against eight Marines charged with murder and cover up at Haditha still maintain the besieged infantrymen acted solely out of malice and poor judgment when they killed 24 Iraqis there. The prosecution’s investigation was launched after a story by Time magazine reporter Tim McGirk on March 6, 2006 accused the Marines of cold blooded murder in retaliation for the death of a brother Marine.

McGirk received his video "evidence" and contacts from two known Iraqi insurgent operatives already under observation by Marine Corps counter intelligence teams. One of the Iraqi witnesses McGirk relied on had just been released from almost six months captivity for insurgent activities and the other witness was considered a useful intelligence tool by Marines listening to him talk on his cell phone. McGirk never interviewed the Marines, who ironically had prepared a similar intelligence summary in anticipation of his canceled visit.

Please continue reading the rest of the report by Nathaniel Helms at Defend our Marines he has an exclusive report on the battle in Haditha that the media ignored. The report states that the attack was carried out by “multiple cells of local Wahabi extremists and well-paid local gunmen from Al Asa’ib al-Iraq.

Wild Thing's comment........

This report by Helms really shows how much the media is aiding the enemy with the media's propaganda machine in full force.

All this information was available to Congressman John Murtha before his cold-blooded killer slander on May 17, 2006.

This information was also leaked to the media more than a year ago. But they suppressed it in favor of a lie about a massacre.

Helms uses information that was available to the NCIS agents investigating the case and JAG prosecutors pursuing the case against these Marines to show al Qaeda was deeply involved in the event but ignored that evidence. The NCIS and JAG prosecutors should be held accountable.

And here were Murtha's own words:

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (6)

October 06, 2007

US General Odierno:Do Not Release The 5 Iranians

US General: Five Iranians Detained in Iraq Should Not be Released

October 05, 2007
AFP Yahoo News!

WASHINGTON

General Raymond Odierno, the number two leader of US forces in Iraq, said in an interview published Friday that he will recommend that the five Iranians that US forces detained in Iraq in January should not be released.

Their case will be reviewed this month, and according to The Washington Post it is so sensitive that it is being reviewed by the White House.

"Militarily, we should hold on to them," Odierno told the Post.

US forces detained the five in the Kurdish city of Irbil, and say they were helping insurgents fighting US-led forces in Iraq.

Iran insists the captives are diplomats working at Tehran's consulate in Irbil.

Iranian officials continue to demand their release, arguing that the five did nothing illegal.

Separately, Iraq is calling for the release of Mahmudi Farhadi, another Iranian US forces detained September 20 in Sulaimaniyah, also in Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region.

In Baghdad, Major General Kevin Bergner told reporters Wednesday that "multiple sources" implicated Farhadi in providing weapons to "Iraqi criminal elements in the service of Iran."

Iran condemned what it called the "unwarranted" arrest of Farhani, described as a businessman in Iraq at the invitation of the Kurdish regional government.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has slammed the arrest as illegal and demanded Farhadi's release.

And on September 24, Iran shut its frontiers with Iraq in protest, causing mayhem at the border and major economic losses to traders in the Kurdish region.

Wild Thing's comment........

Keep them otherwise they'll be back to kill our troops.

And what the heck is this???? GRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Separately, Iraq is calling for the release of Mahmudi Farhadi, another Iranian US forces detained September 20 in Sulaimaniyah, also in Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region.
In Baghdad, Major General Kevin Bergner told reporters Wednesday that "multiple sources" implicated Farhadi in providing weapons to "Iraqi criminal elements in the service of Iran."
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has slammed the arrest as illegal and demanded Farhadi's release.

Hello Iraq, you better make up your mind, our troops are risking life and limb over there!

And then this part.....

US forces detained the five in the Kurdish city of Irbil, and say they were helping insurgents fighting US-led forces in Iraq.
Iran insists the captives are diplomats working at Tehran's consulate in Irbil.

Those are not mutually exclusive statements. They very well could be "diplomats" and also helping, or directing, the insurgents.

Iran can always send them friendship cards to the GITMO address where we could put these prisoners.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (9)

October 05, 2007

Royal Marine Lifts Two-ton Truck Off Drowning Comrade

Colour Sergeant Carl Tatton

The two tonne truck flipped on its side

Mark Farr

'Incredible Hulk' Royal Marine lifts two-ton truck off drowning comrade during gun battle in Afghanistan
Daily Mail co.uk

Drowning in 3ft of ditch water, his leg trapped under a two - ton truck , Royal Marine Mark Farr must have thought there was no way he would make it out of Afghanistan alive.

But he reckoned without the heroism of his fellow Marine, Colour Sergeant Carl 'Tatts' Tatton, who braved Taliban mortar fire to lift the vehicle by himself, although it was 13 times his body weight.

Marine Farr, 29, dubbed his rescuer 'The Incredible Bulk' after the superhuman feat.

"Without Tatts I'd have drowned," he said. "I owe him my life."

Now back in Britain, Colour Sergeant Tatton has spoken out for the first time about the adrenaline rush that allowed him to move the truck on November 5 last year.

The 38-year- old from Ford, Plymouth, said unassumingly: "When you see one of your mates in danger, you just react."

But his senior commander, Lieutenant Colonel Andy Price of 3 Commando, refused to accept such modesty, saying: "Colour Sergeant Tatton gave no thoughts to his own safety.

"This is typical of the man - he embodies the very highest standards of the Royal Marines."

At the time of the incident in Gereshk, southern Afghanistan, Colour Sergeant Tatton was a physical training instructor with Marine Farr's J Company, 42 Commando.

Marine Farr became trapped when a mortar bomb exploded near to the water-filled ditch he was working in, flipping the truck down the bank and on to his leg.

As more shells rained in, Colour Sergeant Tatton leapt into the ditch to try to free his comrade.

Recalling the incident after arriving back at barracks in Plymouth, the hero said: "At the time it was one of our fiercest days of contact with the enemy. It was one of those days when it was just mad.

"We were working in the Sangin Valley trying to disrupt Taliban movement when we came under intense mortar attack.

"We arrived under the cover of darkness and we thought it was going to be quite quiet. At about 10am the first mortar came in.

We heard on the radio that a section of J Company was under heavy mortar fire so I decided to take more sandbags up to reinforce one of the forward positions.

"We loaded the bags on to our Pinzgauer truck and reversed towards the position on one of the narrow tracks."

"We got to the location and I jumped out to make sure the junction was clear. A mortar round then exploded on the side of a bank, which caused it to break. "

"The truck toppled over into a deep stream, trapping Marine Farr's legs as he tried to jump out."

After an initial yell, the Marine was dragged under the surface.

"He was pinned down about 3ft underwater," said Colour Sergeant Tatton. "He was seconds from drowning. I jumped in and tried to lift his head up but realised I'd have to lift up the truck. I grabbed the roll bar and lifted the suspension enough to release him."

"A few lads ran over thinking the lad was seriously injured because they heard all this screaming - it turned out it was me making all the noise trying to lift the thing."

• Lifting a two-ton lorry would challenge even most professional weightlifters."

But in situations of extreme danger, the body releases adrenaline, which can enable feats of strength far beyond our natural capacity.

The effects include increased blood-flow, a heightened pulse rate, extra reserves of determination and increased physical performance.

Those acting in emergency situations often report becoming aware when adrenaline has kicked in.

Life coach Michael Neill paid tribute to the power of adrenaline in situations where it is necessary to conquer one's fears, saying:

"'You can use the power of adrenaline to "feel the fear" and do something anyway."

Wild Thing's comment..........

This is an amazing story and great news. One thing for sure the enemy will never have stories like this. It is not in them to be a heros.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (6)

September 27, 2007

U.S. Builds Military Base In Iraq-Iran Border

U.S. builds military base in Iraq-Iran border

The U.S. military is building a base "within shouting distance" of Iran in the border areas of Iraq, ABC News reported Wednesday.

U.S. officials described the move as "an extraordinary step" to curb the smuggling of Iranian weapons into Iraq, but the media sphere already smelled the "odor of war."

Namely Combat Outpost Shocker, the base hardly comes as a pleasant surprise to Iran that the United States will have a new base just 8 km from their border.

Col. Mark Mueller, of the 3rd U.S. Army Infantry Division, said it is the first time the U.S. military will be that close to Iran.

"Obviously, they probably won't be very happy about it," Mueller told ABC News.

The Shocker base will be home to about 200 soldiers, as well as to agents from the U.S. Border Patrol, at a location where about 300 trucks now cross the border each day.

At the moment, the United States can only fully search three or four of them each day, but with more manpower and technology, they will know better where to look for weapons transactions.

The new base is part of a bigger struggle for influence between the United States and Iran in Iraq.

While the United States and Iran are not engaged in a shooting war for now, a "war of wills" has already begun, and Combat Outpost Shocker will be right on the frontline, analysts said.

Wild Thing's comment........

Tick tock Ahmadinejad! Prayers for our troops and for their safety.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (10)

September 19, 2007

U.S. May Escort Ahmadinejad to Ground Zero!?!

I was just reading about this about an hour ago, and thought I would post it now instead of in the morning. LOOK at this........ sheesh!

U.S. May Escort Ahmadinejad to Ground Zero
Talks Underway After Iranian Requests a Visit

The New York Sun

In a move that has stunned New York, the Bloomberg administration is in discussions to escort the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to ground zero during his visit to New York next week, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said today.

The Iranian mission to the U.N. made the request to the New York City Police Department and the Secret Service, which will jointly oversee security during the leader's two-day visit. Mr. Ahmadinejad is scheduled to arrive September 24 to speak to the U.N. General Assembly as the Security Council decides whether to increase sanctions against his country for its uranium enrichment program.

Mr. Kelly said the NYPD and Secret Service were in discussions with the Iranian Mission about the logistics for the possible visit, and whether it will take place at all. He said that for safety reasons related to ongoing construction at ground zero Mr. Ahmadinejad would not be allowed to descend into the pit.

"There has been some interest expressed in his visiting the area," Mr. Kelly said. "It's something that we are prepared to handle if in fact it does happen."

Mr. Kelly said Mr. Ahmadinejad had not indicated why he wants to visit the site of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"It is an insult to the memories of those who died on 9/11 at the hands of terrorists, and those who have fought terrorism for years, to allow the president of the world's top state sponsor of terrorism to step foot at ground zero," a spokeswoman for Senator Thompson, Karen Hanretty, said. "Iran is responsible for supplying weapons and supporting extremist who are killing U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan to this very day."

Not sure what is going on about this. But here is another article saying differently.

Iranian Leader Was Denied Ground Zero Visit
The New York Times

(Apoparently this is an UPDATE but with a diferent newspaper)

Updated, 5:15 p.m.

An advance team for the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asked earlier this month that he be allowed to lay a wreath at the World Trade Center site during the opening of the United Nations General Assembly next week, but the request was denied, New York City police officials said today.
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly caused considerable confusion earlier today when he suggested that the request was still pending. In fact, police officials said later, the request — made at a meeting that included the Secret Service and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — was denied for reasons of security and safety. They added that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s aides had asked that he be allowed into the pit, where construction is taking place.

Wild Thing's comment........

To even consider it is anti-American. Good Lord what kind of world is this?? I know, but I just had to say that.

This sack of dog feces should not even be allowed into our country. If we feel we have to let Ahmawhackjob visit the UN then that should be the ONLY place he sets foot, nowhere else. Allow him to be driven to the UN and back the the airport, nowhere else, and for heaven’s sake do not allow one of the world’s leading terrorists to go make Islamo-terrorist propaganda at Ground Zero!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 07:44 PM | Comments (10)

U.S. Bans Travel of Officials Outside of Green Zone

U.S. Bans Travel of Officials Outside of Green Zone
Fox News ....for complete article

BAGHDAD

The United States on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, amid mounting public outrage over the alleged killing of civilians by the U.S. Embassy's security provider Blackwater USA.

The move came even as the Iraqi government appeared to back down from statements Monday that it had permanently revoked Blackwater's license and would order its 1,000 personnel to leave the country — depriving American diplomats of security protection essential to operating in Baghdad.

"We are not intending to stop them and revoke their license indefinitely but we do need them to respect the law and the regulation here in Iraq," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN.

The U.S. order confines most American officials to a 3.5-square-mile area in the center of the city, meaning they cannot visit U.S.-funded construction sites or Iraqi officials elsewhere in the country except by helicopter. The notice did not say when the suspension would expire.

The Iraqi Cabinet decided Tuesday to review the status of all foreign security companies. Still, it was unclear how the dispute would play out, given the government's need to appear resolute in defending national sovereignty while maintaining its relationship with Washington at a time when U.S. public support for the mission is faltering.

Wild Thing's comment........

Whenever I hear the term innocent Iraqi's involved, the first thing I think of is doubt. Doubt of not taking that at face value. Too many times we know in war the so called innocent are not that, but women and children with weapons seeking to kill our troops. Sorry but Islam teaches one to lie, it is in their Quran to do so.

Private security firms are the new Halliburton for the Left. They can do no good, only harm, and work only for greed, in their view. Realistically, they fulfill a critical function in operations that fills the gap between what the regular military can do and what must be done but cannot because of the PC limp-wrists who would rather have us put down our arms and try to coexist with those who have and are continuing to try to kill us.

My friend with Halliburton in Iraq, living in the Green Zone, wrote me that nothing can be said right now, but just wanted us to know that not everything in the media about all of this is true. I can only guess that Blackwater is being bashed by the leftie media and there are more facts to this then we know. Just a guess though as I will not put anything here without the person's permission.

I just hope and prayit all works out ok.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (3)

September 18, 2007

Iraq Expels American Security Firm

A US soldier guards the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad. Iraq ordered the cancellation on Monday of US security firm Blackwater's operating licence after it was involved in a shootout in Baghdad

Iraq Expels American Security Firm
Yahoo news

BAGHDAD
The Iraqi government announced Monday it was ordering Blackwater USA, the security firm that protects U.S. diplomats, to leave the country after what it said was the fatal shooting of eight Iraqi civilians following a car bomb attack against a State Department convoy.

The order by the Interior Ministry, if carried out, would deal a severe blow to U.S. government operations in Iraq by stripping diplomats, engineers, reconstruction officials and others of their security protection.

The presence of so many visible, aggressive Western security contractors has angered many Iraqis, who consider them a mercenary force that runs roughshod over people in their own country.

Sunday's shooting was the latest in a series of incidents in which Blackwater and other foreign contractors have been accused of shooting to death Iraqi citizens. None has faced charges or prosecution.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki late Monday and the two agreed to conduct a "fair and transparent investigation" and hold any wrongdoers accountable, said Yassin Majid, an adviser to the prime minister. Rice was expected to visit the Mideast on Tuesday.

Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Rice "told the prime minister that we were investigating this incident and wanted to gain a full understanding of what happened."

"She reiterated that the United States does everything it can to avoid such loss of life, in contrast to the enemies of the Iraqi people who deliberately target civilians," Casey said.

Majid made no mention of the order to expel Blackwater, and it was unlikely the United States would agree to abandon a security company that plays such a critical role in American operations in Iraq.

The U.S. clearly hoped the Iraqis would be satisfied with an investigation, a finding of responsibility and compensation to the victims' families — and not insist on expelling a company that the Americans cannot operate here without.

Details of Sunday's incident were unclear.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said eight civilians were killed and 13 were wounded when contractors believed to be working for Blackwater USA opened fire on civilians in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Mansour in western Baghdad.

"We have canceled the license of Blackwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory. We will also refer those involved to Iraqi judicial authorities," Khalaf said.

He said witness reports pointed to Blackwater involvement but added that the shooting was still under investigation. One witness, Hussein Abdul-Abbas, said the explosion was followed by about 20 minutes of heavy gunfire and "everybody in the street started to flee immediately."

U.S. officials said the motorcade was traveling through Nisoor Square on the way back to the Green Zone when the car bomb exploded, followed by volleys of small-arms fire that disabled one of the vehicles but caused no American casualties.

Blackwater said the company had not been formally notified of any expulsion.

"Blackwater's independent contractors acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack in Baghdad on Sunday," spokeswoman Anne E. Tyrrell said in a statement late Monday.

"The `civilians' reportedly fired upon by Blackwater professionals were in fact armed enemies and Blackwater personnel returned defensive fire," she said. "Blackwater regrets any loss of life but this convoy was violently attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job to defend human life."

American officials refused to explain the legal authority under which Blackwater operates in Iraq or say whether the company was complying with the order. It also was unclear whether the contractors involved in the shooting were still in Iraq.

The incident drew attention to one of the controversial American practices of the war — the use of heavily armed private security contractors who Iraqis complain operate beyond the control of U.S. military and Iraqi law.

The events in Mansour also illustrate the challenge of trying to protect U.S. officials in a city where car bombs can explode at any time, and where gunmen blend in with the civilian population.

"The Blackwater guys are not fools. If they were gunning down people, it was because they felt it was the beginning of an ambush," said Robert Young Pelton, an independent military analyst and author of the book "Licensed to Kill."

"They're famous for being very aggressive. They use their machine guns like car horns. But it's not the goal to kill people."

In one of the most horrific attacks of the war, four Blackwater employees were ambushed and killed in Fallujah in 2004 and their charred bodies hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River.

But Iraqis have long complained about high-profile, heavily armed security vehicles careering through the streets, with guards pointing weapons at civilians and sometimes firing warning shots at anyone deemed too close. And Iraqi officials were quick to condemn the foreign guards.

Al-Maliki late Sunday condemned the shooting by a "foreign security company" and called it a "crime."

Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani described the shooting as "a crime about which we cannot be silent."

"Everyone should understand that whoever wants good relations with Iraq should respect Iraqis," al-Bolani told Al-Arabiya television. "We are implementing the law and abide by laws, and others should respect these laws and respect the sovereignty and independence of Iraqis in their country."

Defense Minister Abdul-Qadir al-Obaidi told Iraqi television that "those criminals" responsible for deaths "should be punished" and that the government would demand compensation for the victims' families.

Despite threats of prosecution, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told Alhurra television that contractors cannot be prosecuted by Iraqi courts because "some of them have immunity."

In April, the Defense Department said about 129,000 contractors of many nationalities were operating in Iraq — nearly as many as the entire U.S. military force before this year's troop buildup.

About 4,600 contractors are in combat roles, such as protecting supply convoys along Iraq's dangerous, bomb-laden highways.

Blackwater, a secretive North Carolina-based company run by a former Navy SEAL, is among the biggest and best known security firms, with an estimated 1,000 employees in Iraq and at least $800 million in government contracts.

Regarding Blackwater, the wartime numbers of private guards are unprecedented _ as are their duties, many of which have traditionally been done by soldiers. They protect U.S. military operations and have guarded high-ranking officials including Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Baghdad.

Wild Thing's comment........

He said witness reports pointed to Blackwater involvement but added that the shooting was still under investigation. One witness, Hussein Abdul-Abbas, said the explosion was followed by about 20 minutes of heavy gunfire and "everybody in the street started to flee immediately."

U.S. officials said the motorcade was traveling through Nisoor Square on the way back to the Green Zone when the car bomb exploded, followed by volleys of small-arms fire that disabled one of the vehicles but caused no American casualties.

The Americans were attacked by a car bomb followed by small arms fire. They were ambushed by insurgent/terrorists who wanted to kill them all.
I would expect that, according to this account, a fire fight ensued, inside what appears to be a fairly heavily populated area and I expect there were deaths. My guess is the Blackwater people used extreme prejudice in defending themselves in that situation, and I cannot blaim them. If they had not, it is likely that they would be the ones dead.

If security for our diplomats and civilians in Iraq is pulled by this action of stopping Blackwater then we are in deep trouble. And besides that will show a weakness that will get more of our troops killed as well by showing we will back down so easily.

If I were President - I would inform the sonuvabitch - that HIS security is also going to get pulled and he can rely upon Iraqi security for the ENTIRE country.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (8)

September 14, 2007

Awesome Video About Islam

Please CLICK HERE to see this awesome video about Islam.

Thank you so much it is well worth it.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (8)

September 11, 2007

UPDATE: General Petraeus One Hour Interview On Fox News Tonight

Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus

Following their testimony to Congress, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will appear exclusively on FOXNEWS Monday at 9pm EDT for one hour live interview with Brit Hume.

I am going to watch it, I want to hear what he has to say. And not get it from some leftie newspaper.

UPDATE:
I was able to watch General Petraeus giving his report. My blood was boiling as the whole thing began and the way he was being treated by Lantos and others before General Petraeus even uttered one word.

Duncan Hunter was ticked too and spoke up about it which was great. but no one can stop these lefties, they are a train wreck zooming and no breaks.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (8)

September 10, 2007

MoveOn.org Calls Petraeus a Traitor

MoveOn.org Calls Petraeus a Traitor Daily Standard written by Pete Hegseth, he is executive director of Vets for Freedom and an Iraq War veteran

As General David Petraeus provides his Iraq assessment to Congress--the antiwar group MoveOn.org is running a full-page advertisement in the New York Times under the headline: "General Petraeus or General Betray us? Cooking the books for the White House."

Let's be clear: MoveOn.org is suggesting that General Petraeus has 'betrayed' his country. This is disgusting. To attack as a traitor an American general commanding forces in war because his 'on the ground' experience does not align with MoveOn.org's political objectives is utterly shameful. It shows contempt for America's military leadership, as well as for the troops who have confidence in him, as our fellow soldiers in Iraq certainly do.

General Petraeus has served this country for over 35 years with honor, distinction, and integrity. And this is not just about General Petraeus. After all, if General Petraeus is "cooking the books," then the entire military chain of command in Baghdad, and all the staff, military and civilian, who have been working with General Petraeus are complicit, since Petraeus did not write his report in isolation. They are all, apparently, 'betray[ing] us.'

MoveOn.org has been working closely with the Democratic congressional leadership --as an article in today's Sunday New York Times Magazine makes clear. And consider this comment by a Democratic senator from Friday's Politico: "'No one wants to call [Petraeus] a liar on national TV,' noted one Democratic senator, who spoke on the condition on anonymity. 'The expectation is that the outside groups will do this for us.'

So, veterans who served in Iraq ask the Democratic leaders in Congress: Does MoveOn.org speak for you? Do you agree with MoveOn.org? Or do you repudiate this despicable charge?

MoveOn.org has helped frame the core choice: Whom do we trust to run this war--MoveOn.org and its allies in Congress, or Gen. David Petraeus and his colleagues?

Wild Thing's comment........

We live in a time where the TRAITORS who want America defeated in the war call the General who is winning the war for us a traitor! When will we start putting US Executioners ropes around these leftist traitors necks?

They ALL voted to confirm him unanimously and now they want to crucify him even before they hear the report.

I think that the MoveOn psychos and their Democrat enablers have made a BIG mistake. For 6 years they have insisted that it was not acceptable to use the word 'traitor' to refer to those who oppose the war. By introducing the term into national political discourse they have legitimized its use by anyone who wishes to use it to describe others.

We have far more evidence to use the term against them than they do to use it against Gen. Petraeus. Since Democrat members of Congrss have been conspiring with MoveON in this campaign, it is fair to apply the term to them and all those who align with them.

IF TREASON IS THE QUESTION, THEN MOVEON.ORG IS THE ANSWER!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (11)

September 09, 2007

First Strike Ration Heading to Warfighters

Two Soldiers look at the components of the First Strike Ration during a recent evaluation at Fort Bliss, Texas.

First Strike Ration Heading to Warfighters
Army News Service

A new compact, eat-on-the-move assault ration is well on its way to warfighters' hands.

"The First Strike Ration is intended for the first-on-the-ground, first-to-fight warfighter," said Barbara Daley, food technologist and FSR project officer, Combat Feeding Directorate, U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center.

Usually when warfighters are issued two or more Meals, Ready-to-Eat they "field strip" them to lessen the bulk and weight they are carrying.

Personnel at NSRDEC found that not only were warfighters tossing what they considered extra weight, such as the flameless ration heater and Tabasco sauce, but they were also tossing food items. According to the Product Optimization and Evaluation Team at NSRDEC, if a warfighter is given 3,600 calories, he or she will often strip it down to 2,500 calories.

The FSR attempts to reduce this stripping by providing a lighter, smaller package with eat-on-the-go items that also enhance performance. These items are calorically dense and provide appropriate nutritional content and energy to warfighters for short durations of highly mobile, highly intense combat operations.

Items included in the FSR include:
pocket sandwiches
First Strike energy bars
Zapplesauce a carbohydrate-enhanced applesauce
high-energy drinks
pouches of tuna and chunk chicken
and caffeinated gum.

The FSR is designed to be about half the size of the three MREs it replaces and it provides, on average, 2,900 calories per day. "It is not intended to sustain the warfighter for long periods of time," Ms. Daley emphasized.

Because of its lower caloric content, the FSR is classified by the Office of the Surgeon General as a restricted ration. As such, it can only be used as a sole source of food for ten days or less in accordance with Army Regulation 40-25.

CFD conducted user evaluations on the FSR in Nevada and Germany in fiscal 2004, and in Afghanistan and Iraq in fiscal 2005. When compared with a field-stripped MRE in Iraq in 2005, more than 70 percent of Soldiers said the FSR was more convenient to carry and consume than the MRE.

"The best feedback we have received to date has been from warfighters participating in OIF/OEF in the mountains of Afghanistan and Iraq. They loved it," Ms. Daley said.

More than 6,500 FSRs have been used in theater in response to urgent requests by 25th Infantry Division and the Marine Corps, and modifications have been incorporated based on warfighter's feedback.

Lt. Col. David Exton, 25th Infantry Division, told CFD: "You have created something great here. Do not fail in this ration. Need to make these happen for the Soldiers who go outside the wire. Could not get enough of them into theater."

In July 2006, CFD conducted an operational test at Fort Bragg, N.C. With more than 100 Soldiers participating from an Airborne Infantry Battalion, one group consumed the FSR for three days while the other group consumed MREs for three days. Then the groups switched. From monitoring what the Soldiers ate and what they threw out, CFD saw less waste and greater consumption with the groups eating the FSR.

Based upon these successful tests, and the introduction of this ration in-theater, the demand for the FSR is immense.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (6)

September 04, 2007

Video of Bush's Surprise Visit to Iraq and Democrats Can't Stand It

The Commander-in-Chief along with the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, and many high ranking generals, gave a speech to the troops in a surprise visit to Iraq. The sound is somewhat distorted by some of the applause and cheers from the troops in the audience

Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AP) .....for complete article if you can stand the typical liberal writings of this article

President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq on Monday, using the war zone as a backdrop to argue his case that the buildup of U.S. troops is helping stabilizing the nation.

The president secretly flew 11 hours to Iraq as a showdown nears with Congress over whether his decision in January to order 30,000 more U.S. troops to Iraq is working. He landed at an air base in Anbar province west of Baghdad.

Next week, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, testify before Congress. Their assessment of the conflict, along with a progress report the White House must give lawmakers by Sept. 15, will determine the next chapter of the war.

Bush stopped in Iraq ahead of his visit to Australia for an economic summit with Asia-Pacific leaders. The trip was a closely held secret for obvious security reasons.

Wild Thing's comment........

To our troops, we’re proud of you and will never forget your courage and sacrifice.

Other links to this stoyr along with the one I used at the top with the article:

Fox News and has photos

Yahoo News and also photos and video

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (9)

September 02, 2007

Japan Surrendered On This Day Sept.2, 1945

This Day in U.S. Military History September 2, 1945

1945 - Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II.

By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated. At the end of June, the Americans captured Okinawa, a Japanese island from which the Allies could launch an invasion of the main Japanese home islands. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur was put in charge of the invasion, which was code-named "Operation Olympic" and set for November 1945.

On July 16, a new option became available when the United States secretly detonated the world's first atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert. Ten days later, the Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration, demanding the "unconditional surrender of all the Japanese armed forces." Failure to comply would mean "the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitable the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland."

On July 28, Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki responded by telling the press that his government was "paying no attention" to the Allied ultimatum. U.S. President Harry Truman ordered the devastation to proceed, and on August 6, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 80,000 people and fatally wounding thousands more.

After the Hiroshima attack, a faction of Japan's supreme war council favored acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, but the majority resisted unconditional surrender.

On August 8, Japan's desperate situation took another turn for the worse when the USSR declared war against Japan. The next day, Soviet forces attacked in Manchuria, rapidly overwhelming Japanese positions there, and a second U.S. atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese coastal city of Nagasaki.

Just before midnight on August 9, Japanese Emperor Hirohito convened the supreme war council. After a long, emotional debate, he backed a proposal by Prime Minister Suzuki in which Japan would accept the Potsdam Declaration "with the understanding that said Declaration does not compromise any demand that prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as the sovereign ruler."

The council obeyed Hirohito's acceptance of peace, and on August 10 the message was relayed to the United States.

Early on August 12, the United States answered that "the authority of the emperor and the Japanese government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers." After two days of debate about what this statement implied, Emperor Hirohito brushed the nuances in the text aside and declared that peace was preferable to destruction. He ordered the Japanese government to prepare a text accepting surrender.

At noon that day, Emperor Hirohito went on national radio for the first time to announce the Japanese surrender. In his unfamiliar court language, he told his subjects, "we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable."

The United States immediately accepted Japan's surrender. President Truman appointed MacArthur to head the Allied occupation of Japan as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.

For the site of Japan's formal surrender, Truman chose the USS Missouri, a battleship that had seen considerable action in the Pacific and was named after Truman's native state. MacArthur, instructed to preside over the surrender, held off the ceremony until September 2 in order to allow time for representatives of all the major Allied powers to arrive.

On Sunday, September 2, more than 250 Allied warships lay at anchor in Tokyo Bay. The flags of the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and China fluttered above the deck of the Missouri. Just after 9 a.m. Tokyo time, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed on behalf of the Japanese government. General Yoshijiro Umezu then signed for the Japanese armed forces, and his aides wept as he made his signature.

Supreme Commander MacArthur next signed on behalf of the United Nations, declaring, "It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out the blood and carnage of the past."

Ten more signatures were made, by the United States, China, Britain, the USSR, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, respectively. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signed for the United States. As the 20-minute ceremony ended, the sun burst through low-hanging clouds. The most devastating war in human history was over.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (5)

August 24, 2007

Soldiers in Iraq Say They Don’t Hear Deliberations Back Home

Half a World Away: Soldiers in Iraq Don’t Hear Deliberations Back Home (and Often Don’t Care)
Popular Mechanics

TIKRIT, Iraq

It never even hits the radar screen. For the troops on the front lines and the colonels in the rear—and just about everyone in between—the big news in Iraq every day is that they’re still alive and healthy. When it comes to Senate votes on the U.S. presence in Iraq, Sunday talk shows thrashing out length of deployment and stateside pundits talking to themselves, nearly every grunt, airman, sailor, soldier and Marine I speak with just doesn’t care.

It’s not negligence or a lack of opinion about how long they think they should stay here; they’re tuned out because the news doesn’t impact their day-to-day operations—and because comms often leave them uninformed from half a world away.

War deliberations and post-firefight reactions back home can vanish during the 12-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week base-line duty of the average soldier in Iraq. So when line troops are swamped carrying gear from street patrol to street patrol, village raid to village raid, for up to 20 hours a day, they often don’t have the time for, or the luxury of, Internet access. And when they do get it, they’re not punching up CNN—it’s e-mails from home they’re reading.

During last month’s heated, all-night debate on Capitol Hill about when and if the U.S. should withdraw from Iraq, I asked several military officers of different ages and ranks about their thoughts on a potential pullout. Nearly every one stressed how important his or her work here has been—and will be.

“If we leave within months, Iraq will be a province of Iran,” one colonel said. “Everyone with any education or skills who hasn’t already left will end up leaving.”

A mortarman with the 25th Infantry stationed in Tal Afar stressed that he thought the American media has not been reporting what really goes on during daily ops across the war zone.

“It’s all about body counts,” he said. Marines out in the former Wild West of Anbar province said the same. They are proud of the job they’ve done in cleaning up what was once considered a lost, Al Qaeda-infested area. They wondered why America hasn’t heard MORE of that news

A sergeant 1st class with the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, whose unit is attached to the Marines near Habbaniyah, patrols daily around Al Anbar province. This is his third tour, and he’s confident that progress is being made, despite what he calls early missteps in policy.

“I think Americans understand our sacrifice, but they don’t understand that we’re just not ready to leave.”

The sergeant expressed an opinion I’ve heard from dozens of line and support troops and commanding officers about the continuing effort to rebuild, piece by piece:

“We need a little more time—some places are more violent than others. But that’s how things happen. This country can’t be built in five years. And don’t we have a responsibility to help them build it?”

Wild Thing's comment........

Note the source for this story, Popular Mechanics. Nothing against that magazine, Nick subscribes to it, but good lord when is our media going to stop being part of the enemy of our land.

I love how our troops say things, aren't they awesome!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (8)

August 23, 2007

You had us on the ropes and you left ~ General Giap, North Vietnam

The first major battle of the Vietnam War and a test of the concept of airborne assault using the new Huey UH-1 helicopter. Led by Lt-Gen Hal Moore the 7th Air Cavalry set down in LZ X-Ray with the intent to engage the enemy, they were immediately surrounded by 3 battalions of the Vietcong. They fought against these almost overwhelming odds for 3 days before claiming victory.

Track 1 - Jefferson Airplane - Somebody to Love
Track 2 - Joseph Kilna MacKenzie - SGT. MacKenzie

"What we still don't understand is why you Americans stopped the bombing of Hanoi. You had us on the ropes. If you had pressed us a little harder, just for another day or two, we were ready to surrender! It was the same at the battles of TET. You defeated us! We knew it, and we thought you knew it. But we were elated to notice your media were definitely helping us. They were causing more disruption in America than we could in the battlefields. We were ready to surrender. You had won!" - General Giap, North Vietnam (memoirs)

Vietnam

The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973.
The peace settlement was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973. It called for release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitation of both sides' forces inside South Vietnam and a commitment to peaceful reunification.

The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years after the fall of Saigon in 1975 then there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam. Thanks for the perceived loss and the countless assassinations and torture visited upon Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians goes mainly to the American media and their undying support-by-misrepresentation of the anti-War movement in the United States.

As with much of the Vietnam War, the news media misreported and misinterpreted the 1968 Tet Offensive. It was reported as an overwhelming success for the Communist forces and a decided defeat for the U.S. forces. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat of those forces. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the designer of the Tet Offensive, is considered by some as ranking with Wellington, Grant, Lee and MacArthur as a great commander.

Still, militarily, the Tet Offensive was a total defeat of the Communist forces on all fronts. It resulted in the death of some 45,000 NVA troops and the complete, if not total destruction of the Viet Cong elements in South Vietnam. The Organization of the Viet Cong Units in the South never recovered. The Tet Offensive succeeded on only one front and that was the News front and the political arena. This was another example in the Vietnam War of an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. However, inaccurately reported, the News Media made the Tet Offensive famous.

credit and research go to:
Capt. Marshal Hanson, U.S.N.R (Ret.)
Capt. Scott Beaton, Statistical Source

Wild Thing's comment........

President Bush brought up Vietnam in his speech yesterday.

I was reading this the other day by Capt. Marshal Hanson, and thinking about the Democrats, Reid, Murtha, Pelosi and the rest of their ilk that are dong their best to turn this war into another Vietnam. Meaning politicians running the war and NOT the military, not wanting to wait for General Petraeus.

Thirty-two years ago, in 1975, after America and the Republic of Vietnam had fought and won a ten-year war to save South Vietnam from the predations of the communist north, a Democrat Congress voted to terminate life support for South Vietnam in the face of another North Vietnamese invasion, backed by the USSR.

A Democrat Congress voted to "pull the plug," and condemned millions of Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotions to death, torture, imprisonment, and re-education camps, and condemned others to flee their homes and countries as refugees.

Now, another Democrat Congress is poised to repeat that act of infamy, and abandon the people of Iraq to the conflagration that will almost certainly follow if the United States withdraws its forces prematurely.

Another Democrat Congress declares to the world that America is a fair weather friend, that America cannot be relied upon, that America cannot be trusted to stand by its promises when the going gets tough, that America no longer has the will to lead the world toward a future of freedom.

Another Democrat Congress declares that America, having liberated the Iraqi people from the bloody tyranny of Saddam Hussein, has grown tired of the messy business of liberation and will now wash its hands of the whole affair, and abandon the Iraqi people to the bloody tyranny of the Jihad.

Read the words of General Gaip. Once the North Vietnamise saw what our media was doing, they said hang on one more day, one week, one more month. Their Army was defeated but the media still gave the enemy resolve. Now, let's look at the resolve of Reid and other demortic leaders.

Our Troops are not fighting to lose. The Democrats need some resolve and they need to support the mission. Back then there was Cronkite and Hanoi Jane, today we have the oldies from back then as well as the new ones added to the list, the terrorist lovers like Reid and others.

We see America's Congressional Democrats becoming the American Judas, betraying America, and Iraq, for the proverbial thirty pieces of silver.

When have we ever heard this from a Democrat in this war against the terrorists........

"we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival of liberty"? Said by JFK.

I didn't vote for him, I never voted for a Democrat, but that quote is inspiring, and the Democrats of today could well learn a lesson in how NOT to be traitors from this.

Don't let the media and politicians in Congress effect the execution of this war and we will win it.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (16)

August 16, 2007

Iraq Truck Bombings Killed At Least 500

Iraqi officials: Truck bombings killed at least 500
Baghdad

Rescuers used bare hands and shovels Wednesday to claw through clay houses shattered by an onslaught of suicide bombings that killed at least 250 and possibly as many as 500 members of an ancient religious sect in the deadliest attack of the Iraq war.

Four trucks approached two areas in the northern town of Qahataniya, 75 miles west of Mosul, and exploded within minutes of each other on Tuesday night.

The bombs contained cargos of pebbles which made them even more deadly.

In scenes resembling an earthquake, bodies lay in the street covered in blankets amid the shattered ruins of clay-built houses.

The U.S. military blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, and an American commander called the assault an “act of ethnic cleansing.”

The victims of Tuesday night’s coordinated attack by four suicide bombers were Yazidis, a small Kurdish-speaking sect that has been targeted by Muslim extremists who consider its members to be blasphemers.

The blasts in two villages near the Syrian border crumbled buildings, trapping entire families beneath mud bricks and other wreckage. Entire neighborhoods were flattened.

“This is an act of ethnic cleansing, if you will, almost genocide,” Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, told CNN. He said that was evident from the fact Yazidis live in a remote part of Ninevah province that has been far from Iraq’s conflict.

Al Qaeda sympathisers recently handed out leaflets to residents near the scene of the tragedy warning that an attack was coming because Yazidis are "anti-Islamic".

Wild Thing's comment........

And the left wants to have sit downs with people like this. Senator Biden insists this is a civil war.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (8)

August 14, 2007

In Country With Our Warrior's

An AH-64D Apache Longbow Aviator awaits clearance from the control tower to take off to begin a mission over the skies over northern Iraq supporting ground forces. The 1st of the 82nd Attack Reconnaissance Battalion uses Apache Attack Helicopters to engage enemy forces during operation Iraqi Freedom.

TIKRIT, Iraq – The 25th Combat Aviation Brigade continued its lethal fight against insurgent forces when attack helicopters engaged and killed eight insurgents Aug. 9 in Salah ad Din province.

An attack helicopter received a “troops in contact” call from Coalition ground forces. The group of insurgents broke contact by the time the attack helicopters arrived to the location of the engagement. Moments later, the team observed 12 gunmen moving tactically near their attack position.

“Our attack and scout weapons aircraft will continue to fly day and night in support of Coalition and Iraqi ground forces,” said Maj. John Herrman, Brigade Fires and Effects Officer, 25th CAB. “For the enemy’s part, he should know that the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade is always watching.”

After confirming positive identification of the enemy with ground forces, the attack team fired on the gunmen, killing eight.

“The use of attack helicopters provides great leverage in our fight against al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations trying to disrupt and harm the civilian population,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of Coalition forces in Diyala. “Our ability to have lethal eyes in the sky is vital to our mission accomplishment and truly shows the enemy that they cannot and will not hide from our forces.”

Marne Soldier's re-enlistment holds special significance By Sgt. 1st Class Craig Zentkovich CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – Everybody has one.

It may be a family member, a teacher, or a coach – an extraordinary person who makes such an impact that one’s life is forever changed.

For Staff Sgt. Steven A. Holloway that one person was a friend, mentor and leader.

The story of Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith is known to the nation. His actions in combat on April 4, 2003, above and beyond the call of duty, led to him being posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

On Aug. 10, Holloway, on his third combat tour to Iraq, raised his right hand to indefinitely reaffirm his commitment to the Army in the exact location where Smith gave his life to preserve those of his Soldiers.

Holloway, a 12-year Army veteran, was in the fight on in 2003 with Company B, 11th Engineer Battalion, securing a breach in a wall 100 meters from Smith when Smith was killed. Smith was his platoon sergeant for 10 months, his friend for three years.

“It’s still kind of hard to go back there,” said Holloway, whose only other time back there was on April 4, 2005, when Smith’s son, David, was presented his father’s Medal of Honor in Washington. “I lost a friend that day … and a mentor who taught me what it means to take care of Soldiers.”

Now serving as the Task Force Marne Engineer Operations noncommissioned officer, Holloway said tjunior Soldiers are the primary reason he made the choice to re-enlist.

“When Smitty was my platoon sergeant, we trained a lot – he was big on training young Soldiers,” he said. “He was hard to work for; a perfectionist. But his Soldiers were always the best at what they did, and they knew it.”

“That’s how I am. I love to train Soldiers. That’s what I want to do,” he said, adding that there are still hundreds of future combat engineers who will need a competent leader capable of mentoring, training and teaching them. “I’ve still got a lot of work to do (in the Army), and I’ve got enough experience to provide that leadership.”

Holloway, who has been a 3rd Infantry Division Soldier for nine years, told his Soldiers after the ceremony that he re-enlisted for them and others like them. He said he hopes the lessons he’s learned in Soldiering and leading while serving as a sapper in the Marne Division will be passed on to young Soldiers for years to come – a lesson taught to him on that fateful day in 2003.

“That’s why I re-enlisted,” he said. “So the young Soldiers can carry on not only what I teach them, but what Smitty taught me.”

Coalition Forces Capture, Kill Insurgents in Iraq Department of Defense

Iraqi and coalition forces detained 66 insurgents, killed five others and discovered weapons in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said.

Coalition forces detained 30 suspected terrorists yesterday around Iraq during operations aimed at dismantling bombing networks and senior al Qaeda leadership.

— Troops raided a series of buildings north of Karmah targeting terrorist operatives working for the al Qaeda in Iraq emir, or terrorist unit commander, in the area. The emir’s network is responsible for car bombings, including attacks involving chlorine. Ground forces detained 17 suspected terrorists with alleged ties to the network, military officials said.

— During an operation south of Tarmiyah, coalition forces detained five suspected terrorists allegedly connected to an explosives expert who worked in the Baghdad car-bombing network. In a nearby operation, troops detained one suspected terrorist involved in weapons trafficking for al Qaeda in Iraq, military officials said.

— Coalition forces targeted close associates of al Qaeda in Iraq’s senior leaders during operations in western Baghdad and Mosul. Ground forces detained two suspected terrorists in the two raids.

— Northeast of Samarra, ground forces raided several buildings associated with the al Qaeda in Iraq emir of Samarra. Troops detained two men outside the buildings. Coalition forces also targeted the al Qaeda in Iraq network in Tikrit, nabbing three suspects.

“Our operations continue to target those who associate with and work for al Qaeda in Iraq’s leaders,” said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. “The pressure is on, and we are keeping them on the run.”

During operations in Iraq on Aug. 11:

— Iraqi security forces and U.S. Special Forces advisors nabbed 16 suspected al Qaeda in Iraq insurgents in the village of Subayat Hamash, near Sinjar. Four detainees are suspected cell leaders wanted by the Iraqi army for improvised-explosive-device and mortar attacks and for hijacking food shipments. Troops also seized six vehicles during the operation, including four passenger cars, a pick-up truck and a dump truck.

— Coalition forces killed two terrorists and detained 10 suspects during operations targeting senior al Qaeda leaders in central and northern Iraq. Intelligence reports indicate two detainees were members of a cell responsible for the July 16 suicide truck bombing that killed 80 Iraqis in Kirkuk.

— Coalition forces killed three terrorists and detained 10 suspects during raids targeting foreign terrorists in Salah ad Din and Tamim provinces. Military officials believe at least three suspects are linked to a network of terrorists who facilitate the movement of foreign terrorists into Iraq. During the raids, troops also discovered a cache of homemade bombs, machine gun ammunition and a cell phone rigged as an IED trigger.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (5)

August 11, 2007

Insurgents Firing Iranian-Made Rockets at U.S. Positions

Insurgents fire rockets at Forward Operating Base Hammer in Iraq

Captured Video Shows Iraqi Insurgents Firing Sophisticated Iranian-Made Rockets at U.S. Positions

Fox News
Dramatic video produced by Iraqi insurgents and captured in a raid earlier this week by U.S. troops clearly shows a battery of sophisticated Iranian-made rocket launchers firing on American positions east of Baghdad, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.

The video, captured during a raid on Monday by the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment in northeast Nahrawan, shows insurgents setting up and carrying out an attack on Sunday, as well as an attack on July 11 that killed one soldier and wounded 15 others, officials said. The raid last month appeared to involve 34 launchers firing 107 mm Iranian-made rockets.

The video provides clear visual evidence of the extent to which Iraqi insurgents are equipped to launch deadly rockets on coalition forces, the Pentagon said.

The release of the video comes as officials charge Iran with supplying high-tech bombs used in 99 roadside bomb attacks in Iraq last month.

The powerful weapons, known as explosively formed penetrators or EFPs, accounted for a third of combat deaths suffered by coalition forces, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The bombs fire white hot slugs that can cut through the heavy armor on Humvees. Intelligence officials said EFPs are being used almost exclusively by Shiite militias. The U.S. has repeatedly claimed that it has evidence Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard is smuggling the weapons into the country — a claim Tehran has repeatedly denied.

Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, told the Times he believes Shiite extremists have stepped up attacks in anticipation of Gen. Petreus' upcoming progress report to Congress on the war.

“I think they want to influence the decision potentially coming up in September,” he said.

Wild Thing's comment........

Our media and leftie politicians are much more interested in putting American soliders and marines in jail than we are saving their lives from Iranian weapons.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (8)

Bush War Adviser Says Draft Worth a Look

Bush War Adviser Says Draft Worth a Look
WASHINGTON (AP)
Breitbart.com

Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush's new war adviser said Friday.

"I think it makes sense to certainly consider it," Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

"And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another," Lute added in his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June.

President Nixon abolished the draft in 1973. Restoring it, Lute said, would be a "major policy shift" and Bush has made it clear that he doesn't think it's necessary.

The repeated deployments affect not only the troops but their families, who can influence whether a service member decides to stay in the military, Lute said.

"There's both a personal dimension of this, where this kind of stress plays out across dinner tables and in living room conversations within these families," he said. "And ultimately, the health of the all- volunteer force is going to rest on those sorts of personal family decisions."

The military conducted a draft during the Civil War and both world wars and between 1948 and 1973. The Selective Service System, re- established in 1980, maintains a registry of 18-year-old men.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has called for reinstating the draft as a way to end the Iraq war.

Bush picked Lute in mid-May as a deputy national security adviser with responsibility for ensuring efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan are coordinated with policymakers in Washington. Lute, an active-duty general, was chosen after several retired generals turned down the job.

Wild Thing's comment........

No a draft is a bad idea. And Gen. Lute shouldn’t have suggested that it was even being considered. The MSM vultures and the Dems will go after this like fresh meat.

And Hillary does become President, oh I hate to even type that, but if she was President and we had the draft. Can you imagine a draft.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (16)

7440th Joint Task Force “Proven Force” during the 1st Gulf War

A music video put together by the pilots of the 7440th Joint Task Force “Proven Force” during the 1st Gulf War.

Wild Thing's comment.......

A Vet sent this to me and I thought it was good and wanted to share it with you.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (2)

August 09, 2007

Charges Against Cpl. Sharrat Dropped in Haditha Case

Congratulations!

Marine's Charges Dropped in Iraq Deaths

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A general dropped all charges Thursday against a Marine who had been accused of killing three Iraqi brothers in response to a roadside bomb attack in Haditha in 2005.

"The evidence does not support a referral to a court-martial," Lt. Gen. James Mattis wrote in his written decision.

Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, 22, had been charged with the murder in the deaths of three of those killed after the bomb attack Nov. 19, 2005.

The decision to drop the charges followed an earlier recommendation from a hearing officer who listened to evidence in the case. Under military law, a commanding general has total jurisdiction over a case.

In his recommendation, Lt. Col. Paul Ware said murder charges brought against Sharratt were based on unreliable witness accounts, poor forensic evidence and questionable legal theories.

"The government version is unsupported by independent evidence," Ware wrote in an 18-page report. "To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary."

And more here................ (AP) Charges Against Cpl. Sharrat Dropped in Haditha Case The Marine Corps has dropped all charges against a captain accused of failing to investigate the deaths of 24 civilians and another Marine accused in some of the killings, the Corps announced Thursday.

Capt. Randy W. Stone, 35, a battalion lawyer from Dunkirk, Md., was one of four officers charged with failing to adequately probe the killings.

"It is clear to me that any error of omission or commission by Capt. Stone does not warrant action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice," Lt. Gen. James Mattis wrote.

The Corps also announced that charges had been dismissed against Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, who was accused of murdering three brothers in the assault that followed a deadly roadside bombing of U.S. troops.

The decision to drop the charges against Sharratt followed an earlier recommendation from Lt. Col. Paul Ware, a hearing officer.

"The government version is unsupported by independent evidence," Ware wrote. "To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary."

Prosecutors alleged Sharratt and other members of his battalion engaged in a revenge-motivated assault on Iraqi civilians after a roadside bomb killed a fellow Marine. Sharratt contended the Iraqi men he confronted were insurgents and at least one was holding an AK-47 rifle when he fired at them.

Ware said prosecution of Sharratt could set a "dangerous precedent that ... may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps and its mission in Iraq."

"Even more dangerous is the potential that a Marine may hesitate at the critical moment when facing the enemy," Ware said.

Besides Sharratt, two other enlisted men were charged with murder. Four officers, including Stone, were accused of failing to investigate the deaths.

Wild Thing's comment........

A great big WOO-HOO! Congratulations Justin and the entire Sharratt family. Myheart is singing! Now to exonerate the rest and sack Murtha!

A defamation lawsuit was filed against Murtha on behalf of SSgt Wuterich. The Department of Justice is shielding Murtha with the claim that he was doing his duty as a congressman.” How about the Department of Defense shielding these Marines “with the claim that (they)he was doing his duty” as Marines!!!!!!Thank God, these Marines had their charges dismissed, now we pray that the rest will meet the same thing of CHARGES DISMISSED!!!!

Paging John Murtha, paging John Murtha....

Rep. Murtha, we are still waiting for your profuse apologies, which can never be sufficient for the slanders that poured forth from your vile mouth.

Rep. Murtha, we are waiting for you to resign in shame and disgrace. We know that Demagogues are shameless and indecent, but maybe now you can begin to express your shame and regrets for your dishonest and appalling misconduct.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:27 PM | Comments (13)

August 04, 2007

Airstrike Kills Dozens of Taleban ~ WooHoo!

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan
4 August 2007
Arab FREAKING News...sorry I am NO fan of Arabs, but this is from their news source. LOL

An airstrike on a large Taleban gathering killed dozens of rebels, the Defense Ministry said yesterday, with at least 30 civilians wounded and unconfirmed reports of many more killed. The US-led coalition forces said they had conducted a “precision airstrike” against two notorious Taleban commanders meeting in the rebel-controlled and remote area of Baghran district in the southern province of Helmand.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said the gathering was to execute four people on charges of cooperating with the government and had attracted several militant leaders including top Taleban military commander Mansour Dadullah. “In an aerial operation, tens of terrorists were killed. The bodies of Taleban leaders ... and tens of other terrorists are on the spot and have been identified,” he said.

Azimi said officials were trying to confirm if Dadullah, who replaced his notorious brother — top commander Mullah Dadullah — after he was killed this year, was among the dead. “The process of identifying the eliminated terrorists is still ongoing,” he told AFP.

Wild Thing's comment........

I love it, the Taleban gathers to execute some informers and OOPS! another informer invites the United States Air Force. Mansoor Dadullah is the major Taliban player under Mullah Omar. Let's hope we got him.

Here is a 9 minute youtube display of what the AC130U gunship can do to Afghan terrorists: beeaauutiful
Ac-130U "Spooky"

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (10)

August 03, 2007

Jackie Mason ~ "The Democrats And The War"

Wild Thing's comment........

This is excellent, he gives a lot of examples comparing how the Democrats are about the war, and relating it to other things showing how stupid the dems mantra is and should show anyone they are nuts.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (9)

July 30, 2007

Chinese Helicopter Unit Flies to Russia For Military Drill

Chinese helicopter unit flies to Russia for military drill
ynet

A Chinese helicopter unit flew to Russia on Sunday to take part in a six-nation Central Asian anti-terrorism drill, a government news agency reported.

The 16 helicopters took off from a base in the Xinjiang region of China's northwest on a 2,700-kilometer (1,700-mile) flight, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The Aug. 9-17 drill is being held by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, created by Moscow and Beijing to counter U.S. Influence in resource-rich Central Asia.

Wild Thing's comment........

You know things happening like this make me very uncomfortable. Two countries that truly are not our buddies, two counties that I would not want in my foxhole.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (8)

July 28, 2007

U.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia

LCS Platform Cutaway

U.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON, July 27

The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that is expected to eventually total $20 billion at a time when some United States officials contend that the Saudis are playing a counterproductive role in Iraq.
The proposed package of advanced weaponry for Saudi Arabia, which includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades to its fighters and new naval vessels, has made Israel and some of its supporters in Congress nervous. Senior officials who described the package on Friday said they believed that the administration had resolved those concerns, in part by promising Israel $30.4 billion in military aid over the next decade, a significant increase over what Israel has received in the past 10 years.

Saudi Arabia Eyes Heavily Armed, Aegis LCS

Saudi Arabia could be poised to become the newest member of an exclusive naval club: those countries who operate warships fitted with the advanced Aegis combat system.

Even more surprising is the ship the Saudis want to ride in on: the General Dynamics (GD) version of the U.S. Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

Sources familiar with the proposal said Riyadh has examined several surface warship designs, including an Aegis variant of the Lockheed Martin LCS.

But while Lockheed Martin designers were able to fit the system into their monohull design, the results have left little margin for growth or design changes, and the Saudis prefer the greater margins found in GD’s trimaran.

“The Saudis love it,” said one industry source familiar with the proposal of the GD Aegis LCS. “They love the volume” in the design “and the ability to operate multiple helicopters.”

“They have expressed a clear preference for Aegis,” said another industry source.

If the deal goes through — and all sources interviewed emphasized that no agreement has been reached — Saudi Arabia would become the seventh operator of the world’s most advanced naval combat system and the first Arab customer.

The Aegis system was created by Lockheed Martin in the late 1970s and has been updated ever since. Today, the system is fitted on all current U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers, and one of the latest versions has been adapted for ballistic missile defense.

Japan, Spain and Norway operate Aegis ships today, while South Korea is building a new class of destroyers with the system and Australia has committed to install it aboard its new Air Defence Destroyers.

Israel also has received U.S. approval to buy it, but so far has not. An Israeli Navy proposal to build a large amphibious ship fitted with Aegis was rejected in 2004 by the Israeli government as too expensive.

Israel also is considering buying the LCS. In April, the U.S. Navy gave Lockheed a $5.2 million contract to study the feasibility of an Israeli LCS.

U.S. officials said no similar contract has been issued for any other country, although Malaysia and Norway, among others, have expressed interest.

The Foreign Military Sales potential of the LCS has been a prime element of the program. U.S. Navy officials touted the ship’s adaptability to multiple customer requirements and said the modular mission concept would attract foreign buyers.

Wild Thing's comment........

OMG! We are selling them the rope to hang us, this is arming the enemy.

With crap like this and the ILLEGAL ALIEN mess - I don’t believe that we’re willing to do ALL we need to do to stop the terrorist threat. I pray there will be a resounding NO WAY when this comes up for a vote. For Israel it is a great idea I am all for standing side by side with Israel always!

To our awesome troops, I am so sorry.

To our warrior Veterans please accept my apology for what America has done to punch you in your hearts of heroes, you warriors of today and of yesterday, as our government today....our leaders want to open our door at the borders, arm our enemies and those enemies of Israel as well, and allow our enemy within to use our precious freedom you fought for to destroy this country.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (11)

A MUST SEE ~ Armed Services Committee Hearing

Retired Gen. Jack Keane, a top Pentagon envoy, left, Lt. Col. Morris Goins, commander of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, center, and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, talk while visiting the U.S. troops in the field in Buhriz, north of Baghdad, Iraq

A MUST SEE ~ Armed Services Committee Hearing

I URGE you all to watch this hearing on cspan-2. Lawerence Korb, the ever weak and wobbly former Reagan's DOD official (I don't know how he could be the same then as he is now and measure up to Reagan's strength of character), AND Gen. Jack Keane (ret.) in hearing.

Keane was magnificent!! Gen. Keane is hitting it out of the park .. Korb said we pulled troops out of Viet Nam to preserve the military, and Keane was unabashed in his contempt for those remarks and that opinion.

Keane is praising the courage, command structure, morale and re-enlistment (in huge numbers) of this military, and God bless him! He said it's horrible to say this war is lost, as if the troops over there don't know the opinions here.

Duncan Hunter has been marvelous as well!

Senate Democrats do not want to fund the Military, damn I destest the left! Democrats are still grabbing at straws not to fund the Military, the buck stops here, our Military has to be financed and they are winning on the ground, too bad Democrats.

CLICK HERE to go tro C-Span ........and if you go to where it says the words I have put below next just click on the words at C-Span. It is well worth it.

Video/Audio

RECENT PROGRAMS >>
House Armed Services Cmte.
Meeting & Markup on Iraq War
bills (7/27/2007)

BIO of : General Jack Keane served 37 years in the Army, rising to the rank of four-star General. General Keane was a career paratrooper who commanded at every level to include the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, NC; the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, KY; and the Joint Readiness Training Center. He also served as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Command prior to becoming the Army's Vice Chief of Staff, and was featured in Tom Clancy's book, AIRBORNE.

General Keane is a combat veteran having served as a platoon leader and company commander in Viet Nam. His units deployed to Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:40 AM | Comments (3)

July 25, 2007

News About John Doe Protection Amendment

Congressman Peter King. The whistleblower protection remains in the Homeland Security bill. This is the amendment that protects citizens from lawsuits if they report suspicious activity such as the flying imams. This is good news.

Lawmakers Reach Deal on Security Bill

By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional negotiators reached tentative agreement Tuesday on steps to strengthen air and sea defenses against terrorists in legislation aimed at fulfilling recommendations made three years ago by the 9/11 Commission.

The bill outlines plans to inspect all cargo on passenger planes within three years and screen, within five years, all U.S.-bound cargo ships for nuclear weapons before they leave foreign ports.

It also realigns the formulas for distributing federal security funds so that states and cities most at risk of terrorist attack receive a larger share.

Rep. Benny Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he had closed out final issues after a meeting with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

"This bill, when signed by the president, will be another step toward securing all Americans from terrorist attack," Lieberman said in a statement. "It will make it more difficult for terrorists to enter and operate in the United States, while securing vulnerable targets from attack, and training and equipping first responders and preventers so they can do they job we need them to do."

The final language was still being circulated among the negotiators and no formal announcement of a deal was expected Tuesday evening.

The compromise bill gives a much needed victory to Democrats who go into the August recess with few concrete achievements to show for their first six months in control of Congress.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the House could vote on the bill Friday, and the Senate is expected to act before leaving for the recess. The White has expressed opposition to parts of the bill, particularly the provision to screen 100 percent of cargo in foreign ports, but has stopped short of issuing a veto threat.

The nonpartisan 9/11 Commission, formed after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 came out with 41 recommendations to make the nation safer from terrorist threats, covering transportation security, emergency preparedness and reforms to U.S. intelligence and diplomatic policies.

Congress and the White House have already moved to carry out some of those proposals, including creating the new position of director of national intelligence, tightening screening procedures on land borders, moving toward standardized and secure IDs, and taking countermeasures against terrorist financing.

But Democrats, in taking control of Congress, made it a top priority to act on unfulfilled recommendations. The House passed its bill on the first day of this session last January, and the Senate followed suit in March. Getting together to formulate a compromise was delayed for months over issues such as White House opposition to provisions, since dropped, that would have given airport screeners collective bargaining rights.

The last obstacle was cleared when negotiators crafted language to satisfy a Republican demand giving immunity from lawsuits to people who report suspicious behavior. The issue grew out of an incident last fall where six Muslim scholars were removed from a flight in Minneapolis after other passengers said they were acting suspiciously. The imams have since filed a lawsuit, saying their civil rights were violated.

The legislation requires that all ship containers bound for the United States undergo radiation screening before they leave foreign ports. The aim is to stop ships containing nuclear devices before they reach American destinations.

"Failure to screen all cargo containers overseas doesn't just 'miss the boat,' it could also miss the bomb, with devastating consequences for our country," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a chief proponent of the measure.

There's a five-year deadline for meeting the requirement, but, in a nod to critics who question whether the technology will be ready in time, it gives the Homeland Security secretary authority to extend that deadline in two-year increments.

It approves more money for checkpoint and baggage screening at airports and requires the Homeland Security Department to screen all cargo on passenger aircraft within three years.

The bill changes the formula for distributing federal security grants to better reflect terrorist threats. Currently states are guaranteed 0.75 percent of grant funds, but the bill cuts that guarantee in half and approves $950 million annually over the next five years for state homeland security grants.

The legislation also authorizes separate grant programs for rail, transit and bus security at more than $4 billion for four years and creates a new program within the Homeland Security Department to improve communication links among state, local and federal officials.

Also coinciding with 9/11 Commission recommendations, the legislation strengthens a board that oversees privacy and civil liberties issues, establishes a new electronic travel authorization system for countries that have a visa waiver agreement with the United States and requires Congress and the president to disclose the total amount of funds appropriated for the intelligence community, a number that is now classified.

The bills are H.R.1 and S.4

Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/

Wild Thing's comment........

This is excellent news and now they just have to do the full vote. When this becomes law it will have an impact. Too bad we even have to have a law / bill about this, but in today's politically correct BS world that seems to be the only way to give any of us permission to speak out. My how times have changed and not for the better for my beloved America.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (15)

July 15, 2007

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki: Country can manage without U.S.

Iraq PM: Country can manage without U.S.

BAGHDAD

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that the Iraqi army and police are capable of keeping security in the country when American troops leave "any time they want," though he acknowledged the forces need further weapons and training.

The embattled prime minister sought to show confidence at a time when congressional pressure is growing for a withdrawal and the Bush administration reported little progress had been made on the most vital of a series of political benchmarks it wants al-Maliki to carry out.

Al-Maliki said difficulty in enacting the measures was "natural" given Iraq's turmoil.

But one of his top aides, Hassan al-Suneid, rankled at the assessment, saying the U.S. was treating Iraq like "an experiment in an American laboratory." He sharply criticised the U.S. military, saying it was committing human rights violations, embarassing the Iraqi government with its tactics and cooperating with "gangs of killers" in its campaign against al-Qaida in Iraq.

Al-Suneid's comments were a rare show of frustration toward the Americans from within al-Maliki's inner circle as the prime minister struggles to overcome deep divisions between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish members of his coalition and enact the American-drawn list of benchmarks.

In new violence in Baghdad on Saturday, a car bomb leveled a two-story apartment building, and a suicide bomber plowed his explosives-packed vehicle into a line of cars at a gas station. The two attacks killed at least eight people, police officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorize to release details of the attacks.

Thursday's White House assessment of progress on the benchmarks fueled calls among congressional critics of the Iraqi policy for a change in strategy, including a withdrawal of American forces.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari warned earlier this week of civil war and the government's collapse if the Americans leave. But al-Maliki told reporters Saturday, "We say in full confidence that we are able, God willing, to take the responsibility completely in running the security file if the international forces withdraw at any time they want."

But he added that Iraqi forces are "still in need of more weapons and rehabilitation" to be ready in the case of a withdrawal.

On Friday, the Pentagon conceded that the Iraqi army has become more reliant on the U.S. military. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, said the number of Iraqi batallions able to operate on their own without U.S. support has dropped in recent months from 10 to six, though he said the fall was in part due to attrition from stepped-up offensives.

Al-Maliki told a Baghdad press conference that his government needs "time and effort" to enact the political reforms that Washington seeks - "particularly since the political process is facing security, economic and services pressures, as well as regional and international interference."

"These difficulties can be read as a big success, not negative points, when they are viewed under the shadow of the big challenges," he said.

In the White House strategy, beefed-up American forces have been waging intensified security crackdowns in Baghdad and areas to the north and south for nearly a month. The goal is to bring quiet to the capital while al-Maliki gives Sunni Arabs a greater role in the goverment and political process, lessening support for the insurgency.

But the benchmarks have been blocked by divisions among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders. In August, the parliament is taking a one month vacation - a shorter break than the usual two months, but still enough to anger some in Congress who say lawmakers should push through the measures.

Al-Suneid, a Shiite lawmaker close to al-Maliki, bristled at the pressure. He called Thursday's report "objective," but added, "this bothers us a lot that the situation looks as if it is an experiment in an American laboratory (judging) whether we succeed or fail."

He also told The Associated Press that al-Maliki has problems with the top U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus, who works along a "purely American vision."

He criticized U.S. overtures to Sunni groups in Anbar and Diyala, encouraging former insurgents to join the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq. "These are gangs of killers," he said.

"There are disagreements that the strategy that Petraeus is following might succeed in confronting al-Qaida in the early period but it will leave Iraq an armed nation, an armed society and militias," said al-Suneid.

He said that the U.S. authorities have embarrassed al-Maliki' government through acts such as constructing a wall around Baghdad's Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah and repeated raids on suspected Shiite militiamen in the capital's eastern slum of Sadr City. He said the U.S. use of airstrikes to hit suspected insurgent positions also kills civilians.

"This embarrasses the government in front of its people," he said, calling the civilian deaths a "human rights violation."

Wild Thing's comment............

Earth to Maliki, earth to Maliki, you would get pummeled by Al-Qaeda in a NY minute.

The Parliament had a vote of no confidence on Maliki scheduled for today. I heard this last week and haven't heard any more about it since, so I don't know if it's still on.

He doesn't care about the civilians. He cares about his Iran-backed Mahdi Army buddies. He has a hissy-fit every time our troops (justifiably) go into that cesspool called Sadr City and cleans out some of the trash.

They're all reacting, to our Congress, and to Bush I think. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with Maliki in the Parliament and among the Iraqi people, Shia and Sunni alike.

Nouri al-Maliki is reacting to several things I think. To our Congress and their vote, to Bush and the list of what Nouri al-Maliki was supposed to have accompolished by now not being completely done. Back in Dec. of 2006 the Iraq's were discussing replacing Nouri al-Maliki and he mouthed off then too. But imo, Nouri al-Maliki better be careful with his words. He is supposed to be a leader and not be a reactor, but a person that thinks things through and looks down the road for his country to win against the insurgents.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (10)

July 13, 2007

Democrats Message To Terrorists Friends ~ Mark Down April 1st, 2008

House Votes for Withdrawal From Iraq
Washington Times ........for complete article

The House measure passed 223-201 in the Democratic-controlled chamber despite a veto threat from President Bush, who has ruled out any change in war policy before September.

Describing a document produced by his administration at Congress' insistence, he said there was satisfactory progress by the Iraqi government toward meeting eight of 18 so-called benchmarks, unsatisfactory progress on eight more and mixed results on the rest.

To his critics _ including an increasing number of Republicans _ he said bluntly, "I don't think Congress ought to be running the war. I think they ought to be funding the troops."

Democrats saw it differently.

A few hours after Bush's remarks, Democratic leaders engineered passage of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops to begin within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1, 2008. The measure envisions a limited residual force to train Iraqis, protect U.S. assets and fight al-Qaida and other terrorists.

The vote generally followed party lines: 219 Democrats and four Republicans in favor, and 191 Republicans and 10 Democrats opposed.

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., voted for troop withdrawals for the first time, contending that while she still opposes a swift pullout, "staying in Iraq indefinitely is equally unacceptable."

"The report makes clear that not even the White House can conclude there has been significant progress," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "To Bush and others who seek more time for the administration's policy to work, she said, "We have already waited too long."

Republicans sided with Bush _ at least for now. The bill "undermines Gen. Petraeus, undermines the mission he has to make America and Iraq safe," said the House GOP leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio. "What we have here is not leadership, it's negligence."

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who announced his intention to seek a change in policy last week, issued a statement that said the administration's most recent assessment "confirms my worst fears that while the Iraqi government is making some progress on some benchmarks, it's not moving fast enough to make meaningful or lasting progress."

Even so, it appears the president's allies have the support to block a final Senate vote in a showdown expected next week.

If the report changed any minds in Congress, it was not immediately apparent.

"It is time for the president to listen to the American people and do what is necessary to protect this nation. That means admitting his Iraq policy has failed, working with the Democrats and Republicans in Congress on crafting a new way forward in Iraq and refocusing our collective efforts on defeating al-Qaida," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

But Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said Congress has already decided it will be September before the administration's strategy can be evaluated properly. "Certainly the young soldiers and Marines risking their lives today on the streets of Baghdad and Ramadi would agree _ and they deserve our patience."

Wild Thing's comment........

If Al Queda had business cards, Reid would have one in his wallet. The best weapon for al Qaeda is a Democrat in a leadership position.

Duncan Hunter ripped Harry Reid and the Dems yesterday (Thursday) on the floor of the house. He critisized those Democrats who insist they "will end this war" and withdraw troops.

He said, "They keep saying they will end the war. But by pulling our troops out of Iraq, they are not ending the war - they are only abandoning the battlefield!"

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (18)

July 12, 2007

"Feelings, wo-o-o feelings" ~ Chertoff Sings From His Gut

Wild Thing's comment.........

OK here is the thing, I don't get! Chertoff could get that fence built like yesterday if and I say IF he wanted to. IF he really wanted to secure our borders and our country. He does not, instead he whines last week about the illegal amnesty bill not passing, and now this week Michael Chertoff stated "I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk" while speaking to the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board while citing intelligence he would not disclose.

Also from the video...."Brian Ross reports on new intelligence suggesting that a small al Qa'ida cell may be on its way to the United States or already here. The White House will assemble in the Situation Room this week to minimize the threat. Ross quotes a senior administration official who said "the level of concern of a new terrorist attack is now higher than it has been in some time."

If they wanted to protect the country, they would be doing it. By now it's apparent they want to destroy the United States of America. Chertoff couldn’t manage the eveing shift at McDonalds, much less protect our borders. He is incapable of making a decision. No offfense to those that do manage the evening shift at McDonalds. And Brian Ross and ABC are as dumb as a box of hammers.

The fact that Al Qaeda cells are here is no surprise to any of us—some being watched, many not. We are still actively encouraging Muslim immigration. And our country continues to allow mosques and muslim schools to be built on our soil. Gee ya think they might wanna check the KNOWN Al Qaeda camps that keep popping up on maps all over the place? They know where they are, as well as the Hamas ones, and every other cells camps. They shouldn’t be allowed, and our Govt is to blame for the fact that they are.

Hey Chertoff how cells got here??

2001: Saudi student visas to US 4000.
2006: Saudi student visas to US 11,000.

Northern and Southern borders Swiss cheese.

Saudi schools and Mosques built on our soil at will.

Prevention of visa overstays practically non-existent.

Brian Ross reports there may be a small Al Qaeda cell on our soil.

The only thing I can conclude from all of this is that our governemnt wants a major incident At least if a person went solely by their actions or non action.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (16)

June 25, 2007

Chavez Warns of Resistance War With U.S.~ Get a life Hugo!

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez urged soldiers on Sunday to prepare for a guerrilla-style war against the United States, saying that Washington is using psychological and economic warfare as part of an unconventional campaign aimed at derailing his government.

Dressed in olive green fatigues and a red beret, Chavez spoke inside Tiuna Fort - Venezuela's military nerve-center - before hundreds of uniformed soldiers standing alongside armored vehicles and tanks decorated with banners reading: "Fatherland, Socialism, or Death! We will triumph!"

"We must continue developing the resistance war, that's the anti-imperialist weapon. We must think and prepare for the resistance war everyday," said Chavez, who has repeatedly warned that American soldiers could invade Venezuela to seize control of the South American nation's immense oil reserves.

U.S. officials reject claims that Washington is considering a military attack. But the U.S. government has expressed concern over what it perceives as a significant arms build-up here.

Chavez - a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro - told soldiers the Washington was trying to weaken and divide Venezuelan society, including the armed forces, without resorting to combat.

"It's not just armed warfare," said Chavez, a former army officer who is leading what he calls the "Bolivarian Revolution," a socialist movement named after 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar. "I'm also referring to psychological warfare, media warfare, political warfare, economic warfare."

Under Chavez, Venezuela has recently purchased some $3 billion worth of arms from Russia, including 53 military helicopters, 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles, 24 SU-30 Sukhoi fighter jets.

Last week, Chavez said he is considering arms purchases, including submarines and a missile-equipped air defense system, as he prepares for a tour of Russia, Belarus and Iran.

"We are strengthening Venezuela's military power precisely to avoid imperial aggressions and assure peace, not to attack anybody," he said Sunday.

Opposition leader Julio Borges condemned the president's interest in acquiring weapons, saying the government should focus on reducing violent crime in Venezuela, which has one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America.

"This isn't resolved with military purchases and foreign tours," Borges said. "This is resolved with the determination of having a country with justice."

Wild Thing's comment............

All Hugo has to do is send 5 million troops to the U.S.A. and Bush, Graham, Kennedy, Reid, Lott, Kyl and McCain will give them permanent resident status with the Z-visa.

hmmmmm is this a multiple choice????
"Fatherland, Socialism, or Death!

I will pick death for YOU Hugo. How about that.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (16)

June 22, 2007

White House Near Decision To Close Gitmo

Washington
Forbes.com

The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detainee facility and move its terror suspects to military prisons elsewhere.

Senior administration officials said Thursday a consensus is building for a proposal to shut the center and transfer detainees to one or more Defense Department facilities, including the maximum-security military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where they could face trial.

President Bush's national security and legal advisers had been scheduled to discuss the move at a meeting Friday, the officials said, but after news of it broke, the White House said the meeting would not take place that day and no decision on Guantanamo Bay's status is imminent.

"It's no longer on the schedule for tomorrow," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "Senior officials have met on the issue in the past, and I expect they will meet on the issue in the future."

Previous plans to close Guantanamo ran into resistance from Cheney, Gonzales and former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. But officials said the new suggestion is gaining momentum with at least tacit support from the State and Homeland Security departments, the Pentagon and the Intelligence directorate.

Cheney's office and the Justice Department have been against the step, arguing that moving "unlawful" enemy combatant suspects to the U.S. would give them undeserved legal rights.

In Congress, recently introduced legislation would require Guantanamo's closure. One measure would designate Fort Leavenworth, located about 30 miles northwest of Kansas City in northeast Kansas, as the new detention facility.

Another bill would grant new rights to those held at Guantanamo Bay, including access to lawyers regardless of whether the prisoners are put on trial. Still another would allow detainees to protest their detentions in federal court, something they are now denied.

Gates, who took over the Pentagon after Rumsfeld was forced out last year, has said Congress and the administration should work together to allow the U.S. to imprison permanently some of the more dangerous Guantanamo Bay detainees elsewhere so the facility can be closed.

Military officials told Congress this month that the prison at Fort Leavenworth has 70 open beds and that the brig at a naval base in Charleston, S.C., has space for an additional 100 prisoners.

Rice has said she would like to see Guantanamo closed if a safe alternative could be found. She said during a trip to Spain this month that the United States "doesn't have any desire to be the world's jailer."

"I don't think anyone wants to see Guantanamo open one day longer than it is needed. But I also suspect nobody wants to see a number of dangerous people simply released out onto the streets," she said.

On Thursday, two Democratic lawmakers, Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida and Sen. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, told a human rights commission that Guantanamo must be closed if the United States is to regain credibility and authority on human rights.

"The damage done to the United States goes beyond undermining our status as a global leader on human rights," Cardin said. "Our policies and practices regarding Guantanamo and other aspects of our detainee policies have undermined our authority to engage in the effective counterterrorism measures that are necessary for the very security of this country."

Officials say that Bush, who also has said he wants to close the facility as soon as possible, is keenly aware of its shortcomings.

His wife, Laura, and mother, Barbara, along with Rice and longtime adviser Karen Hughes, head of the public diplomacy office at the State Department, have told him that Guantanamo is a blot on the U.S. record abroad, particularly in the Muslim world and among European allies.

Earlier this month, former Secretary of State Colin Powell called for the immediate closure of the prison, saying it posed an untenable foreign policy risk and was irreparably harming the U.S. image abroad.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said in statement that "removing the stain Guantanamo has left on our foreign policy" is long overdue.

"It also goes a long way toward returning America's moral authority in the world and addressing the mistakes which have set us back in the fight against terrorism," said Kerry.

Update:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A White House meeting planned for Friday about the future of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility has been canceled after The Associated Press reported the Bush administration was "nearing a decision" to close the center.

National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said there would be no meeting Friday, but he would not comment on the reasons for the cancellation.
Officials from the White House, the Pentagon and the Justice and State departments denied the AP report.

"The administration is not 'nearing a decision' on changing our long-held policy to shut down Gitmo in a responsible way," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "There is no meeting tomorrow."
These and other steps have not been completed. No decisions on the future of Guantanamo Bay are imminent, and there will not be a White House meeting tomorrow," he said.

Johndroe later told CNN that a meeting had been set but was canceled.

Wild Thing's comment..............

Alcee Hastings!! The guy that was impeached and thrown out as a federal judge for corruption?! Hahahahaha! You can’t make this sh*t up!! Is anyone actually running this government, or is it like a derelict ship with no helmsman?

And what the heck is that about with Laura and Bush's mom and their input about this. Sorry but I have nothing against Laura at all, but she is not the person I voted for to be President. Since that part of the first article is from the AP it may or may not be true about Laura and Barbara's input.

But one thing for sure with the UPDATE article, the White House obviously has lied. Can't these people learn how to lie better especially when it is in the press. Or did they change their minds because it was leaked to the press, who knows.

Between these two articles it reads like a Kerry flip flop. They had a meeting planned, no there was no meeting planned.....well there was a meeting planned but we cancelled it. HUH????

I hope Bush listens to Cheney and says NO to closing Gitmo. But if he doesn't then Bush is letting the likes of Kennedy, Reid, Powell and others run our White House. I didn't like reading that Bush wants to close it, that concerns me a lot.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (15)

June 11, 2007

Democrats Favorite Republican Colin Powell Shame On You

Powell: U.S. should talk with Syria, Iran

WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) -- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell recommends the United States engage in talks with Syria, Iran and other Middle East nations.

Speaking to Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press," Powell said such talks should no be to solve a particular problem or crisis du jour but to have a dialogue with the people involved in the region in many ways.

"And so I think it is shortsighted not to talk to Syria and Iran and everybody else in the region and not for the purpose of making a demand on them, and I'll only talk to you if you meet the demand that I want to talk to you about," he said.

And then there is this as well................

Colin Powell: Close Guantánamo Prison Camps
Miami Herald

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday he favors immediately closing the Guantánamo Bay military prison and moving its detainees to U.S. facilities. The prison, which now holds about 385 war-on-terror captives, has tarnished the world's perception of the United States, Powell said.

''If it was up to me, I would close Guantánamo. Not tomorrow, but this afternoon. I'd close it,'' he said.

''And I would not let any of those people go,'' he said. ``I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system. The concern was, well then they'll have access to lawyers, then they'll have access to writs of habeas corpus. So what? Let them. Isn't that what our system is all about?''

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said Congress and the Bush administration should work together to allow imprisonment of some of the more dangerous detainees elsewhere so the military camp at the remote U.S. Navy base in Cuba can be closed.

The Defense Department estimates it would take about three years to conduct 60 to 80 military trials, if the administration authorizes that many.

Wild Thing's comment........

First let me say I am not a fan of Powell, never have been. I saw through him before GW Bush was elected President the first time. Powell was making statements to the press he would not mind working for Gore when he was elected President. Then Gore lost and Bush gave Powell a job. What the heck was that, keeping your enemies close maybe? Not my cup of tea thank you ever so. I want a different kind of person in my Foxhole, not someone whose allegience is wishy washie. Powell also counciled against Gulf War I , because we might have 30,000 KIAs going up against that “elite” force known as the Republican Guard.

Sooooooo to Powell......It will never again be "up to you." So fade away already. You are so 5 minutes ago. You had your chance to make a difference and you botched it.

Powell wants us to talk to the two terrorist states most responsible for the murders of American troops in Iraq????? Good grief, and a BIG ole WTF applies here!!!!

My only idea about communicating with Syria and Iran would be a message delivered by Air Mail, from 30,000 feet up that would certainly be appropriate.

``I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system. The concern was, well then they'll have access to lawyers, then they'll have access to writs of habeas corpus. So what? Let them. Isn't that what our system is all about?''

Yeah, there's a great idea - - turn the WOT into a lawyer-infested circus, complete with a clown car packed with scumbag liberal activist judges.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (12)

June 10, 2007

Officer Recommends Dropping Haditha Charges Against Marine

Capt. Randy W. Stone, USMC

From Capt. Stone's statement at the conclusion of his Article 32 on May 15th...

"I have never lied and have worked at all times to assist as best I could to shed light on what I knew and when I knew it. The most frustrating thing is the reality that even looking at this whole matter through 20/20 hindsight, I know I was trying to help.
"My firm belief that there was no law of armed conflict violation was the foundation for what actions I did take as well as action I did not take."

Officer recommends dropping Haditha charges against Marine (Capt. Randy W. Stone)
(AP)

Charges against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha should be dismissed, the investigating officer in the case has recommended.

Capt. Randy W. Stone, 34, is one of four officers accused of failing to report and investigate the deaths of the men, women and children in a deadly sweep on a chaotic day of battle in the village.

His attorney, Charles Gittins, said Saturday that investigating officer Maj. Thomas McCann concluded in a report to the commanding general overseeing the case that Stone should not face trial and the matter should be handled administratively.

The recommendation is non-binding. A final decision will be made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case.

Stone faces up to 2 1/2 years in prison and dismissal if his case goes to trial and he is convicted.

Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson declined to comment until Mattis makes his final decision.

Stone is one of four officers charged with dereliction of duty. Three enlisted Marines are charged with murder. All belonged to the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Seems to me that, at a minimum, this says something about everything else. If there was no demand that an investigation was required, then there were no circumstances screaming “demand.” In short, AT THAT TIME everyone and his brother was viewing the events of Haditha Day as “what war really looks like.” All the witnesses are terrorists, or those that give aid to the terrorists. This whole thing never should have been investigated at all. This is WAR and dang-it, let our troops alone to fight this war. All this interferrence and catrering to the terrorists to look into this is NOT good for our troops. Not good at all.

God Bless our Marines!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (16)

June 09, 2007

A Salute To A Good Man ~ General Peter Pace

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace

Gen. Peter Pace to Retire as Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman

WASHINGTON — Marine Gen. Peter Pace will retire as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced on Friday.

Gates said while he intended to renominate Pace for another two-year term as chairman, after consulting with congressional leaders, the confirmation hearing was likely to be "a backward-looking and very contentious process."

"The focus of his confirmation process would have been on the past, rather than the future," Gates said at a press conference at the Pentagon.

Instead, Gates he will recommend that President Bush nominate Adm. Mike Mullen, chief of naval operations, as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Pace has been either chairman or vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs for the past six years.

Pace, a Vietnam War veteran, will turn 62 in November. He will leave his post when his term ends on Sept. 30, 2007.

Wild Thing's comment..........

I'll miss General Pace. He seemed a steady hand. The man is a Marine and he just got his ass kicked unjustly. You will be missed.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (15)

June 07, 2007

Let's Go Kill People, But PC Demands Don't Hurt Their Feelings

Hello Sailor: But these pilots can appreciate Caroline's charms too

PC brigade ban pin-ups on RAF jets - in case they offend women and Muslims
Daily Mail

In killer heels and little else, they have a definite deadly charm.

But the risque images of women that have decorated warplanes since the First World War have been scrubbed out.

The Ministry of Defence has decreed they could offend the RAF's female personnel.

Officials admitted they had no record of any complaints from the 5,400 women in the RAF.

But commanders are erring firmly on the side of caution and "nose art", as it is known, has been consigned to the history books.

Harrier jump jet bombers currently launching daily airstrikes against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan have been scrubbed clean to comply with the orders.

Critics said the MoD should be focusing on more important issues - such as the quality and quantity of equipment available to British forces sent off to war.

Nose art first appeared on warplanes during the First World War and enjoyed a golden age during the Second World War when thousands of American fighters and bombers were decorated with pictures of glamorous women.

Model Michelle Marsh signing a 'regulation' silhouetted image of herself on a Harrier plane during her Afghanistan trip

Military commanders tolerated the practice as a morale booster.

Famous examples include the Memphis Belle, a U.S. Army Air Force B-17 bomber that was the subject of a 1990 Hollywood movie.

Many RAF units picked up the practice from the Americans.

Nose art enjoyed another surge in popularity during the 1991 and 2003 Gulf Wars, when risque images appeared on many British warplanes.

The decision to ban the images followed a visit by glamour models to southern Afghanistan before Christmas. During the trip they signed paintings of themselves on RAF aircraft.

Commanders decided the images were sexist and insisted there was no place for them in the modern armed forces.

There was also concern that they could cause offence in a muslim country where until 2001 all women were forced to wear the head-to-toe burkha in public.

Glamour model Lucy Pinder, 23, who visited the RAF detachment at Kandahar last November and signed a painting of herself on a Harrier jet, said such images were only "harmless fun".

Show Time: A saucy mistress atop a missile

"It's very flattering and it's nice that they get to do something that takes their minds off things for a while," she said from her home in Winchester, Hampshire.

Conservative MP Phillip Davies said: "Has the MoD really got nothing better to worry about at a time when there are serious concerns over equipment and resources available to our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan?"

Wild Thing's comment.........

Maybe they should just all put pictures of pigs on their planes. I don't think this is good news at all. The British have surrendered.

This is so silly to stop doing this. What is going to be next to stop bombing because that is not politically correct to these people either???? Nose art is harmless and gives a lot of support to our troops, it helps the morale of the military as well, at least I think it does.

In many places they can't display our COLORS on conquered territory and they can't display pin ups in their barracks all because they 'might' offend someone else's sensibility. As for the blood spent by those who fought for gained ground or for those who survived relaxing in their barracks or tents, who may want to look at a pin up to remind themselves what they are fighting for and what they have waiting back HOME, well their sensibilities just don't friggin count!!

PC will be our doom!!

One of the reasons you see at the top of this blog the image ....PC Free Zone Gazette, is because I am against PC. It has done much more harm then any good in this world. It has gotten out of hand and is used as a rule of communication, advertising and now these last few years we have seen over and over again PC used in how to fight a war and how to deal with the enemy and at the same time PC is putting our troops in more danger.

This came to me with this story in my email from a Vietnam Vet friend and he said I could share his words with you.He served tours in both the USMC and USAF (1954-1967).

"Bob Hope show had both Marylin & Jayne Mansfield. Jerry Colonna and some accordion playing juggler. Hope wearing a Korean Papa-san hat, a Looooong Korean white clay pipe, Crew chief one piece fatigues covered in squadron patches and swinging a golf club. Girls wearing not much and freezing their asses off for our entertainment. He (Hope)could have yelled out “duckshit” and we would have roared laughing. His risque jokes about Chico village just outside the base caused us to go hysterical. I finished watching the show just in time to head towards the "Witch's Teat" for nighttime guard duty. If, IF there is a heaven, Mr.Hope is occupying a seat with a fantastic view."

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (16)

May 25, 2007

War funding bill gets the OK

Minority Leader John Boehner, of Ohio, choked back sobs as he invoked the al Qaeda terrorist network's 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

"After 3,000 of our fellow citizens died, when are we going to stand up and take them on?" he said. "When are we going to defeat them? Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you, if we don't do it now, and if we don't have the courage to defeat this enemy, we will long, long regret it."

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Congress sent a $120 billion war spending bill to the White House late Thursday, abandoning a call for most U.S. troops to leave Iraq after an earlier veto by President Bush.

The bill replaces the earlier goal of withdrawing U.S. combat troops by March 2008 with a series of political benchmarks for Iraqi leaders to meet in order to receive continued American support.

But the move sharply split the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, where 140 members -- including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- voted against the plan.

In the Senate, leading Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama were among the 14 members who opposed the measure.

The bill also includes the first increase in the federal minimum wage since 1997, bringing it up $2.10 an hour to $7.25. And it provides about $20 billion in domestic spending, ranging from money for veterans' health care and hurricane reconstruction to drought relief for farmers and money for state-run children's health insurance programs.

Democratic presidential hopeful and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina harshly criticized the legislation.

"Washington failed America today when Congress surrendered to the president's demand for another blank check that prolongs the war in Iraq," Edwards said in a statement.

"Congress should immediately use its funding power to cap troop levels in Iraq at 100,000, stop the ongoing surge and force an immediate drawdown of 40,000 to 50,000 troops, followed by a complete withdrawal in about a year."

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (10)

May 11, 2007

"Consequences of failure in Iraq would be disastrous" ~ Bush

I love this graphic someone made up with Kerry on the screen and our troops answer back! God bless our troops!

House Defeats Bill Calling for Quick Departure From Iraq
Fox News
and also from
The Sun

WASHINGTON

The US House of Representatives today voted to fund the Iraq war in instalments of just a few months, defying President George W. Bush's vow to veto a Bill he branded "haphazard" and "piecemeal".

The move, approved by 221 votes to 205, would release $US43 billion ($52bn) in emergency war funding but force Mr Bush to show progress in Iraq in July, before politicians vote on freeing up a second $US53bn chunk of funds

"This legislation ends the blank cheque for the President's war without end,'' Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi said moments before the vote, the latest round of a bitter and escalating constitutional feud for control of the war.

Mr Bush had earlier fought back hard against Democrats, amid signs of softening Republican support for his strategy to surge nearly 30,000 more troops into violence-torn Iraq.

"I'll veto the Bill if it is this haphazard, piecemeal funding, and I made that clear,'' Mr Bush said after meeting officials at the Defence Department.

President Bush pulled no punches Thursday in warning congressional Democrats that failure to give U.S. troops in Iraq the resources they need to battle a rising Al Qaeda threat will lead to disaster.

"We should be able to agree that the consequences of failure in Iraq would be disastrous for our country," Bush said at the Pentagon after meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military officials. "We should be able to agree that we have a responsibility to provide our men and women on the front lines the resources and flexibility they need to do the job we asked them to do."

Bush renewed his threat to veto the House war spending bill.

"I'll veto the bill if it's this haphazard piece-meal funding," Bush said after the White House acknowledged Republican concerns that the war could damage the party's political future.
"My message to the members of Congress is: Whatever your beliefs may be, let's make sure our troops get funded. And let's make sure politicians don't tell our commanders how to conduct operations, don't hamstring our people in the field," Bush said.

The House bill faces Republican opposition and lacks support in the Senate.

But Democrats continued to move on the legislation after vowing to challenge Bush on the war and to stay on message and not give the president a blank check to fund military operations.

"It is striking to me ... that people are shocked that the president is hearing candid advice from people who have concerns," Snow said Thursday during a briefing with reporters.

"And I'm telling you that where the rubber meets the road, right now here in Washington, Republicans are united, Democrats are divided. Period." Snow said. "If you want disunity, there's far more disunity on the Democratic side."

The discussion, described by the 11 participating lawmakers as blunt, preceded the president's threat Wednesday to veto the House bill now under consideration.

Gates sent Congress a letter Thursday urging lawmakers to pass an emergency supplemental bill immediately.

“The lack of timely supplemental funds has limited the department’s ability to properly contract for the reconstitution of equipment for both active and reserve forces,” Gates wrote in the letter.

Gates wrote that the proposal to fund operations only through July “would cause significant disruption to the effective and efficient operation of the Department of Defense and the health and welfare of the U.S. military."

Wild Thing's comment.......

This just keeps going doesn't it. The Dems use our troops like a poker chip. They say they support the troops ( they do NOT) and that they are only against "Bush's" war. If they supported the troops they would fund what the troops need. And IF they loved America they would not be calling it "Bush's War".

They say they will fund the troops for 60 days. LOL well isn't that special. Let's see, how many bullets can they use per day knowing they will only have enough funding for 60 days.

Just a few old quotes from the phonies in leadership. They probably wish we did not remember:

“Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real.” - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003 ( pansy of flip flop)

“There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction.” - Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

“Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.” - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

“We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.” - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

“The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons...” - Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

“He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do.” - Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (8)

May 04, 2007

We Win They Lose Petition

When it came to defeating the Soviets, Ronald Reagan made it simple: "We win, they lose." Now more than ever, the defeatists in Congress must hear that same message. America will never surrender.

If you would like this is what the Petition says:

To: Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House
Harry Reid, U.S. Senate Democrat Leader

Congress has passed and President Bush has vetoed H.R. 1591, the Iraq Surrender Act of 2007.

This legislation, which you worked to pass, sets a timetable for surrender. It pulls the rug out from under our troops. That is shameful and wrong.

Your actions have already emboldened the enemy. Violent jihadists now know that the elected leadership of Congress would undermine the troops by holding their funding hostage to demands for surrender.

This Congress would bring us back to the dark days of the 1970s, when the world doubted our staying power. Except only much worse. Withdraw in April 2008, and on May 1, Iraq becomes an unchecked den of terrorism at the heart of the Middle East -- a new base for the same people that struck our homeland on September 11th.

I stand with our troops. I stand for victory. I support the President's veto and will urge my representatives to vote to sustain it.

There can be one and only one outcome in Iraq: We win, they lose.

Please go to their website HERE.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (2)

April 28, 2007

"Do not test my will" ~ Bush Tells Dems About Iraq

Bush to Democrats: do not 'test my will' on Iraq

CAMP DAVID, United States (AFP) - Despite growing criticism of US policy in Iraq, President George W. Bush warned Democrats Friday not to "test my will" after he vetoes a bill withdrawing US troops from Iraq.

Bush invited Democrats and leaders of his Republican Party to discuss a way out of their standoff soon after he strikes down the bill, approved by Congress this week, which ties 124 billion dollars in war funds to a troop withdrawal that would start on October 1.

But he pledged to strike down any subsequent attempt by the Democratic-led Congress to set a deadline for a pullout.

"If the Congress wants to test my will as to whether or not I'll accept the timetable for withdrawal, I won't accept one," he told a joint news conference at his retreat in Camp David, Maryland, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"So if they want to try again that which I have said was unacceptable, then of course I'll veto it," Bush said.

"But I hope it doesn't come to that. I believe we can work a way forward. And I think we can come to our senses and make sure that we get the money to the troops in a timely fashion," he said.

Wild Thing's comment...........

I will never forget the many attacks from the followers of Islam during the Clinton regime. How I felt not only afraid for our country but also the feeling of a weakness setting in to the strongest, most powerful country in the world. A President that could not even salute our service men and know how to do it properly. NO that would have taken an effort and respect on his part to honor our service men and women. In fact he loathed our military and still does.

Many of our politicians have said the war should end, bring them home, we need to have talks with the insurgents ( Reid has said this just this last week) and we need to use diplomacy with the insurgents and not kill them or fight them any longer.

WTF, what kind of brain would even have that thought come into their gray matter. Talk to the insurgents????? I mean it this just makes my head want to explode. TALK to them??

These are people that live in a backwards world, treat sheep and goats and cattle like long lost girlfriends if you get what I mean. Think having a child of their own is their donation to the next suicide bomber and think nothing of cutting the head off of anyone of us including their own family members if they get ticked off at their behavior.

Sure that will do the trick Reid and Pelosi and the rest of you lefties. Schedule a sit down with these subhumans and see how far you get. That IS of course if you can find them without them killing you first.

I am no fan of some of the things Bush has done and wants to do such as the freaking illegals. But by God he does want to let the troops do what they do best and he does respect our military unlike those traitors in our Houses on the Hill.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (10)

April 26, 2007

Democrat Leaders and Protesters Turn Congress Into Thug World

Chaos erupted Wednesday outside a House briefing with Army Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander on the ground in Iraq.

Protestors thronged the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building outside the committee room where Petraeus is briefing members of Congress. The assembled protestors, which included members of Code Pink, shouted for members to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq as the lawmakers entered the room.

Then, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to resign after suggesting the war in Iraq “is lost.”

"It must come as a shock to Al Qaeda leaders to have an aide come into their safe house and tell them that Senator Reid has declared that, in fact, they are winning and the war is lost," Hunter said. "I think it's highly irresponsible for the leader of the U.S. Senate to have said that and, just speaking for myself as the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, I think that the leader of the Senate should step down from that position."

That prompted the protestors to shout him down and pandemonium ensued before Capitol Police officers cleared the hallway for reporters, members and aides.

Both parties have scheduled on-camera briefings following the meeting to share their impressions of what Petraeus has to say.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) scheduled a briefing for Democrats on Wednesday afternoon, a day after ABC reported that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would not attend the meeting.

Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, said the American military campaign in Iraq is "making progress," but admitted there have been setbacks amid a highly complex political environment among the various factions within the Iraqi government.

Petraeus also denied that he has come under pressure from President Bush or other political leaders to paint a false or skewed picture of the U.S. military campaign in Iraq.

"I am not being pressured by the president to say anything," Petraeus told reporters after 3 hours of back-to-back briefings of House and Senate members on the situation in Iraq. "I am not going to be pressured by political leaders of either party."

Petraeus, who was confirmed by the Senate in late January to take over command of U.S. forces in Iraq, also declined to be dragged into the controversy over the $124 billion Iraq funding bill being debated by Congress this week. The legislation includes a "goal" of having most American forces out of Iraq by March 31, 2008. Bush has threatened to veto the legislation, although Democratic congressional leaders have refused to back down in the face of Bush's position, saying the majority of the American public is on their side in seeking an end to the war.

"I am not going to get in the middle of discussion about various legislative proposals," Petraeus said.

Petraeus said he "tried to give an accurate assessment of the situation in Iraq" to lawmakers. He reported that sectarian murders were down significantly inside Baghdad itself, while adding that the security situation in Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni insurgency, is also improving.

He rattled off a list of insurgent "networks" that have been rounded up, including some responsible for IED attacks and car bombs.

Petraeus added that the U.S. military commanders "have learned a great deal more about Iranian involvement, very nefarious involvement" inside Iraq, including funding and training for insurgent forces.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Reid, D-Nev., dismissed Cheney's comments. "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with the administration's chief attack dog," he told reporters.

He calls Cheney the "chief attack dog" in a statement saying he isn't going to get in a name calling match. Real substantive debate there Harry.

There is a reason Al Qaeda cheered when the dems won in November. But not because Al Qaeda liked them better, it knows if the democRats are able to stay in power and if they get the White House back, the terrorists will be able to attack us again and the rat’s won’t do anything about it. The liberals are so dumb to believe when the terrosts attack, they will ask who is a democrat, and who is a Repuplican

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (15)

April 25, 2007

Rep. Duncan Hunter Takes Reid To Task

Rep. Duncan Hunter takes Reid to task.

While they wrangle over the terms of their surrender legislation, the Democrat leadership has sent the worst of messages to the world. Speaker Pelosi struck the first wedge into what should be a united American foreign policy on Iraq by introducing a defense bill, which would effectively move the position of Commander in Chief to the U.S. Congress. Along with timetables for withdrawal from Iraq, the Pelosi bill, on page 72, mandates a 15 day waiting period before an American unit can be moved into the Iraq war theater. This incredibly obstructive provision would have profound negative effects on our forces’ abilities to fight. For example, should US hostages be taken and a Delta Force team moved from outside the theater to attempt a rescue, Pelosi’s provision would require a fifteen-day waiting period and a report to Congress before the rescue could be attempted. Should a Zarqawi level target be located and U.S. fighter aircraft be deployed from outside Iraq, the same fifteen days would elapse before a strike could be executed. The very nature of the “notice and wait” requirement illustrates how unfamiliar Democrats are with the war against terrorists. This is a new era involving rapid movement of specialized personnel and equipment across theater boundaries. “Notice and wait for two weeks” reflects an ultimate misunderstanding of U.S. military operations.

Democrats, in defending the Pelosi requirement, state that their concern is readiness of our military forces and that the President’s certification of ”full mission capability” and Congress’ fifteen day review of said certification is simply assertion of normal congressional oversight responsibilities.

This position should be rejected for several reasons. First, such micro management can never work in a congress, which takes weeks to tee up a hearing.

Second, readiness levels are a complicated thing, often unreflective of real military capability.

For example, if an infantry company does not have its flu shots, it will be rated as “unready.” In the world of speaker Pelosi, this may justify non-deployment, but to a soldier engaged in combat and awaiting reinforcements, the message that the speaker is worried that the re-enforcements will catch the flu and will have to “stay home from school” until they get their shots is hardly inspiring.

All this reflects the wisdom of the Constitution’s reserving Commander in Chief responsibilities for the single leader elected by the entire nation. Even the Washington Post noted the obvious intrusion of the Pelosi bill on the President’s powers.

Senate leader Reid quickly followed Speaker Pelosi with his own mis-guided “missile,” in announcing that the U.S. had “lost” the war in Iraq. Just as Speaker Pelosi had surprised the Israelis by becoming their ambassador to Syria without portfolio, Senator Reid’s comments must have been a surprise to some.

Consider, for example what effect they might have on an Al-Qaeda leader in Anbar Province. As he sits in his safe house outside Fallujah, the bad news has been coming in. His assassinations of Sunni Tribal leaders have turned the region against him. Sunnis are joining the Iraqi Army in Anbar Province in unprecedented numbers.

The Sunni led national police force is working with the Shiite led Army and the U.S. Marine Corps to push back against Al-Qaeda. The terrorist leader is interrupted from his “bad news” briefings by ecstatic aides. “Senator Reid has surrendered,” they shriek. “He says the U.S. has lost the war.” The Al-Qaeda leader asks the aides if they are joking, and, assured they are not, turns to the task of redoubling his efforts. This statement can only have the effect of encouraging the enemy in Iraq.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (7)

April 08, 2007

Iran Says No Airspace for Iraqi Prime Minister

Iraq PM Barred From Iran Airspace

BAGHDAD - Iran refused to allow the Iraqi prime minister to fly across its airspace as he was traveling to Tokyo, members of the delegation traveling with Nouri al-Maliki told The Associated Press early Sunday.

The delegation members said al-Maliki's plane was diverted on Saturday night to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where al-Maliki stayed in the airport for more than three hours while his government aircraft was refueled and a new flight plan was filed.

All three said the Iranians told al-Maliki's pilot that they were not informed in advance of the prime minister's need to cross Iran by air. None of the three had any information on whether that was true or an Iranian action designed to inconvenience and embarrass al-Maliki.

Al-Maliki was traveling to Japan to finalize a loan for Iraq to repair and upgrade the Iraq's energy industry. When it was announced in December, the loan was worth $707.53 million.

Wild Thing's comment.......

The most interesting thing to me in this AP report is Al-Maliki going to Japan for a loan. Hmmmmm interesting.

The stuff about Iran is just a pouty kid ( Iran) once again demanding it's own way.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (4)

Teachings in Mosques in USA To Be Looked Into

'al-Qaeda-level' teaching to be exposed in U.S. mosques
onenews

The founder of an organization dedicated to exposing the truth about Islam says it hopes to expose every mosque and Islamic day school in the U.S. that teaches absolute obedience to sharia law.

The Society of Americans for National Existence, or SANE, has launched the "Mapping Sharia in America Project," which is aimed at sending Arabic-speaking agents into the 2,000 mosques and Islamic day schools in the United States to learn what kind of doctrine is being preached. SANE president David Yerushalmi explains says the objective is to determine if those Islamic establishments are teaching complete obedience to sharia law.

"We're going to go into the mosques ... we're going to go into the day schools, [and] we're going to get the literature, we're going to listen to the courses, and we're going to rate them," says Yerushalmi. A rating of zero will indicate no sharia being taught; a rating of 10, says the group, will imply it is being taught at "al-Qaeda level."

"If it is an orthodox, meaning a traditional, historical Islam [being taught], it preaches sharia and it's dangerous," SANE's president continues; "and the reason is because as a matter of doctrine, you cannot tolerate a Western nation-state run with a constitutional republic [that is] not based on Islamic law. That's the fundamental principle."

Yerushalmi says while there may a few mosques and day schools that reject Sharia law, they are few and far between.

"Because every Muslim who would stand up and make a case for form is subject to a death threat, only the smallest, fewest, bravest of the Muslims have publicly rejected Islam," he contends.

According to SANE's website, the four-phased approach to the project will culminate with a central database of information that contains details about an organization (e.g., types of members, profiles on leaders, business affiliations, financial information) as well as identification of what it describes as "vulnerable U.S. targets near the location" of that particular organization. SANE hopes to have its project completed in the next eight to ten months.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I wonder how much luck they will have with their project. My guess is even when they do find out what we have all heard about these Mosques our leaders won't let them do anything about it. Just my gut feeling.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (2)

April 06, 2007

No way. Next case!

'American Taliban' Lindh asks Bush to reduce 20-year prison term

San Francisco (AP) -- The lawyer and parents of John Walker Lindh, the American-born Taliban soldier serving 20 years in prison after his capture in Afghanistan, called on President Bush on Wednesday to commute his sentence and set him free.

The renewed call to shorten the sentence was based on the relatively light term Australian David Hicks received Saturday after pleading guilty to supporting terrorism. Hicks, who had been imprisoned for five years at Guantanamo Bay and acknowledged aiding al-Qaida during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, was given a nine month sentence.

"In the atmosphere of the time, the best John could get was a plea bargain and a 20-year sentence," said Lindh's father Frank Lindh. "We love our son very much, he was wrongly accused when he was found in Afghanistan."

John Walker Lindh, 26, a Marin County native, was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 by American forces sent to topple the Taliban after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He was charged with conspiring to kill Americans and support terrorists but pleaded guilty in 2002 to lesser offenses, including carrying weapons against U.S. forces.

Attorney James Brosnahan brokered the plea deal and said it was the best he could do amid the political climate immediately after Sept. 11.

Lindh had converted to Islam and went to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban against the Northern Alliance, Brosnahan said.

"It is a question of proportionality, it is a question of fairness and it is a question of the religious experience John Walker Lindh had and it was not in any way directed at the United States," Brosnahan said at a press conference Wednesday.

The White House referred telephone calls to the Justice Department, which declined to comment because it had not received the petition, said spokesman Dean Boyd.

Neither the president nor the department have acted on two previous commutation requests.

Wild Thing's comment.......

OK, so instead of John Walker Lindh shall serve 20 years imprisonment for his joining terrorists in battle against American forces, how about............You're in for the full 20, you effing traitor! And your hippie parents can burn in hell along with you.

Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
'This is my own, my native land!'
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung."
Sir Walter Scott.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (12)

April 02, 2007

Islamists 'fundraising and training' In Britain

Islamists 'fundraising and training' in Britain
Sydney Herald

Islamist extremists are highly active in radicalising and training Muslim men in Britain as well as raising funds and supporting fellow extremists overseas.

Britain's Sunday Telegraph, citing a secret intelligence document, said al-Qaeda sympathisers are sending extremists in Pakistan hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash to fund attacks against Western democracies.

"Security Service and police investigations continue to detect high levels of operational activity by UK-based Islamist extremist networks," according to the document cited by the newspaper.

"Extremists are engaged in fundraising, radicalisation, and training and in providing support to fellow extremists overseas," it said.

"The purpose of a proportion of this clandestine activity is unclear. The high levels of activity are consistent with the judgment that an attack in the UK is highly likely," it added.

The newspaper quoted government sources as saying that Britain is facing a home-grown threat of about 30 plots from 200 separate networks involving about 1,600 suspects.

"The threat facing the UK is very, very high and MI5 (domestic intelligence) and other covert agencies involved in the security of this country are working flat-out. There is no spare capacity in the system," a security source told the newspaper.

It said the secret document was distributed to the Counter Terrorist Command (SO15), the Cabinet Office and the Home Office.

It reveals that government buildings, Ministry of Defence establishments and tourist sites like the London Eye, the world's tallest observation wheel, on the River Thames, are at "severe" risk of terrorist attacks, it added.

Prayer leaders and other Muslim "opinion formers" will be given lessons in civil leadership under a new multi-million-pound government plan to fight extremism in Britain, the newspaper added.

As part of the plan, which will be announced this week, pupils from mainly Muslim schools will be paired with those from mainly white schools to engage in joint projects like music and drama.

Britain has been on edge since four Islamist suicide bombers killed themselves and 52 London commuters when they set off bombs on three Underground trains and a bus on July 7, 2005, the first such attack in Europe.

Wild Thing's comment.........

Iran's seizure of 15 British sailors and the UK's lame response will certainly embolden the homegrown Jihadists. Nothing succeeds like success.

WHAT in the Bloody-Hell IS BRITAIN doing!!!! REMEMBER JULY 7th 2005!!!"
The London Underground bombings....52 Britains died at the hands of homegrown Islamist terrorists. Never forget for them has become, who cares.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (4)

March 30, 2007

The Straw That Broke The Camels Back

By Angry Old Salt

When I was 10 years old, I fell in love with Lionel Electric Trains. Just weeks before Christmas, and my birthday, which was two days later, I begged my Father to get me those trains for Christmas. My Father who was working three jobs during WW11. (wholesale banana business for small grocery stores in Staten Island, New York, his pool hall where Willie Mosconi played winning three straight games from my Dad, and at night he worked for Bethlehem Steel as a machinist.)

Every day I would bug him about the electric trains while he was trying to take a nap. After a week of this bugging my Dad, he put the box of Lionel Trains on my bed. Then I didn’t want them because I realized what an asshole I was.

George Bush took all the bullshit talk, the UN sanctions and the constant media jabbering. While he wanted the countries of the world to get together and stop Saddam from atrocities of his own people and development of WMD’s.

Years had passed with nothing done but bullshit talk from the UN, our media and THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION!

George Bush took a giant step and we did tremendous damage to the Taliban. And since we had gazillion troops in the area, why not take out Saddam now? President Bush did what the phony UN and Clinton administration would not do. Mission accomplished!

We stayed there to help the Iraqi people. Because we didn’t have the balls to annihilate the Republican Guard!

My God the Democrats wouldn’t allow that! So we let the Republican Guard go to please the bleeding hearts of the world.

Then the UN came in and got a hot foot and left. Only a few Nations stayed with us as you all know.

GW Bush has kept this protection-armed force there to keep the Iraqi people safe while they are setting up their government.

The negative Democrats and the media picadors kept jabbing and jabbing at President Bush always bringing up how many of our troops died.

Now the Saudi king sticks a saber in Bush’s back.

What the Hell!

Veto BOTH bills of Senate and the House!

And then just listen with hand on ear to the assholes, you know who I mean.

I would say to the Congress and those in the Senate, you want them home? OK, but not on your time frame. Maybe they are sick all this crap you are dishing out too, did you ever think about that? I could care less about the Iraqis! I care about our troops and what you are doing to them.

Yes, my Dad did the right thing.

Posted by Angry Old Salt at 12:55 AM | Comments (16)

Iraqi Army Enters "Most Dangerous" Area

The Iraqi Army has entered the militant stronghold of Duwanim, Slogger’s eyewitness sources have confirmed. The rural district falls just to the southwest of the urbanized areas of Baghdad and is known as a base of operations of armed Sunni groups, especially the Omar Brigades and al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad, the al-Qa'ida affiliated organization.

One Slogger source referred to Duwanim as “the most dangerous place” in the Baghdad area. (On a day when at least 60 Iraqis were killed in multiple bomb attacks in Sha'b, this may be a difficult distinction to arbitrate.)

In fact, sources report that Duwanim and the areas around it were so dangerous to Iraqi forces, that they typically would not enter the area, nor perform operations in adjacent nieghborhoods without coordination and support from the Mahdi Army.

The Mahdi Army have a strong presence in some neighboring urbanized areas, such as parts of the predominantly Shi'a districts of al-Shurta and al-Risala. In certain Shi'a mosques in these districts, the Mahdi Army conducts its affairs, ranging from organizational meetings to the detention of suspected Sunni militants, with sources reporting rumors of torture and killing of suspects inside some religious facilities.

The entrance of forces entrance into the Duwanim area is highly significant. Until now, the lawless district was a theater of open conflict and deadly raids between the Mahdi Army and armed Sunni groups. As reported earlier, Iraqi forces have not entered the area for a year.

Wild Thing's comment........

Something about this I find interesting. Our troops have been to some areas that have been called similar things. All VERY dangerous! This article states it is the Iraqi Army now going into the "Most Dangerous" Area. Maybe I am so pro OUR toops that it bugs me a little because I don't like anything to take away from the many areas OUR troops have fought at and still are.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (2)

March 25, 2007

Marines Expelled from Afghanistan! WTF????

Top general in Afghanistan expels Marines
WASHINGTON

The top American general in Afghanistan has expelled a U.S. Marine special operations company for the way the men responded to an ambush March 4, Marine sources said.

Maj. Cliff Gilmore, a spokesman for Marine Special Operations Command, confirmed to The Examiner that the company of 120 Marines is redeploying.

He said the decision followed an ambush on the company's convoy by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. A second Marine source said the Marines retaliated and some civilians were killed.

The action brought an abrupt end to what promised to be a historic deployment. The unit sailed in January from Camp Lejeune, N.C., as the first Marine Corps special operations company sent overseas. The Corps joined U.S. Special Operations Command a year ago.

The company is now redeploying to Kuwait after just a few weeks in Afghanistan in what was supposed to be a six-month tour.

A Marine officer assigned to special operations said Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander, took the extraordinary step of expelling the unit after he consulted with Afghan Prime Minister Hamid Karzai.

A spokesman for Eikenberry could not be reached today.

Wild Thing's comment.........

WTF! So our guys have to get a rule book out every time they are ambushed??? What about the fact that they have to fight combattants who wear no military uniforms. The war will NEVER be won as long as political correctness and stupid-ass liberalism replaces a sound, aggressive military strategy.

Marines are problem solvers! The citizens shouldn't allow the bad guys in, they are part of the problem. They hide them in their homes, and sometimes yes from fear of them but I could care less. If these people want the insurgents to go away to die and stop causeing death then they , the citizens, need to take a stand too.

Another PC general!! The days of "Blood and Guts" Patton are long gone. And I want them back, screw PC! You cannot fight a war and go around arresting the troops for doing what they were trained to do.

It's a devil's deal, when you're caught in an ambush like this.

Do you simply take your losses and run away? That's the preferred Army doctrine. It avoids civilian casualties, but it also establishes a hunter/hunted relationship with the enemy in the hunter position. That's a direct mental victory for them, and a loss for us. It also encourages them to use these tactics, for years on end.

Do you attempt to engage your attackers? Hard to do when you don't know who they are, hiding as they do among civilians. They're not afraid to die, and they're not only willing to sacrifice civilians, they're trying to get us to kill them on accident. Events like this and Haditha aren't lucky coincidences for them. It's doctrine. Captured training manuals state they are directed to try and engineer *atrocities* that our media will pick up on.

No matter what you do, that media is there, ready to announce your sins to the world, while the Inquisitors from JAG ready the gallows.

"Victory" has long ago been replaced by "don't cause bad press". That's our policy now, and our side won't hesitate to crucify you over it.

Again - when you try to fight a "PC" war, you are going to loose. Our formerly beloved POTUS, GWBush, who looked like a hero when the WOT began, now looks like another sniveling whimp.

I have had it - either FIGHT THE DANGED WAR, or bring ALL of our troops worldwide back home. We obviously are not REALLY going to fight anybody. Bring them home, put 100K troops on the southern border, and just ignore the rest of the world's problems.

What the hell is the next step is for these Marines to be sued by CAIR?? And give the Taliban pay off money?

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:14 PM | Comments (31)

March 18, 2007

Extremists Signing Up to Be School Bus Drivers

FBI: Extremists Signing Up to Be School Bus Drivers
FoxNews

WASHINGTON

The FBI has issued an "informational bulletin" to state and local officials saying to watch out for people tied to extremist groups trying to earn licenses to drive school buses.

The Associated Press reports that members of the unnamed extremist groups have succeeded in gaining the drivers licenses, but a Department of Homeland Security official told FOX News that "at this time there is no evidence that any of these individuals have got these jobs, or got hold of school buses."

"There is no plot. There is no threat. And parents and children can feel perfectly safe," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko told FOXNews.com.

The Department of Homeland Security official said the bulletin was sent to state and local law enforcement officials, and "some school districts have reported an increased number of foreign nationals seeking school bus driver positions and a number of other unusual events."

The official said that, out of an abundance of caution, FBI shared the information.

An unnamed counterterrorism official told The Associated Press that the bulletin — sent Friday to state and local law enforcement agencies — did not say how often foreign extremists attempted to get licenses or drive school buses, and did not specify where this might have happened.

The bulletin noted "recent suspicious activity" by foreigners who either drive school buses or are licensed to drive them, the official told The Associated Press.

Foreigners under recent investigation include "some with ties to extremist groups" who have been able to "purchase buses and acquire licenses," the bulletin says.

But the Homeland Security Department and the FBI "have no information indicating these individuals are involved in a terrorist plot against the homeland," it says. The memo also notes: "Most attempts by foreign nationals in the United States to acquire school bus licenses to drive them are legitimate."

It was not immediately clear whether the extremists intended to do with the school buses. One counterterror official, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said it was likely that the foreigners investigated were merely employed as bus drivers, and did not intend to use them as part of any terror plot.

"I hate to characterize this as a warning," Kolko said, calling it an "informational bulletin." He said this was part of routine information sent to local law enforcement agencies that they should use only as background information while doing their normal duties.

"This is just an awareness issue for local law enforcement. ... It just makes them smarter," he said.

Kolko said that if he knew which extremist groups were involved in the report, he would not identify them.

Wild Thing's comment.....

Can you imagine the day when all over America, terrorists blow just ONE bus up in the school bus lines and kill hundreds if not thousands at each school all over the nation? This isn't just terrorism. This is freaking war!

Members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States, counterterror officials said Friday, in a cautionary bulletin to police. An FBI spokesman said "parents and children have nothing to fear."

What the heck?? Nothing to fear?? They say they are from extremists groups but nothing to fear. good grief!
Our government has simply gone mad.

It is one thing that they are signing-up. The more important matter is, are we hiring them? That would be disturbing. Further, if they are dangerous why are we letting them run around free?

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (7)

March 16, 2007

No To Dems Plan To Pullout Of Iraq And NOT To Fund The War

U.S. Senators (L-R) Jim Webb (D-VA), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Harry Reid (D-NV)
appear at a news conference

Senate GOP turns back Iraq pullout plan

Democrats aggressively challenged President Bush's Iraq policy at both ends of the Capitol on Thursday, gaining House committee approval for a troop withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008, but suffering defeat in the Senate on a less sweeping plan to end U.S. participation in the war.

In the House, only one committee Democrat, liberal Rep. Barbara Lee of California, voted against her party's plan, saying it did not go far enough. "I believe the American people sent a mandate to us to bring home our men and women before the end of the year," she said.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky led the opposition to the measure.

"This is a dangerous piece of legislation. It is constitutionally dubious and it would authorize a scattered band of United States senators to tie the hand" of the commander in chief, he said. McConnell said it would be "absolutely fatal" to the mission of U.S. troops in Iraq.

For their part, Republicans sought to create a political dilemma for Democrats, countering with an alternative measure that said "no funds should be cut off or reduced for American troops in the field" that would undermine their safety.

GOP leaders hoped the proposal, advanced by Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, would prove difficult for Democrats to oppose and complicate any future effort to reduce funds for the war.

Gregg's amendment passed 82-16.

Democrats tried still another proposal, this one saying that Congress would provide "necessary funds for training equipment and other support for troops in the field." It passed easily, 96-2.

The House timetable was part of a spending bill that totals $124 billion, $95.5 billion of which is targeted for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Wild Thing's comment.........

The Reid Amendment has failed. It was the one which would restrict the President’s ability to direct the use of force, and set a deadline for withdrawal of March 31, 2008. The Democrats didn’t even get a plurality – the Reid Amendment lost 50-48.

The Gregg Amendment – i.e., Congress should not eliminate/reduce funds for troops in the field – has passed 82–16.

The Murray Amendment – i.e., Congress should provide funds for training, equipment and other support for troops in the field; and health care to those who have served – has passed 96-2

The message that has been sent is that the Senate has thoroughly rejected defunding the mission!! This ia a huge rejection of the enemy within's agenda and demand that Democrats vote to defund and withdraw immediately.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (14)

March 15, 2007

The Six Imams Need To Learn Of Our Outrage About This!

Katherine Kersten: The real target of the 6 imams' 'discrimination' suit
Star Tribune...for complete article

The "flying imams' " federal lawsuit, filed this week in Minneapolis, has made headlines around the country. The imams are demanding unspecified damages from US Airways and the Metropolitan Airports Commission, both with deep pockets. But their suit includes other defendants, as yet unnamed. These people, unaffiliated with the airline industry or government, are among the imams' most vulnerable targets.

Their lawsuit appears to be the latest component in a national campaign to intimidate airlines and government agencies from acting prudently to ensure passenger safety. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is advising the imams, is also calling for congressional hearings and promoting federal legislation to "end racial profiling" in air travel. If the legislation passes, airport personnel who disproportionately question passengers who are Muslim or of Middle Eastern origin could be subject to sanctions.

But the most alarming aspect of the imams' suit is buried in paragraph 21 of their complaint. It describes "John Doe" defendants whose identity the imams' attorneys are still investigating. It reads: "Defendants 'John Does' were passengers ... who contacted U.S. Airways to report the alleged 'suspicious' behavior of Plaintiffs' performing their prayer at the airport terminal."

Paragraph 22 adds: "Plaintiffs will seek leave to amend this Complaint to allege true names, capacities, and circumstances supporting [these defendants'] liability ... at such time as Plaintiffs ascertain the same."

In plain English, the imams plan to sue the "John Does," too.

But the most alarming aspect of the imams’ suit is buried in paragraph 21 of their complaint. It describes “John Doe” defendants whose identity the imams’ attorneys are still investigating. It reads: “Defendants ‘John Does’ were passengers ... who contacted U.S. Airways to report the alleged ‘suspicious’ behavior of Plaintiffs’ performing their prayer at the airport terminal.”

Paragraph 22 adds: “Plaintiffs will seek leave to amend this Complaint to allege true names, capacities, and circumstances supporting [these defendants’] liability ... at such time as Plaintiffs ascertain the same.”

In plain English, the imams plan to sue the “John Does,” too.

Who are these unnamed culprits? The complaint describes them as “an older couple who was sitting [near the imams] and purposely turn[ed] around to watch” as they prayed. “The gentleman (’John Doe’) in the couple ... picked up his cellular phone and made a phone call while watching the Plaintiffs pray,” then “moved to a corner” and “kept talking into his cellular phone.”

In retribution for this action, the unnamed couple probably will be dragged into court soon and face the prospect of hiring a lawyer, enduring hostile questioning and paying huge legal bills. The same fate could await other as-yet-unnamed passengers on the US Airways flight who came forward as witnesses.

The imams’ attempt to bully ordinary passengers marks an alarming new front in the war on airline security.

Wild Thing's comment......

This has been such an obvious set up and CAIR the terrorists lover organization is a huge part of it as they always are. GRRRRRRRRRRR

I think every passenger on the plane should sue the six imams for harrassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The imans had three objectives:
1) Further inflame Muslims against the USA by portraying America as a country that harasses and bullies them;
2) Test our aviation security arrangements;
3) Use the shopworn "profiling" dodge to intimidate law enforcement and airline personnel from taking reasonable and prudent measures to protect the flying public.
With the help of the MSM,the Imans achieved objective #1. Under a Democratic administration, security and scrutiny will almost certainly be downgraded, achieving objective #3. Pelosi has already said that the imans' removal from the plane may be a case of "profiling." God help us if these people ever again hold the Congress and the Executive branch.

Before the imams boarded, they were ``praying loudly in the gate area. Some were heard to be making statements against the U.S. involvement in Iraq,'' Pat Hogan, spokesman for the airport, said in an interview today.

Some of the six repeatedly said ``Allah'' as they boarded, then asked to change seats and requested safety-belt extensions that they put under their seats, Hogan said. One was overheard to say he would ``go to whatever measures necessary to obey all that is set out in the Koran,'' Hogan said. ( source...Bloomberg report)

Posted by Wild Thing at 11:47 AM | Comments (13)

9/11 Mastermind Confesses In Guantanamo

9/11 mastermind confesses in Guantanamo

Guantanamo inmates denied legal challenge

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to that attack and a string of others during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a transcript released Wednesday by the military.

Mohammed claimed responsibility for planning, financing, and training others for bombings ranging from the 1993 attack at the World Trade Center to the attempt by would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes.

In all, Mohammed said he was responsible for planning 29 individual attacks, including many that were never executed. The comments were included in a 26-page transcript released by the Pentagon, which also blacked out some of his remarks.

The Pentagon also released transcripts of the hearings of Abu Faraj al-Libi and Ramzi Binalshibh.

Binalshibh is suspected of helping Mohammed with the Sept. 11, 2001, attack plan and is also linked to a foiled plot to crash aircraft into London's Heathrow Airport. Al-Libi is a Libyan who reportedly masterminded two bombings 11 days apart in Pakistan in December 2003 that targeted President Pervez Musharraf for his support of the U.S. led war on terror.

The hearings, which began last Friday, are being conducted in secret by the military as it tries to determine whether 14 alleged terrorist leaders should be declared "enemy combatants" who can be held indefinitely and prosecuted by military tribunals.

Hearings for six of the 14 have already been held. The military is not allowing reporters to attend the sessions and is limiting the information it provides about them, arguing that it wants to prevent sensitive information from being disclosed.

The 14 were moved in September from a secret CIA prison network to the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, where about 385 men are being held on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This is the transcript of the questioning. It is very interesting, and a little long. It is a pdf file. In the transcription he admits to involvement in an extraordinary range of criminal terrorist activity.

The Democrats must be very upset about this, since their objective is to close down Gitmo and bring the freakazoid Muslims to the USA.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (5)

March 13, 2007

President Reagan Say It Again!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:12 PM | Comments (8)

February 28, 2007

Iran Training Iraqis To Use Explosives

WASHINGTON
(Reuters)

Iran is training anti-American Iraqi Shi'ites at sites inside Iran and Lebanon in the use of armor-piercing munitions blamed for the deaths of 170 U.S. troops in Iraq, the top U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday.

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, newly installed U.S. intelligence chief Mike McConnell said it was "probable" that Iranian leaders including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were aware that weapons known as explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, had been supplied to Iraqi Shi'ites.

But he and other senior intelligence officials told a hearing on threats to the United States that al Qaeda remained the greatest threat facing the United States and had reestablished itself in Pakistan since being driven out of Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.

"We inflicted a major blow. They retreated to another area. And they are going through a process to reestablish and rebuild, adapting to the seams, or the weak spots," McConnell said in his first congressional testimony as the U.S. director of national intelligence.

In describing Iran's role in Iraq, he stopped short of he stopped short of saying the Islamic Republic was directing EFP attacks on U.S. forces.

"We know there are Iranian weapons manufactured in Iran.

"We know that Quds Forces (of Iran's Revolutionary Guards) are bringing them (into Iraq)," McConnell said.
"Is there a direct link from Quds Forces delivering weapons, to the most senior leadership in Iran?" he said. "I would phrase it as 'probable' but, again, no direct link ... I am comfortable saying it's probable."

HEZBOLLAH ROLE

Under questioning by Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut Independent, McConnell tersely acknowledged that the United States has evidence showing that Iran is training Iraqi Shi'ites at sites outside Iraq to use EFPs.

"And some of that training is occurring in Iran?" asked Lieberman.
"Yes, sir," McConnell replied.

"I've heard reports that some may be occurring in Lebanon in Hezbollah training camps," Lieberman said.

"We believe Hezbollah is involved in the training as well," McConnell answered.

"If Iran is training Iraqi militants in the use of Iranian weapons which are then being used to kill Americans in Iraq, I think that's a very serious act and one that we ought to consider taking steps to stop," Lieberman said.

McConnell's comments were the latest in a series of assertions by U.S. military and intelligence officials that Iran is behind the appearance of EFPS in Iraq, where the weapons have been able to pierce some of the heaviest U.S. armor.

Officials said Iran's influence in Iraq has grown steadily since the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and predicted Iraq's postwar government would have great difficulty overcoming sectarian violence and achieving reconciliation between Shi'ites and Sunnis.

Wild Thing's comment.......

This war is on so many fronts, and it just makes me angrier that one of those fronts is right here in our own country with the actiions, words and deeds of the left fighting our troops every step of the way. This is good information in this article and it will hit deaf ears when it comes to the likes of Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy and others that do NOT love America and are against our military.

It would be so cool if we could do a fly over and bomb the hell out of those places within Iran that are training people to fight our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (4)

February 27, 2007

Explosion outside main U.S. Base Afghanistan ~ VP Cheney There And Is OK

Blast at Afghan Base Causes Causalities, Vice President Cheney Is Safe, Officials Say

Fox News
Tuesday 1:30AM ET

KABUL, Afghanistan — An explosion outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan went off Tuesday as Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting, causing an unknown number of casualties but apparently not putting the vice president in danger, officials said.

The blast happened at the first gate outside the base at Bagram, and there were an unknown number of casualties, said Kabir Ahmad, the district chief of the Bagram region.

Maj. William Mitchell said it did not appear the explosion was intended as a threat to the vice president, who was "safely inside the base" during the blast.

BAGRAM (Afghanistan) - Two Afghans were killed and 18 wounded in a suicide bombing perpetrated at the entry of the American base of Bagram, in the north of Kabul, during a visit of the American vice-president Dick Cheney, declared in AFP the chief of the district of Bagram, Kabir Ahmad.
“It is about a suicide bombing perpetrated in front of the principal entry kept by American soldiers”, declared Mr. Ahmad, without being able to give more explanations.

“According to first information's, two Afghans were killed and 18 wounded”, it added.

The number two American, who was inside the base, was not wounded, according to its spokesman.

Updates:

KABUL, Afghanistan: An explosion outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan killed at least two people and wounded 12 on Tuesday during a visit by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, though the vice president was apparently not in danger, officials said.

The blast happened near the first security gate outside the base at Bagram, killing two people and wounding 12, said Kabir Ahmad, the district chief of the Bagram region.

Maj. William Mitchell said it did not appear the explosion was intended as a threat to the vice president, who was "safely inside the base" during the blast.

Cheney, who spent the night at Bagram, ate breakfast with U.S. soldiers Tuesday morning, Mitchell said. He was expected to later meet with President Hamid Karzai after their meeting was scrapped on Monday because of bad weather that prevented him traveling to Kabul.

"At this point it does not appear that the explosion was intended as a threat to the vice president," Mitchell said. "He wasn't near the site of the explosion. He was safely within the base at the time of the explosion."

KABUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 20 people outside the main U.S. base in Afghanistan on Tuesday, a Pakistan-based news agency reported.

"The suicide bombing took place at gate 2 where Afghan labours were waiting," the Afghan Islamic Press quoted a provincial police officer as saying.

The agency quoted provincial governor Abdul Jabbar Taqwa as saying 20 people had been killed in the blast outside the Bagram air base.

Wild Thing's comment......

Cheney's meeting with Karzai is expected to continue. The meeting had been delayed due to weather conditions. Bagram is a sprawling complex and the main gates are some distance from offices and living quarters. All the other reports I am reading say all the dead and injured where Afghans.

I am so glad our troops are ok and VP Cheney was not injured or worse. Prayers for Cheney and our troops, any area there is dangerous for all of them.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (12)

February 23, 2007

Chicago Area Men Arrested With Connections To Terrorism

Two Chicago-area men arrested in Ohio terrorism case
ohio.com

CHICAGO - Two Chicago-area cousins were arrested Wednesday on federal charges out of Cleveland accusing them of conspiring to wage holy war against Americans overseas, including U.S. military forces in Iraq.

Zubair A. Ahmed, 27, of suburban North Chicago, and Khaleel Ahmed, 26, of Chicago, were accused along with three other men from the Toledo, Ohio, area who already had been under indictment on charges of plotting acts of terrorism against Americans overseas.

The fresh indictment returned by a grand jury in Cleveland added the two Chicago-area men to the roster of defendants and brought additional charges against the three men from Ohio.

The cousins, both American citizens, appeared briefly in Chicago before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown, who ordered them sent to Ohio for arraignment. Prosecutors asked her to order them held in custody and sent to Ohio as federal prisoners. Defense attorneys asked for bond.

Defense attorneys Gerald Collins and Brian Sieve said they had just met the two defendants, knew little about them and had no comment on the case.

The indictment claims that, between June 2004 and February 2006, the cousins and the other three men - Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 27, and Marwan Othman El-Hindi, 42, both formerly of Toledo, Ohio, and Wassim I. Mazloum, 22, formerly of Sylvania, Ohio :

"....conspired to "kill or maim persons in locations outside of the United States, to including U.S. armed forces personnel serving in Iraq."

The conspiracy allegedly included finding fresh recruits to commit terrorist acts and seeking out sites for training in firearms, hand-to-hand combat and the use of explosives. The men also allegedly agreed to raise funds for "jihad training" and download Internet information on improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

A shadowy figure was described in the indictment only as the trainer, a U.S. citizen with a military background. The indictment said the two cousins met with the trainer in July 2004 and discussed sniper tactics, counter-surveillance techniques and the use of heavy machine guns.

The three Ohio men, currently in federal custody, were charged in the original indictment with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Amawi was also charged with verbally threatening the president of the United States and unlawful distribution of a video concerning suicide bomber vests.

Wednesday's indictment charged Amawi with distributing information about explosive chemicals downloaded from the Internet and charged El-Hindi with distributing information about explosives and making false statements to officials.

The five men face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted of conspiring to kill Americans overseas, according to federal prosecutors.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Cleveland said a separate indictment was returned charging Bilal Mazloum, 22, of Sylvania, Ohio, brother of Wassim I. Mazloum, with making a false statement to federal agents.

In addition, El-Hindi and Ashraf Zaim, 39, of Ottawa Hills, Ohio, are charged in a separate, seven-count indictment with conspiring to commit theft of public funds, making false statements and wire fraud in connection with a $40,000 federal grant they obtained to operate clinics for low-income taxpayers.

The government contends that no clinics were ever operated.

CLICK HERE to see and read about one of the men...Marwan Othman El-Hindi.

Wild Thing's comment........

American citizens? On paper maybe, but not in their heart. These sub-humans are dangerous and traitors, and I want to see them rot or fry.

I am glad they caught these men, but the reality is it would be a myth that their arrests and deportations will clean up the mosque & schools, the truth is, there are others prepared to take their place and continue the preparations for jihad. Citizens in our country were attacked just last week by a solo jihadi in a Utah shopping mall.

http://www.cleveland.com/terrorism/wide/index.ssf?/terrorism/wide/elhindi0521.html

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (10)

February 21, 2007

Score one for the Good Guys

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that foreign-born prisoners seized as potential terrorists and held in Guantanamo Bay cannot challenge their detention in U.S. courts, a key victory for President George W. Bush’s anti-terrorism plan.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that civilian courts no longer have the authority to consider whether the military is illegally holding the prisoners — a decision that will strip court access for hundreds of detainees with cases currently pending.

Barring federal court access was a key provision in the Military Commissions Act, which Bush pushed through Congress last year to set up a system run by the Defence Department to prosecute terrorism suspects.

At the White House, deputy press secretary Dana Perino called the decision “a significant win” for the administration and said the Military Commissions Act provides “sufficient and fair access to courts for these detainees.”

Under the commissions act, the government can indefinitely detain foreigners who have been designated as “enemy combatants” and authorizes the CIA to use aggressive but undefined interrogation tactics.

Mostly criticized by Democrats and civil libertarians was a provision that stripped U.S. courts of the authority to hear arguments from detainees who said they were being held illegally.

Well! Judges who actually read the law, know the law and make their ruling based on the law! I'm impressed, especially after reading this:

Released Gitmo Detainee Arrested En Route to Iraq

Fahd al-Utaibi a/k/a Naif Fahd Al Aseemi Al Utaibi arrived in Saudi Arabia May 18, 2006 from Guantanamo, along with 14 others released by the US. He is currently on trial in Yemen for forging travel documents in order to join the jihad in Iraq.

The left, and the mainstream media will ignore this story and most of America will never know the true nature of the animals stored at Gitmo, being fed and clothed and coddled with American tax payer dollars.

Bottom line... the bastard should have been shot while trying to escape.

Posted by LindaSoG at 07:09 AM | Comments (4)

February 13, 2007

Austrian Sniper Rifles From Iran Found In Baghdad Home

US soldiers during a house search for insurgents, in eastern Baghdad found more than a hundred Austrian-made sniper rifles, which were sold to Iran, in a Baghdad raid on insurgents. The .50 calibre weapons, which are capable of penetrating body armour, were part of a shipment of 800 rifles exported by Austrian arms manufacturer Steyr-Mannlicher to Iran last year.

Iraqi insurgents using Austrian rifles from Iran
Telegraph

Austrian sniper rifles that were exported to Iran have been discovered in the hands of Iraqi terrorists. More than 100 of the.50 calibre weapons, capable of penetrating body armour, have been discovered by American troops during raids.

The guns were part of a shipment of 800 rifles that the Austrian company, Steyr-Mannlicher, exported legally to Iran last year.

The sale was condemned in Washington and London because officials were worried that the weapons would be used by insurgents against British and American troops.

Within 45 days of the first HS50 Steyr Mannlicher rifles arriving in Iran, an American officer in an armoured vehicle was shot dead by an Iraqi insurgent using the weapon.

Over the last six months American forces have found small caches of the £10,000 rifles but in the last 24 hours a raid in Baghdad brought the total to more than 100, US defence sources reported.

The find is the latest in a series of discoveries that indicate that Teheran is providing support to Iraq's Shia insurgents.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, yesterday denied that Iran had supplied weapons to Iraqi insurgents. But on Sunday US officials in Baghdad displayed a range of weapons they claimed had originated in Iran.

They said 170 American and British soldiers had been killed by such weapons.

The Foreign Office expressed "serious concerns" over the sale of the rifles last year and Britain protested to the Austrian government.

A Foreign Office spokesman said last night: "Although we did make our worries known the sale unfortunately went ahead and now the potential that these weapons could fall into the wrong hands appears to have happened."

The rifle can pierce all body armour from up to a mile and penetrate armoured Humvee troop carriers. It is highly accurate and fires a round called an armour piercing incendiary, a bullet that the Iranians manufacture.

The National Iranian Police Organisation bought the rifles allegedly to use them against drug smugglers in an £8 million order placed with Steyr in 2005.

The company was given permission to export them by the Austrian government, which is not a Nato member.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Well this just ticks me the heck off.

We asked them not to, England asked them not to. So why can't we demand countries not do such things, yes I know, but these terrorists are the enemy of the entire world, so how stupid or greedy does a person (country) have to be to sell to Iran when the intelligence collectors inform said leaders of these countries like Austria telling them of the desire for these death cult freakazoids wanting them dead as much as us, as much as our troops??!!

Aren’t they privy to the same information we are, heck we learn a ton of things just online. Go figure how much more the leaders of countries find out about then we are able to see.

Something more about this sniper rifle:

Steyr .50HS heavy sniper rifle, with folded bipod
Caliber: .50BMG (12.7x99mm) or .460Steyr
Operation: manually operated rotating bolt action
Barrel: 833 mm (33")
Weight: 12.4 kg
Length: 1370 mm (54")
Feed Mechanism: single shot, no magazine

The Steyr .50 HS is the most recent development of the famous Austrian arms manufacturer, the Steyr Mannlicher Gmbh & Co KG. First displayed at the ShotShow-2004 (February 2004, Las-Vegas, USA), this single shot rifle is primary intended for anti-material applications and counter-sniping. The Steyr .50HS is available in two calibers, the old and venerable .50BMG and the apparently new .460Steyr (on which so far no data were obtained).

The Steyr .50 HS is a single shot rifle, with manually operated, rotating bolt with two large locking lugs at the front. The two-stage trigger is factory set to 4lbs (1.8kg). The buttstock is adjustable for length of pull, the cheekpiece is also adjustable. Heavy barrel is partially fluted and fitted with effective muzzle brake. Steyr .50 HS has no iron sights; the MilStd Picatinny rail is standard. Rifle is not intended to be fired off-hand; it is fitted with integral folding adjustable bipods.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (5)

February 12, 2007

Sunni Arab States Ordering More Weapons

Defence ministers from Sunni Arab states are preparing to spend enormous sums at the Idex arms fair in Abu Dhabi next week

Gulf states load up on weapons of war
Telegraph.co.uk...for complete article

Leaders of Sunni Arab states are embarking on a military spending spree in an attempt to contain the growing threat from Iran.

Alarmed by the progress of Iran's nuclear programme and the prospect of a military clash between its Shia regime and the United States, Gulf leaders intend to use billions of dollars of oil revenue to purchase a huge array of military hardware.

Many of the deals will be finalised at a massive arms fair due to open in the United Arab Emirates next Sunday.

Saudi Arabia alone has a shopping list that runs to almost $50 billion, including fighter aircraft, cruise missiles, attack helicopters and more than 300 new tanks.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has earmarked $2 billion for a rapid reaction brigade - possibly to take a lead role in a regional protection force. Another $6 billion will go on missile defence batteries, airborne early warning systems and aircraft.

Both countries are members of the Gulf Co-operation Council, established in 1984 to provide security against the threat posed by Iran. Other members, including Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, are expected to spend heavily in the coming months.

Many are now convinced that the only way to avoid being sucked into a war between the US and Iran, or being caught up in the turbulence that would follow, is to beef up their own defences.

American plans for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear sites are reported to be well advanced, despite public denials, and many in the Gulf states fear that they could be caught in the backlash.

One highly placed Saudi diplomatic source said that there were concerns about America's intentions and doubts about the real threat from Iran.

Wild Thing's comment......

Thanks to the NY Times and other media outlets I guess they know about our shops in the Gulf.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (15)

US Hits Back After Putin Tirade

President Vladimir Putin speaking at the Conference on Security Policy in Munich

US Hits Back After Putin Tirade
By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow

The United States and Russia were locked in a bitter war of words yesterday as officials reacted furiously to a speech by Vladimir Putin that represented the most ferocious attack on US policy by a Russian leader since the Cold War.

Although Mr Gates sought to cool some of the angry rhetoric flying between the two former Cold War adversaries by describing Russia as a "partner", he added: "We wonder too about some Russian policies that seem to work against international stability such as its arms transfers and its temptation to use energy resources for political coercion."

The comments, echoed by officials across the US political spectrum, came a day after astonished delegates listened to an unprecedented tirade from the Russian leader that was at times reminiscent of Nikita Khrushchev's shoe-banging rhetoric.

Reflecting the growing chill in relations between the two countries, Mr Putin accused the United States of trying to subjugate the world and termed its policy in the Middle East as "unilateral and frequently illegitimate."

"Today we are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper-use of military force in international relations that is plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflict," he said.

"The United States has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is extremely dangerous. It results in the fact that no-one feels safe because no-one can feel that international law is like a stone wall that can protect them."

While many of the assembled European politicians may have secretly agreed with Mr Putin's feelings on America's invasion of Iraq, fear of Russia's democratic trajectory and growing energy might united delegates in condemnation of the speech.

Mr Gates, a former CIA officer, tried to put Mr Putin's comments down to the Russian president's KGB background.

"I guess old spies have a habit of blunt speaking," he said. "However I've been to re-education camp," — a jibe that won approving laughter and applause from the audience. "One Cold War was quite enough."

But western diplomats argued yesterday that Mr Putin's speech reflected as much weakness as it did strength.

Russia's military hardware is largely rusting and, even though the Kremlin may be trying to develop new missiles, it has lost the nuclear race.

"Putin's speech was in part impotent rage," said a Western diplomat. "He's a strong believer that the Cold War principle of Mutually Assured Destruction made the world a safer place." "When he railed against a unipolar world, he was essentially acknowledging that for the first time in 50 years the United States has reached nuclear primacy."

Wild Thing's comment......

What did Putin run out of spies to poison?

Putin sounds like he is a member in good standing with the Democrat party and their same talking points. They've opened up weakness in the superpower...any other competing power is naturally going to take whatever advantage is there to take when the dominant power has a crisis of confidence, division or disruption. The Democrats, in their obsession for power and control, have given that to both our enemies and our competitors. So Putin takes advantage of it and tries to enhance it by jumping on. We should expect that, everyone's going to have at us...that's why the Democrats are so damned destructive to US.

It's classic: The Democrats would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (24)

February 06, 2007

G.O.P. Blocks War Debate in Senate

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hold a press conference after Republican senators blocked Senate debate on the Iraq buildup resolution on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Feb. 5, 2007

A ‘Robust’ G.O.P. Blocks Senate War Debate
Washington
On the Senate floor just a short while ago, a pretty hot debate ensued before any real debate on Iraq resolutions was allowed, or actually not allowed by the vote following the debate about the proposed debate. The Senate went 49-47, the Democrats well shy of the 60 votes needed to moved ahead on one of the war resolutions.

As you may have anticipated through reports during the weekend and today, Republicans in the Senate voted in near unanimity tonight against the Democratic leadership’s intention to bring the Warner-Levin resolution opposing President Bush’s troop buildup to the floor for debate. From watching the roll call on the vote, it would appear that nearly all Republicans, excepting Susan Collins of Maine and Norm Coleman of Minnesota,voted to keep the Warner-Levin measure from being Topic A.

Even senators, like John Warner, Republican of Virginia and premier author of the resolution backed by the Democratic leadership, and Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska and a persistent critic of the administration’s Iraq policies, voted with their party’s senators to block debate on Warner-Levin alone.

As Minority Leader Mitch McConnell explained on and off the floor today, the Republicans want all resolutions debated, including one offered by Senator John McCain in support of the president’s plan (that also includes benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet), as well as now a separate one offered by Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire.

Reid warned that even if Republicans continued to block debate, “you can run but you can’t hide…. They may stop us temporarily from debating the escalation.” But, he predicted, it will come up again and again in amendments on other legislation going forward.

Wild Thing's comment......

LOL sorry but they used the word "robust' to describe how passionate the Republicans are about this. Er ah some of the Republicans are about this. Gosh I wish the word robust had described our Republican leadership when we were in the majority.

sigh

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (8)

Half of Insurgents in Iraq Come From Syria

Iraq says half of extremists come from Syria

BAGHDAD
Focus on Iraq

" Half the extremists who commit bomb attacks in Iraq come from Syria", Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh said on Saturday.

“What we see on the streets of Baghdad, 50 percent of it is coming from Syria. I confirm that 50 percent of murders and bombings are by Arab extremists coming from Syria,” Dabbagh said.

“They come from Syria, we have evidence to prove it. We have already proved it to our brothers in Syria.

“We want to tell all Arabs now that those who call themselves mujahedeen come from Syria, and murder our oppressed population this way.”

Dabbagh’s remarks came after a suicide bombing in a central Baghdad market killed 127 people and wounded 305.

The attack was the biggest since November 23 car bombings in the Shiite district of Sadr City left more than 200 people dead.

Dabbagh also pressed Syria to hand over suspects wanted for carrying out attacks in Iraq.

A number of top former regime officials have reportedly found refuge in Syria and many of them are on Iraq’s most wanted list.

The US military has repeatedly accused Damascus of turning a blind eye to foreign fighters slipping across the border to join the insurgency dogging US troops in Iraq.

Wild Thing's comment.......

We won't need uniforms to distinguish friend or foe ... there will only be one faction ... foe ... and that, to me, is an open invitation for the establishment of a glass factory.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (5)

January 31, 2007

Laser Technology Ray-Gun For Military In The Works

This image shows Northrop Grumman Corporation's concept of an Future Combat Systems-class Army ground-combat armored vehicle with a solid-state laser that would be used to defeat incoming threats like mortars and rockets.

Strategy Page

The American Northrop Grumman Corporation has just opened the first ray-gun factory. Officially, the plant will build high-energy, solid-state lasers and figure out how to install them in military vehicles. The first weapon being produced is the JHPSSL (Joint High-Power Solid State Laser), a 100 kW solid-state laser. The JHPSSL is to be mounted on armored vehicles and in aircraft. JHPSSL is basically an anti-aircraft and anti-missile system. It has already demonstrated that it can destroy artillery and mortar shells, as well as rockets and cruise missiles. Israel is interested in using JHPSSL as part of its rocket defense system. Ray guns have long been a staple of science fiction, and when the first lasers appeared in the 1950s, science fiction writers just assumed that many of their ray guns were "lasers." All this is not quite science fiction any more, mainly because it will take another decade or so before you have a hand held laser.

And a second link regarding this topic.Northrop Grumman Please continue at this link for more information. Thank you.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been selected to develop "military-grade," solid-state laser technology that is expected to pave the way for the U.S. military to incorporate high-energy laser systems across all services, including ships, manned and unmanned aircraft, and ground vehicles.

Wild Thing's comment......

Ray guns, Rayguns, Reaguns, Reagans, Reagan = Ronaldo Maximus' Strategic Defense Initiative = SDI = Star Wars = Democrats said NO! But now they are doing this so good.

100KW solid state LASER. Talk about your killer lightshow.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (7)

Pentagon Stops F-14 Parts Sales Amid Iran Concerns

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Tuesday said it had stopped selling surplus parts for the F-14 fighter jet, saying it was the "right thing to do," given congressional concerns that some parts could land in the hands of Iran.

Iran, which is facing strong Western opposition to its nuclear program, is the only country still flying the F-14, also called the Tomcat, since the U.S. military retired the plane in July.

The Pentagon's Defense Logistics Agency said it halted sales of certain sensitive F-14 parts in February 2006, but the ban now covered all F-14 parts until the government completed a comprehensive review of what to do with them.

"It was the right thing to do," said Dawn Dearden, spokeswoman for the Pentagon agency, citing what she called "the situation in Iran." The West accuses Iran of seeking to build atomic bombs, a charge Tehran denies, saying it only wants to make electricity.

The Pentagon's move took effect on Friday, and came after congressional criticism of security weaknesses that gave buyers for Iran access to the aircraft parts. The agency did not disclose details of those incidents. It formerly held liquidation sales of surplus parts.

The earlier halt in sales affected what the agency called "unique" F-14 parts and those "deemed critical to F-14 operations" that could be used for other aircraft.

Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and member of the Senate intelligence committee, has written legislation to eliminate all Pentagon sales of F-14 parts saying weaknesses in security allowed buyers for countries including Iran and China to obtain sensitive military equipment, including F-14 parts.

The bill would also ban previous buyers who already had surplus F-14 parts from exporting them to third parties.

Wild Thing's comment.......

About time and how could they have let it occurr in the first place?

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (11)

January 29, 2007

Incoming For Those 72 Virgins As 300 Insurgents Killed in Battle

At Least 250 Militants Killed During Battle in Iraq
Fox News

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S.-backed Iraqi troops on Sunday attacked insurgents allegedly plotting to kill pilgrims at a major Shiite Muslim religious festival, and Iraqi officials estimated some 250 militants died in the daylong battle near Najaf.

Authorities said Iraqi soldiers supported by U.S. aircraft fought all day with a large group of insurgents in the Zaraq area, about 12 miles northeast of the Shiite holy city of Najaf.

Col. Ali Nomas, spokesman for Iraqi security forces in Najaf, said more than 250 corpses had been found. Iraqi army Maj. Gen. Othman al-Ghanemi also spoke of 250 dead but said an exact number would not be released until Monday. He said 10 gunmen had been captured, including one Sudanese.

The U.S. command announced the arrest of 21 suspected terrorists, including an Al Qaeda courier, in a series of raids in Baghdad and Sunni areas north and west of the capital. Three are believed to have close ties to the leadership of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the military said.

And there is also this story I found really interesting. Cracking down on those helping the insurgents..........

Police chief sacks 1,500 officers
TimesOnline

The mayor of Baqouba and 1,500 policemen in Diyala province have been fired in a bid to end the raging violence in the region northeast of Baghdad, the provincial police chief has said. Ghanim al-Qureyshi, who took over police operations in the violent province after his predecessor was sacked last month, said Mayor Khalid Al-Senjeri, a Sunni Muslim, was dismissed over suspicions he was collaborating with Sunni insurgent fighters. Only last week, the mayor was reported kidnapped by Sunni insurgents who blew up his office in Baqouba and stole several new police vehicles. He was released a few days later. Baqouba is the Diyala province capital.

UPDATE:
It is now 2:35 a.m. on Monday and this is the latest post from Yahoo News, the number of kills is now up to 300!
U.S., Iraqi forces kill 300 militants in Najaf
The U.S. military said on Monday it was an ongoing operation so it could not provide any details.

Wild Thing's comment.......

That mortar fire came from those guys who Al Sadr told us had put all their weapons away. Let's see, how long was his word good for.... three days, maybe? I am not surprised, these people cannot tell the truth. The Quran teaches them to lie.

Putting a bacon wrapped bullet through their brains is just too good a death for them but it is a start.

Prayers for all the troops and great shooting. I love it, it's take down time. The Democrats must be really depressed right now. Too bad....NOT.... I don't feel sorry for them. Bela Pelosi and the Out-House leaders: Rangle, Dangle, Dingle & Bungle and their enforcer, Henry Whacksman were getting ready to go through the de-funding motions.

Instead, they got the first nail in their two-year coffin! LOL

Open their eyes, give 'em bloody hell, brave troops, and God Bless You!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (13)

January 28, 2007

Dutch Iraqi Suspect Flown To US

Dutch Iraqi suspect flown to US

Sunday, 28 January 2007
BBC

Dutch authorities say an Iraqi-born Dutch citizen, suspected of plotting attacks on American forces in Iraq, has been extradited to the United States. Wesam al-Delaema was put on a plane and flown to an undisclosed location in the US after losing his final appeal against extradition in December.

He is set to become the first suspect tried in a US court for allegedly plotting attacks on US forces in Iraq.

Mr Delaema denies charges of "possessing a destructive device".

Authorities say the evidence against him includes a videotape he made of Iraqi insurgents preparing a roadside bomb.

In Dutch court hearings, he argued that he was kidnapped and forced to make the video on pain of death.

Unknown destination

Mr Delaema was arrested in May 2005 in the Dutch city of Amersfoort in following a tip from US authorities.

His lawyers have argued that the US has no right to try him. They say they fear he could be tortured and will not get a fair trial.

But a Dutch judge said there was "no reason to believe that the US authorities will not abide by the commitments they have given or... deprive the suspect of his fundamental rights".

The US has given assurances that he will be tried in a federal court, not by a military commission, and can serve any sentence in the Netherlands.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

A Dutch justice ministry spokesman said on Saturday that Mr Delaema was on his way to somewhere in the US.

"Even if I knew where he is headed, I couldn't say," he said. "It's a matter for the US justice department now."

Wild Thing's comment.........

I am for Wesam al-Delaema serving his sentence while he is dead.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (4)

January 17, 2007

US Military Gear Bound For Iran, China Traced To Pentagon

Military gear bound for Iran, China traced to Pentagon surplus sales International Herald Tribune Published: January 16, 2007

WASHINGTON: Fighter jet parts and other sensitive U.S. military gear seized from front companies for Iran and brokers for China have been traced in criminal cases to a surprising source: the U.S. Defense Department.

In one case, federal investigators said, contraband bought at auction from Defense surplus stocks was delivered to Iran, which President George W. Bush had in his "axis of evil" grouping. Just Tuesday, the State Department branded Iran as the world's worst exporter of terror.

In the Iran case, a Pakistani arms broker convicted of exporting U.S. missile parts to Iran resumed business after his release from prison. He purchased Chinook helicopter engine parts for Iran from a U.S. company that had bought them in a Pentagon surplus sale. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents say those parts made it to Iran.

Sensitive military surplus items are supposed to be demilitarized, rendered useless for military purposes, or if auctioned, sold only to buyers who promise to obey U.S. arms embargoes, export controls and other laws.

Yet the surplus sales can operate like a supermarket for arms dealers.

"Right Item, Right Time, Right Place, Right Price, Every Time. Best Value Solutions for America's Warfighters," the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service says on its Web site, calling itself "the place to obtain original U.S. Government surplus property."

Federal investigators are increasingly anxious that Iran is within easy reach of a top priority on its shopping list: parts for its precious fleet of F-14 "Tomcat" fighter jets the United States let Iran buy in the 1970s when it was an ally.

In one case, convicted middlemen for Iran bought Tomcat parts from the Defense Department's surplus division. Customs agents confiscated them and returned them to the Pentagon, which sold them again, customs evidence tags still attached, to another buyer, a suspected broker for Iran.

"That would be evidence of a significant breakdown, in my view, in controls and processes," said Greg Kutz, the Government Accountability Office's head of special investigations. "It shouldn't happen the first time, let alone the second time."

This is a 3 page article, it you would like to read the entire thing, please go HERE. Thank you.

Wild Thing's comment......

Where the hell did the Pentagon think this hardware would end up? Disneyland? WTF?

OK so let's see, it could be the Pentagon is deliberately selling defective gear to Iran and China. ( ????) If not this is NOT good news.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (10)

January 13, 2007

Royal Marine Sniper Celebrates With Cigar After Killing Taliban Officer

Sniper celebrates with cigar after killing Taliban officer
news.scotsman

A ROYAL Marine sniper from Edinburgh has described marking his first kill with a cigar after "slotting" a Taliban commander from more than 1000 metres.

Crackshot Royal Marine (45 Commando) sniper Dallas Turner, 27, was among the soldiers who described their dramatic stories in their own words.

He said: "We were down in Garmsir southern Helmand on December 21 and we were in full view of the Taliban front line.

"They were firing at us all day but we could see only their heads pop up from time to time moving about their positions.

"They were hiding in abandoned compounds in the suburbs. I fired three rounds from an Afghan National Police sangar sentry post but I didn't hit anyone.

"The next day they the Taliban were back at the same position and one walked into view from behind a wall.

"He was just standing there. It was beautiful. He was only exposed a few seconds. I didn't need to adjust my rifle sights as they were set right from the previous day. Just like in training, I breathed slowly, inhaled and pulled the trigger. "

"The 338 calibre bullet travels at about 800 metres a second so it would have taken just over a second to reach him. He was hit full in the upper chest. It took him a couple of seconds to drop but I knew he was slotted dead.
"If one of these big 338 rounds hits you in the chest, even from that distance, it will cause a lethal amount of damage.

"I just graduated from sniper school late last year after nine weeks' training.

"It was my first kill. I had a cigar afterwards. I didn't lose any sleep about it. He was a Taliban commander after all."

The Taliban militants were killed and captured after ambushing a joint Nato and Afghan patrol in Mizan district in Zabul province on Sunday, said Younis Akhunzada, the district police chief.

Police also recovered four AK-47 assault rifles and two rocket-propelled grenade.

In a recent four day operation, codenamed Operation Clay, Royal Marine Commandos wiped out a vital Taliban training camp, killing dozens of fighters.

The force succeeded in securing a safe passage to a mountain dam - once the biggest source of electricity in the whole of Afghanistan.

In dramatic scenes caught on army cameras, the Marines engaged Afghan fighters as they waded through a river.

Wild Thing's comment......

Thank you to all that are in this fight against the terrorists. God bless you and keep you safe.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (10)

January 11, 2007

Ding Dong, Avon calling. BOOM!

"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long
and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival." -- Winston Churchill

From President Bush's speech

"We are also taking other steps to bolster the security of Iraq and protect American interests in the Middle East. I recently ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region. We will expand intelligence sharing – and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our friends and allies. We will work with the governments of Turkey and Iraq to help them resolve problems along their border. And we will work with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating the region."

Bush Warning and slap to Iran:

"Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity – and stabilizing the region in the face of the extremist challenge. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq."

Turbin Durbin did his best to deflat our troops. Durbin is a pig that fell over the cliff with all the demons that entered his body.

Democrats on War and Battle

Wild Thing's comment.......

But of course Teddy hasn't approved of it yet. And Harry Reid always look like an undertaker? No matter what the occasion, every time I see him I think someone in his vicinity just died. Biden will be rude and arrogant.

The Democrats want Bush to fail, the troops to fail and they eat, sleep, and breath this 24/7. Their hate has taken over their common sense. Because they have the same information we do. They know that the terrorists hate us, want us all dead, beheaded. But we will hear more of their non-stop talk, and threats of non funding our military.

Just this last thing.....lift the restrictions on the troops we have in Iraq as well thank you ever so! Let the troops do their job, and not be worrying about prosecution by anyone for doing so. How ironic is it that the moonbat protestors, liberal media spin, and Dem obstruction have actually prolonged the war. Their PC obsession of this war and how it is fought has caused MORE injuries to our troops and more deaths. Those very deaths they use, yes USE as a tool to attempt to make their sick point.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (18)

January 08, 2007

Thinking of What Might Be Down The Road

Something to think about, US Troops in Iraq to the west of Iran. US Troops to the east of Iran in Afghanistan. US Fleet in the Persian Gulf in the Arabian Sea to the South of Iran. --- Wild Thing

* General Casey is replaced by Lt Gen General David Petraeus as Commander, Multinational Force - Iraq. Gets fourth star.

* General Abizaid is replaced by Admiral William Fallon as CentCom.

* John Negroponte is replaced by Adm (ret) Mike McConnell, former Director of the NSA, as intel chief.

* Zalmay Khalilzad--an Afghan Pashtu Muslim--will be US ambassador to the U.N.

* Three US Navy battle groups are in the Persian Gulf.

* US Special Forces and Coalition naval assets are aiding Ethiopia's efforts in driving Islamists out of Somalia.

* The US has released documents proving that Iran is materially aiding both Sunni and Shiite forces in Iraq.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (8)

December 20, 2006

Commander in Chief Bush Says "We're not winning, we're not losing"

President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and said he plans to expand the overall size of the "stressed" U.S. armed forces to meet the challenges of a long-term global struggle against terrorists.

As he searches for a new strategy for Iraq, Bush has adopted the formula advanced by his top military adviser to describe the situation.

"We're not winning, we're not losing," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. The assessment was a striking reversal for a president who, days before the November elections, declared, "Absolutely, we're winning."

In another turnaround, Bush said he has ordered Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to develop a plan to increase the troop strength of the Army and Marine Corps, heeding warnings from the Pentagon and Capitol Hill that multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan are stretching the armed forces toward the breaking point. "We need to reset our military," said Bush, whose administration had opposed increasing force levels as recently as this summer.

Bush chose a different term than Powell. "I haven't heard the word 'broken,' " he said, "but I've heard the word, 'stressed.' . . . We need to reset our military. There's no question the military has been used a lot. And the fundamental question is, 'Will Republicans and Democrats be able to work with the administration to assure our military and the American people that we will position our military so that it is ready and able to stay engaged in a long war?' "

Wild Thing's comment.......

Morale alone, how do you think all the troops in Iraq feel when they hear their commander in chief telling the world that they're not winning? It's doubly bad when the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says the same thing.

Even during the worst days of the summer of 1940, Churchill never said "we aren't winning". FDR never said "we aren't winning". Neither did Lincoln during the Civil War. Acknowledging challenges and struggles is one thing. Coming out and and saying that we're not wining is another. Instead Bush should mention how Saddam and his whole regime was rolled up in a few weeks, how tens of thousands of terrorists have been killed or captured, how terrorist leaders continue to be eliminated!! the US now has Iran and Syria encircled by air, ground and naval units orders of magnitude greater than they were on 9/10/01.

For entire article you can read it here.......

U.S. Not Winning War in Iraq, Bush Says for 1st Time
President Plans to Expand Army, Marine Corps To Cope With Strain of Multiple Deployments

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 20, 2006; A01

As he searches for a new strategy for Iraq, Bush has now adopted the formula advanced by his top military adviser to describe the situation. "We're not winning, we're not losing," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. The assessment was a striking reversal for a president who, days before the November elections, declared, "Absolutely, we're winning."

But in a wide-ranging session in the Oval Office, the president said he interpreted the Democratic election victories six weeks ago not as a mandate to bring the U.S. involvement in Iraq to an end but as a call to find new ways to make the mission there succeed. He confirmed that he is considering a short-term surge in troops in Iraq, an option that top generals have resisted out of concern that it would not help.

A substantial military expansion will take years and would not immediately affect the war in Iraq. But it would begin to address the growing alarm among commanders about the state of the armed forces. Although the president offered no specifics, other U.S. officials said the administration is preparing plans to bolster the nation's permanent active-duty military with as many as 70,000 additional troops.

A force structure expansion would accelerate the already-rising costs of war. The administration is drafting a supplemental request for more than $100 billion in additional funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, on top of the $70 billion already approved for this fiscal year, according to U.S. officials. That would be over 50 percent more than originally projected for fiscal 2007, making it by far the costliest year since the 2003 invasion.

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress has approved more than $500 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for terrorism-related operations elsewhere. An additional $100 billion would bring overall expenditures to $600 billion, exceeding those for the Vietnam War, which, adjusted for inflation, cost $549 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service.

For all the money, commanders have grown increasingly alarmed about the burden of long deployments and the military's ability to handle a variety of threats around the world simultaneously. Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, warned Congress last week that the active-duty Army "will break" under the strain of today's war-zone rotations. Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell, a retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on CBS News's "Face the Nation" on Sunday that "the active Army is about broken."

Democrats have been calling for additional troops for years. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) proposed an increase of 40,000 troops during his 2004 campaign against Bush, only to be dismissed by the administration. As recently as June, the Bush administration opposed adding more troops because restructuring "is enabling our military to get more war-fighting capability from current end strength."

But Bush yesterday had changed his mind. "I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops -- the Army, the Marines," he said. "And I talked about this to Secretary Gates, and he is going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building, come back with a recommendation to me about how to proceed forward on this idea."

In describing his decision, Bush tied it to the broader struggle against Islamic extremists around the world rather than to Iraq specifically. "It is an accurate reflection that this ideological war we're in is going to last for a while and that we're going to need a military that's capable of being able to sustain our efforts and to help us achieve peace," he said.

Democrats pounced on Bush's comments. "I am glad he has realized the need for increasing the size of the armed forces . . . but this is where the Democrats have been for two years," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), the new House Democratic Caucus chairman. Kerry issued a statement calling Bush's move a "pragmatic step needed to deal with the warnings of a broken military," but he noted that he opposes increasing troops in Iraq. Even before news of Bush's interview, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters that the military is "bleeding" and "we have to apply the tourniquet and strengthen the forces."

The Army has already temporarily increased its force level from 482,000 active-duty soldiers in 2001 to 507,000 today and soon to 512,000. But the Army wants to make that 30,000-soldier increase permanent and then add between 20,000 and 40,000 more on top of that, according to military and civilian officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Every additional 10,000 soldiers would cost about $1.2 billion a year, according to the Army. Because recruitment and training take time, officials cautioned that any boost would not be felt in a significant way until at least 2008.

Bush, who has always said that the United States is headed for victory in Iraq, conceded yesterday what Gates, Powell and most Americans in polls have already concluded. "An interesting construct that General Pace uses is, 'We're not winning, we're not losing,' " Bush said, referring to Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the Joint Chiefs chairman, who was spotted near the Oval Office before the interview. "There's been some very positive developments. . . . [But] obviously the real problem we face is the sectarian violence that needs to be dealt with."

Asked yesterday about his "absolutely, we're winning" comment at an Oct. 25 news conference, the president recast it as a prediction rather than an assessment. "Yes, that was an indication of my belief we're going to win," he said.

Bush said he has not yet made a decision about a new strategy for Iraq and would wait for Gates to return from a trip there to assess the situation. "I need to talk to him when he gets back," Bush said. "I've got more consultations to do with the national security team, which will be consulting with other folks. And I'm going to take my time to make sure that the policy, when it comes out, the American people will see that we . . . have got a new way forward."

Among the options under review by the White House is sending 15,000 to 30,000 more troops to Iraq for six to eight months. The idea has the support of important figures such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and has been pushed by some inside the White House, but the Joint Chiefs have balked because they think advocates have not adequately defined the mission, according to U.S. officials.

The chiefs have warned that a short-term surge could lead to more attacks against U.S. troops, according to the officials, who described the review on the condition of anonymity because it is not complete. Bush would not discuss such ideas in detail but said "all options are viable."

While top commanders question the value of a surge, they have begun taking moves that could prepare for one, should Bush order it. Defense officials said yesterday that the U.S. Central Command has made two separate requests to Gates for additional forces in the Middle East, including an Army brigade of about 3,000 troops to be used as a reserve force in Kuwait and a second Navy carrier strike group to move to the Persian Gulf.

Gates has yet to approve the moves, which could increase U.S. forces in the region by as many as 10,000 troops, officials said. The previous theater reserve force, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was recently moved to Iraq's Anbar province to help quell insurgent violence. Gen. George W. Casey, the U.S. commander in Iraq, has called for the additional brigade -- likely the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division -- to be positioned to move into Iraq hotspots if needed.

The additional carrier strike group would give Gen. John P. Abizaid, head of the Central Command, more flexibility in a volatile region, said one official. While such a move would certainly send a pointed message to Iran, the official said it would also allow additional strike capabilities in Iraq.

Staff writers Robin Wright, Lori Montgomery, Josh White, Ann Scott Tyson, Michael Abramowitz and Walter Pincus contributed to this report.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (21)

December 18, 2006

U.S. Forces 'losing' In Iraq, Powell Says

Herald Tribune

The former secretary of state Colin Powell said Sunday that badly overstretched U.S. forces in Iraq were losing the war there and that a temporary U.S. troop surge probably would not help.

"There really are no additional troops" to send, Powell said, adding that he agreed with those who say that the U.S. Army is "about broken."

"We are losing — we haven't lost — and this is the time, now, to start to put in place the kinds of strategies that will turn this situation around," Powell said on CBS-TV.

Wild Thing's comment....

Can't these people just wait to see what Bush will decide to do and then rip it apart later? We know they will no matter what Bush decided. But for Powell to say our troops are " losing in Iraq" makes me furious.

Our troops fought hard and got to Baghdad, they HAVE won and taken out many of the top officials, including the arrest of Saddam. That is not losing in Iraq in my opinion. Powell could have made his comments in a different way without saying U.S. Forces are losing in Iraq. It gives an entirely different connotation to what has actually happened, not only in Iraq but also in Afghanistan.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (15)

They Call Him Lucky

Iraqi translator for US forces Omar Satar Hussein opens the door of an armored US Humvee, west of the restive city of Baquba, northeast of Baghdad. Nicknamed "Lucky" by US soldiers for surviving many explosions of improvised explosive devices (IED), mortar attacks and gunfights, Hussein has been cast out by all of his family and friends who consider him a traitor and a collaborator because of his work with the US forces.(AFP/File/Patrick Fort)

'Lucky' Iraqi translator has America and little else

BAQUBA, Iraq (AFP) - Omar Satar Hussein -- an Iraqi working as a translator for the US army -- goes by the nickname "Lucky", having survived, by his count, 37 shootings, 30 bombings and 11 mortar strikes.

He's also lost everything he ever cared about in the world: his family, his fiancee and his friends.

"I didn't choose my nickname. Everyone just started to call me that," he said. "Yeah, I'm lucky with my job. I've survived many attacks, but I'm very unlucky with my private life."

The life of an interpreter for the US army in Iraq is not an easy one. From social ostracism to death at the hands of insurgents, the job is fraught with risk.

"Everybody in Baquba knows my job -- I work for the Americans," said Lucky, who, alone among his translator colleagues, does not wear a mask to conceal his identity.

"I have no family anymore. My grandfather told me that I didn't belong anymore, so America is all I have."

Hailing from the restive city of Baquba in Iraq's Diyala province, now the scene of vicious sectarian battles and confessional cleansing, Hussein first learned English in school, but mastered the language from old music cassettes.

Abba, Bryan Adams, Lionel Richie all helped him along his linguistic journey. To this day, his favorite song is the Bee Gees' "Staying Alive".

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (2)

Troops Still Finding Mass Graves

Iraqis dig the site of a mass grave discovered at an area 20 Km south of the holy city of Karbala, central Iraq.

The remains of bodies found buried in a mass grave in Kerbala

Wild Thing's comment......

They are still finding these mass graves and all I can think of is how so many on the left have said we should have left Saddam in power.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM

December 15, 2006

White House: Syrian Visits Hurt Progress

Sen.John Kerry meets with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Al Itahedeya Palace in Cairo December 14, 2006. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT)

White House: Syrian and Other Visits Hurt Progress

Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON — The White House said Thursday that trips to Syria by U.S. lawmakers are a public relations victory for a government that is thwarting democratic reform in the Middle East.

The Bush administration has tried to discourage lawmakers from going to Syria, White House press secretary Tony Snow said. "We think it's inappropriate."

Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Fla., emerged from a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Wednesday, saying Assad was willing to help control the Iraq-Syrian border. Nelson said he viewed Assad's remarks as "a crack in the door for discussions to continue. I approach this with realism, not optimism."

Snow said the trip by Nelson, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, and future visits to Syria expected by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., send an unhelpful, mixed message to the Syrians.

"We want to make sure that they understand that just because they have visitors does not mean that the position of the United States government has changed," Snow said.

Taking issue with the White House, Dodd said in a statement that members of Congress "need to go to hotspots not just garden spots. I can't think of a more critical part of the world than the Middle East and I can't think of a more critical player in affecting events in the region for good or for bad than Syria."

Kerry spokesman David Wade said the senators were engaged in fact finding, not negotiating. "If Ronald Reagan could talk to the `evil empire,' surely United States senators with a responsibility to American troops can visit Syria," Wade said, referring to Reagan's description of the former Soviet Union.

The bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended that the administration engage in direct talks with Syria, but President Bush has reacted coolly to that suggestion.

"The point is that even lending a further specter of legitimacy to that government undermines the cause of democracy in the region," Snow said about Nelson's trip.

Nelson's spokesman Dan McLaughlin called the remarks a "baseless attack" and said the White House was producing the "same old tired, mean-spirited partisan politics" that were unhelpful to the situation in Iraq. McLaughlin defended Nelson's trip as par for the course for a senator who sits on three oversight committees: Armed Services, Foreign Relations and Intelligence.

"In Syria, he met with a man he's met with twice before _ not to negotiate, which is the president's job, but to talk and gather facts and report back to Congress and the State Department," McLaughlin said. "Senators meet with heads of state all the time."

The United States has limited diplomatic ties with Syria because of its support of Hezbollah and Hamas, which the United States considers terrorist organizations. Bush expressed reluctance to seek help from Damascus on Iraq until the Syrian government curbs that support and reduces its influence in Lebanon.

"The Syrians should have absolutely no doubt that the position of the United States government is the same as it has been," Snow said

And another example of this
treason:

Kerry criticizes Bush in Egypt

Senator John Kerry, visiting Egypt Thursday during a tour of the Middle East, accused the Bush administration of neglecting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Kerry met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and said they discussed Iraq as well as the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

"I have always believed that the Middle East peace process is the critical issue of the region, and it has not been focused on for the past 6-7 years adequately," the Massachusetts Democrat told reporters after meeting Mubarak. "I think there has been a huge loss of opportunities."

Kerry, who narrowly lost to President Bush in the 2004 election, is also planning to visit Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel.

The senator said he agreed with the recommendation of the Iraq Study Group that the U.S. should engage adversaries such as Iran and Syria in trying to curb the conflict in Iraq. The recommendation was contained in the report by the bipartisan commission to the White House last week.

"I think it is important to talk and have a dialogue, but you don't give up our principles and you don't make deals that are against your larger interest. Syria needs to understand that and also Iran, but I think it is important to begin a discussion," Kerry said.

President Bush has expressed reluctance to seek help from Syria or Iran on Iraq because of their support for militant groups as well as Syria's alleged interference in Lebanon and Iran's suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Wild Thing's comment......

The Logan Act:

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

Now, somebody explain to me why these sons of bitches should not be arrrested for treason when they reenter the US. They are traitors every damned one of them. They know better than this. What happens if a Senator goes there and makes promises he cant keep.What happens when Leaky leahy goes there and divulges secrets.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (9)

December 14, 2006

Iraq News Item

Iraq’s Former Prime Minister Calls for Martial Law

Iraq

Former Iraqi Prime Minister, Ayad Allawi has called for martial law to be declared in Iraq to help stem the flow of violence. Ayad Allawi is the first major Iraqi leader to suggest such draconian measures.

Allawi, in an interview with NBC News said “I think martial law is required” and added “I pray to God that we don't lose, because the other alternative is going to be the prevalence of extremism and terrorism.”

Just hours after his initial comments, 70 people were killed and an estimated 220 injured by car bombs at Tayaran Square, just several hundred yards away from the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:44 AM | Comments (2)

December 11, 2006

Iraqi Politicians In Talks To Replace Maliki

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks to the media during a press conference following a meeting with foreign ambassadors.

Iraqi Politicians in Talks to Replace to Maliki as PM

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Major partners in Iraq's governing coalition are in behind-the-scenes talks to oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki amid discontent over his failure to quell raging violence, according to lawmakers involved.

The talks are aimed at forming a new parliamentary bloc that would seek to replace the current government and that would likely exclude supporters of the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is a vehement opponent of the U.S. military presence.

The new alliance would be led by senior Shiite politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who met with President Bush last week. Al-Hakim, however, was not expected to be the next prime minister because he prefers the role of powerbroker, staying above the grinding day-to-day running of the country.

A key figure in the proposed alliance, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab, left for Washington on Sunday for a meeting with Bush at least three weeks ahead of schedule.

News of the bid to oust al-Maliki, in office since May, came amid growing dissent over his government's performance among his Sunni and Shiite partners and the damaging fallout from a leaked White House memo questioning the prime minister's abilities.

Washington also has been unhappy with al-Maliki's reluctance to comply with its repeated demands to disband Shiite militias blamed for much of Iraq's sectarian bloodletting.

Bush publicly expressed his confidence in al-Maliki after talks in Jordan on Nov. 30. But the president told White House reporters four days later that he was not satisfied with the pace of efforts to stop Iraq's violence.

It was not immediately clear how much progress had been made in the effort to cobble together a new parliamentary alliance. But lawmakers loyal to al-Sadr who support al-Maliki were almost certainly not going to be a part of it. They had no word on al-Maliki's Dawa party.

They said al-Maliki was livid at the attempt to unseat him.

"We know what's going on and we will sabotage it," said a close al-Maliki aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivities involved. He did not elaborate.

A senior aide to al-Sadr, who insisted on anonymity for the same reason, said the proposed alliance was primarily designed to exclude the cleric's backers and they would resist.

Wild Thing's comment......

Maliki had better get out of bed with Al Sadr, or he is going to be toast. And Hakim is very close to Iran as is his militia. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the Shiite cleric heads the SCIRI party. (“SCIRI” stands for “Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) He is a real slippery snake well engrossed in Iranian influences.

It will be interesting to see what they are planning. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens next.

One thng for sure they have got to get rid of al_Sadr.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (8)

December 10, 2006

Woman Spits in Soldier's Face

Syracuse radio station WFBL reports that Lauren Maggi, 35, of Thurber Street was charged with harassment for spitting in a soldier's face at Hancock Airport.

The incident happened over the Thanksgiving holiday. Maggi approached a soldier from the 10th Mountain Division, who apparently was not in uniform, and asked if he was a soldier. When he said yes, Maggi allegedly spit in his face.

WFBL's news service is supplied by television station WTVH, which has nothing posted yet about the incident on its website. Syracuse.com carries this blurb:

• Woman accused of spitting on soldier A Syracuse woman was charged after a Fort Drum soldier accused her of spitting on him without provocation at Hancock Airport, Syracuse police said.

On January 18 of this year, Lauren Maggi, 34, of Thurber Street, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Someone tell me again about how the Left supports the troops, but not their mission.

Update: More details

Jason Jones, 21, told police a woman he did not know walked up to him near the United Airlines ticket counter, asked him if he was a Fort Drum solider and, when he responded that he was, spat in his face.

Police searched the airport garage and located a woman fitting the description that Jones provided, who was later identified as Maggi. Police escorted her into the terminal, where Jones identified her as the woman who had spit on him. A second soldier on the scene supported Jones' accusation, police said.

Maggi offered no explanation for her conduct, police said. She could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

And then there is also this on the woman.

Police Blotter
Thursday, February 02, 2006

Syracuse Police Endangering the welfare of a child Lauren Maggi,34, of 256 Thurber St., Syracuse, Jan. 18. Charged at 256 Thurber St., Syracuse.

Wild Thing's comment......

This is an outrage that brave American soldiers have suffered, sacrified and died....for over 200 years...so that the sorry-assed likes of this loser could have the freedom to behave like this. I cannot comprehend, at all, people like this.

I wish with all my heart they would punish her.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (19)

December 09, 2006

Annan Urges Inclusion Of Iran In Talks

U.N. (AP) Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Iran has a vested interest in a peaceful Iraq and should be part of discussions to resolve the conflict there.

Speaking to Human Rights Watch, Annan said all of Iraq's neighbors, but especially Iran, have a role to play and praised Iran's past cooperation in discussions on Afghanistan.

"If one were able to work with them in Afghanistan, why don't we try in Iraq, where they even have perhaps bigger influence?" the U.N. chief asked, noting Iran fulfilled all the promises it made during the Afghan discussions.

Annan said that although relations between Iran and the U.S. were chilly during the discussions on Afghanistan, the two "found a way of talking to each other, of going into a corner."

President Bush has resisted suggestions that his administration enter into dialogue with Iran about Iraq. The bipartisan Iraq Study Group proposed a regional conference, including Iran and Syria, in its report issued this week.

Top Shiite and Kurdish leaders oppose such a conference. But Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said this week that he would send envoys to discuss such a gathering and might agree to one if it were held in Iraq.

The Bush administration has repeatedly refused to speak directly with Iran unless it suspends uranium enrichment, which the U.S. believes is aimed at making nuclear weapons. Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful.

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, was authorized earlier this year to talk to the Iranians but only about Iraq. Iran refused.

Many, including former President Bill Clinton, have said that Iran, because of its Shiite majority and its interest in stemming the flow of Iraqi refugees across its border, can play a vital role.

"Whatever they say, whatever they do, a peaceful Iraq on their border is in (Iran's) best interest," Annan said.

There have been suggestions that Annan might serve as a broker for such a conference after his term as secretary-general ends Dec. 31. When a reporter brought it up on Friday, the U.N. chief said, to laughter from the audience, "I have plans."

On other topics, Annan said the U.N. had often failed to protect human rights, citing in particular its inability to deal with violence in Darfur.

In a clear reference to that conflict, Annan stressed that "respect for national sovereignty can no longer be used as an excuse for inaction in the face of genocide" and other atrocities. The secretary-general said he feared the pledge to "never again" remain silent about genocide was "ringing hollow."

The Security Council has insisted that U.N. peacekeepers sent to Darfur must have the consent of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Kofi is a cancer on the face of the earth. Kofi your check from Iran will be in the mail. And who the heck wants Bill Clinton having a say in any of this.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (7)

December 08, 2006

Baker Reacts To 'surrender monkey' Press ~ LOL

State James Baker (L) and former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-IN)

Baker reacts to 'surrender monkey' press

Al Qaeda leader 'in secret CIA jail'

Between prime-time Senate hearings and crowded press conferences today, elder statesman and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III was shown today's New York Post, which on the cover portrays him as a "surrender monkey."

Beneath that wartime headline are two shaggy crouched monkeys with the faces of Mr. Baker and former Rep. Lee Hamilton.

"Lovely," he said as he took the paper in his hands and reviewed it closely. "If we're getting attacked by this rag, you know we're doing something right," he said.

On the widescreen television nearby, President Bush was holding a press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr. Bush was saying how he would tell Syria to stop destabilizing things in Iraq.

Mr. Baker -- widely beloved for his skills at diplomacy -- offered no reaction to Mr. Bush's strategy. He simply picked up the New York Post, opened past the cover bearing his visage, and began reading the five pages of coverage.

Wild Thing's comment.......

LMAO he doesn't like it. Make my day.

Here is a quote by Lyn Nofziger

"Baker's a guy who's arrogant, who thought he knew better than the president," Mr. Nofziger says of Mr. Baker. "I don't think he's an honorable man. And you can quote me."

The Baker-Saudi Arabia Connection:

* In the past few years, Baker Botts--which employs about 700 lawyers, has had annual revenues of about $365 million and operates offices in Austin, Baku, Dallas, London, Moscow, New York, Riyadh and Washington, DC.

* In 2005, the firm expanded its presence in the region by opening an office in Dubai to complement the existing office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

* When two of the most powerful members of the House of Saud--the Saudi defense minister, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and his brother, Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al- Saud, the governor of Riyadh--needed lawyers to defend them against a lawsuit brought against them and other Saudis by survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Sultan and Salman hired Baker Botts.

* The Baker Botts legal team has openly acknowledged in their brief that Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has for the past 16 years approved regular payments of about $266,000 a year to the International Islamic Relief Organization—a large Saudi charity whose U.S. offices were last year raided by federal agents.

Sources: BakerBotts.com, Newsweek

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (12)

December 07, 2006

Baker - Riyadh's Man in Washington

Co-chairmen of the Iraq Study Group former Secretary of State James Baker (L) and former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-IN) hold a news conference on Capitol Hill, December 6, 2006. (Jim Young/Reuters)

IRAQ STUDY GROUP MEMBERS
All Intellectually and morally bankrupt. Nevil Chamberlin would be proud.

James Baker, co-chairman, Secretary of State under President Bush Sr

Lee Hamilton, co-chairman, ex-congressman (Democratic) who co-led 9/11 inquiry

Lawrence Eagleberger, Secretary of State under President Bush Sr

Vernon Jordan, adviser and gofer/golfer/pimp for the incidental "president" Clinton

Edwin Meese, Attorney General under President Reagan

Sandra Day O'Connor former Supreme Court justice

Leon Pannetta, Chief of Staff for President Clinton

William Perry, Defence Secretary under President Clinton

Charles Robb, former Senator (Democratic)

Alan Simpson, former Senator (Republican)

Wild Thing's comment.....

Bakers surrender plan stinks to high heaven!

Baker, hand picked the people on this committee so he could control it, dealt Israel O U T? Baker is responsible for the Oslo Accords. That set up Israel for the damned Intifada. And here we go again...Baker is yet again trying to set Israel up for destruction/annihilation; Iraq too.

Baker has always been an "Arabist". Baker wants Israel to cede the Golan Heights to Syria because he knows this will destroy Israel. Israel needs the Golan Heights as a buffer zone to keep Syria from cutting off Israel's water supply. Baker obviously knows this but doesn't care. Baker was Bush41's Secretary of State and made the famous comment, "F_ _ _ the Jews," regarding Israeli "intransigence" in surrendering to arafat's intafada. Baker's firm is representing the Saudi Regime AGAINST the families of victims of 9/11 in their lawsuit. Baker is determined to see the State of Israel eviscerated. It has been his goal for 20 years.

President Bush should stand up tall with his boots on and tell Baker to go F himself! Fight Back "W"...please! I pray Bush ignores this piece of garbage!

And another person I might as well add to my get lost list.....Gates! With his unanimous support of Senate Democrats behind his confirmation. I didn't like most of his answers, I don't like him! Gates would not get my vote.

If Bush accepts this plan, any part of it, and add in Gates, we are looking at This is an unmitigated disaster. imo
I hope he throws that Baker report in the trash.

And then of course this horrible person, Nancy Pelosi just can't wait to spew the left's agenda of their mantra that Bush lied.
(CNSNews.com) -

Nancy Pelosi, the incoming Democratic speaker of the House, on Wednesday praised the Iraq Study Group's report on the Iraq war and said the report proves "that the President's Iraq policy has failed and must be changed."

UPDATE:

...Keep in mind though that Bush has not OK'd it as of right this minute. But this is the reaction of the terrorists about POS Bakers plan.

Terrorists rejoicing over new Iraq 'plan'
Reaction to Study Group: 'Allah and his angels' responsible, 'era of Islam and of jihad' declared

JERUSALEM – A high level U.S. commission's recommendations for an eventual withdrawal from Iraq and for dialogue with Iran and Syria proves "Islamic resistance" works and America will ultimately be defeated.

The militants, from the largest Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, welcomed the policies outlined by the Iraq Study Group, which they claim recognizes Islam is the "new giant of the world."

Rest of the article HERE

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:44 AM | Comments (8)

November 30, 2006

Al-Sadr Loyalists Boycott Iraq Government

Nusrat al-Rubaie, loyalist to Muqtada al-Sadr delivers a message following the meeting in Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. Lawmakers and Cabinet ministers loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have suspended participation in parliament and the government to protest Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's summit with U.S. President George W. Bush. Poster in the background shows Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, Muqtada's late father. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Baghdad,Iraq

Lawmakers and cabinet ministers loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have suspended participation in parliament and the government to protest Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's summit with U.S. President George W. Bush.

A statement issued Wednesday by the 30 lawmakers and five Cabinet ministers said their action was necessary because the meeting constituted a "provocation to the feelings of the Iraqi people and a violation of their constitutional rights." The statement did not explain that claim.

Suspected insurgents attacked the police headquarters in downtown Baqouba, sparking a clash with police that left five of the attackers dead, police said on condition of anonymity, as they regularly do to protect themselves.

Coalition forces backed by U.S. aircraft also killed eight al-Qaida in Iraq insurgents during a raid near the city the U.S. military said.

The early morning attack was aimed at detaining Iraqis who were running a known cell of insurgents, the U.S. command said. The soldiers called in air support after coming under heavy fire from rifles and machine guns, the command said.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:48 AM

November 29, 2006

Bush Says U.S. Won't Withdraw From Iraq

President Bush Says He Won't Pull U.S. Troops Out of Iraq Before Country Is Stabilized

ABC News International

RIGA, Latvia Nov 28, 2006 (AP)— President Bush, under pressure to change direction in Iraq, said Tuesday he will not be persuaded by any calls to withdraw American troops before the country is stabilized.

"There's one thing I'm not going to do, I'm not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete," he said in a speech setting the stage for high-stakes meetings with the Iraqi prime minister later this week. "We can accept nothing less than victory for our children and our grandchildren."

A bipartisan panel on Iraq is finalizing recommendations on Iraq. The group led by former Secretary of State James Baker III and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., plan to present ideas to Bush next month.

The commissioners are expected to debate the feasibility of withdrawal timetables.

Recent U.S. elections added fuel to the argument from Democrats that U.S. soldiers need to come home. In Washington, incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that Bush must work with Democrats on stopping the violence in Iraq.

"We want to work in a bipartisan way to settle this," Pelosi said. "If the president persists on the course that he is on, that will be more difficult."

Bush has resisted troop withdrawals even while projecting the need for a different approach.

"We'll continue to be flexible and we'll make the changes necessary to succeed," the president said.

Bush pushed back against skeptics of his goal of spreading freedom across the Middle East. "I understand these doubts but I do not share them," the president said.

Bush has two days of meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki later in the week.

Earlier Tuesday, Bush blamed the escalating bloodshed in Iraq on an al-Qaida plot to stoke cycles of sectarian revenge, and refused to debate whether the country has fallen into civil war.

Bush said he will ask al-Maliki to explain his plan for quelling the violence.

"The Maliki government is going to have to deal with that violence and we want to help them do so," the president said. "It's in our interest that we succeed."

Directly seeking help from Iran and Syria with Iraq, as part of new, aggressive diplomacy throughout the region, is expected to be among the recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton group.

But Bush repeated his administration's reluctance to talk with two nations it regards as pariah states working to destabilize the Middle East.

Far from reaching out to Iran and Syria, Bush also denounced them for trying to destabilize the fragile, Western-backed government in Lebanon.

"That government is being undermined, in my opinion, by extremist forces encouraged out of Syria and Iran," Bush said. "Why? Because a democracy will be a major defeat for those who articulate extremist points of view."

Meanwhile, a U.S. intelligence official said the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon is believed to be training small groups of Iraqis affiliated with anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. As many as 2,000 fighters from Sadr's Mahdi army or his splinter militia may have been trained since the fall of Saddam Hussein. In addition, Hezbollah fighters have gone to Iraq to train Shiite fighters there.

Complete article is HERE.

Wild Thing's comment........

Yesterday's post "What Happened To Let's WIN".... had great comments. And I wanted to I thank you all for them so much, they were wonderful and right on target.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (2)

November 22, 2006

Death penalty approved for Akbar

Sgt. Hasan Akbar, shown here in 2005, was convicted of killing two U.S. officers and wounding 14 others March 23, 2003, at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.

Death penalty approved for Akbar

Army Times

The death sentence for convicted murderer Sgt. Hasan Akbar was approved late last week at Fort Bragg, N.C., by Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, commander if XXVIII Airborne Corps and court martial convening authority in the case.

Akbar was sentenced to death in April 2005 by unanimous vote of a military panel for the March 23, 2003, grenade attack that killed Capt. Christopher Seifert and Maj. Gregory Stone.

The grenade attack, which also wounded 14 others, took place at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait, where the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, was preparing to cross the berm into Iraq.

Akbar lobbed grenades into three tents while members of the brigade slept, and then fired shots at those who emerged from the smoky blasts.

Approval of the death penalty means that Akbar’s case will automatically go to appeal and be reviewed by the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and ultimately could end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.

“He can’t be executed until the president gives a firm OK,” said military law expert Eugene Fidell, who is not involved in the Akbar case.

However, he added, Akbar’s case will likely be in appeals for some time to come.

“Experience teaches that this case will not be over while Mr. Bush is in office,” Fidell said.

Wild Thing's comment......

Hang him now, stop this insane length of time please to get rid of this killer of our troops.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (6)

November 10, 2006

MI5 Chief's Warning On Terrorism

MI5 chief's warning on terrorism

MI5 knows of 30 terror plots and is keeping 1,600 individuals under surveillance, the security service's head has said.

In a speech to academics Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller said the terror threat was "serious" and "growing" and would be "with us for a generation".

She warned future terrorists could mount chemical or nuclear attacks.

Tory security spokesman Patrick Mercer said the UK needed more "spooks and secret agents" to tackle the problem.

MI5 has increased in size by nearly 50% since 9/11 and now stands at roughly 2,800 staff.

But according to Dame Eliza the concern is that even with this rapid growth it will not be able to investigate nearly enough of the activity that is currently under way in the UK. She said hard choices would have to be made about resources.

Dame Eliza's warning comes days after a UK man was sentenced to at least 40 years in jail for planning a series of attacks.

Attacks planned by Dhiren Barot, 34, from London, included using a so-called "dirty bomb" using radioactive material.

Dame Eliza, who rarely speaks in public, gave a speech to a small audience on Thursday, detailing what she believes her organisation and the UK is facing.

She said that, since the 7 July bombings, five further major conspiracies in the UK had been thwarted.

"Today, my officers and the police are working to contend with some 200 groupings or networks, totalling over 1,600 identified individuals - and there will be many we don't know - who are actively engaged in plotting, or facilitating, terrorist acts here and overseas," she said.

"What we see at the extreme end of the spectrum are resilient networks, some directed from al-Qaeda in Pakistan, some more loosely inspired by it, planning attacks including mass casualty suicide attacks in the UK.

"Today we see the use of home-made improvised explosive devices.

"Tomorrow's threat may - I suggest will - include the use of chemicals, bacteriological agents, radioactive materials and even nuclear technology."

Out of the 200 or so groups being watched by MI5, a smaller subset are of the highest priority because its feared that they are plotting actual attacks.

"We are aware of numerous plots to kill people and to damage our economy. What do I mean by numerous? Five? Ten?

"No, nearer 30 that we currently know of.

"These plots often have linked back to al-Qaeda in Pakistan and through those links al-Qaeda gives guidance and training to its largely British foot soldiers here on an extensive and growing scale."

Of the 30 plots some may turn out to be less credible or advanced but it's hard to be sure until they are fully investigated. And that takes resources.

"Because of the sheer scale of what we face - my service has seen an 80% increase in casework since January - the task is daunting.

"It is the youth who are being actively targeted, groomed, radicalised and set on a path that frighteningly quickly could end in their involvement in mass murder of their fellow UK citizens," she warned.

"Young teenagers are being groomed to be suicide bombers."

Wild Thing's comment.......

So um how will Pelosi, Kerry, Murtha and company tackle this problem? By cutting spending and showing more "compassion"? .....To the terrorist gripes?

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:44 AM | Comments (4)

November 06, 2006

NO Surprises Here ~ UN Says Let Saddam Live

UN criticizes Saddam Hussein's death penalty

JPost.com

The UN on Sunday criticized the decision to sentence Saddam Hussein to death, calling upon local authorities to refuse the to hang the ex-leader.

UN Human Rights Commission head Louise Arbour said that the "appeal process is reliable and a vital part of the fair judicial procedure." Army Radio reported. She said that "the results of the appeal will what they will be," and Arbour expressed hope that the Iraqi government would suspend its death sentence.

Wild Thing's comment......

Kofi and his gang, grew rich from the corruption of Iraq's oil for food program. Naturally, they do not want to see their benefactor and business partner swing at the end of a rope.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:57 AM | Comments (5)

Video of Saddam Sentenced To Hang

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (3)

November 05, 2006

Saddam DEATH by Hanging ~ Just Annouced 4 Seconds Ago

Hussein sentenced to death

(AP)Saddam Hussein was sentenced Sunday to death by hanging for his role in a brutal crackdown nearly 25 years ago in Dujail. A five-member tribunal is meeting amid heavy security and sweeping curfews in Baghdad and elsewhere, as authorities brace for violent reactions.

Iraq's High Tribunal on Sunday found Saddam Hussein guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to hang, as the visibly shaken former leader shouted "God is great!"

His half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of the former Revolutionary Court, were sentenced to join Saddam on the gallows.

After the verdict was read, a trembling Saddam yelled out, "Life for the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!"

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison. Three other co-defendants were convicted of murder and torture and sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. One defendant was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Baghdad was under a total curfew to guard against violence and shops were shuttered and pedestrians and vehicles almost completely absent from the streets of the city of 6 million people.

Iraqi security forces and U.S. troops mounted additional patrols, but no major incidents had been reported by midmorning, said police Maj. Mahir Hamad Mousa of the al-Khansa station in Baghdad's Jadeeda district.

"There is close cooperation between Iraqi and coalition forces in maintaining the curfew," Mousa said. "We have fully prepared for this duty," he said.

The verdict's announcement marks a political and social watershed for Iraqis who endured more than two decades of brutal rule under the former leader.

A guilty verdict would likely enrage hard-liners among Saddam's fellow Sunnis, who made up the bulk of the former ruling class. The country's majority Shiites, who were persecuted under the former leader but now largely control the government, will likely view such an outcome as a cause of celebration.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants had been tried over a wave of revenge killings carried out in the city of Dujail following a 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam, and Saddam faces additional charges over an alleged massacre of Kurdish civilians.

Even with the verdict imminent, Saddam's lawyers and some Sunni politicians called for the court proceedings to be suspended.

"It has become clear to the Iraqi people and the whole world that this court is politicized 100 percent," Salih al-Mutlaq, head of the second largest Sunni parliamentarian block, told the Doha-based al-Jazeera satellite channel.

Al-Mutlaq accused the U.S. and Iraqi governments of interfering with the work of the court and said a verdict would further polarize Iraqi society, already traumatized by sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunnis.

"This verdict will be the last nail in the coffin of the national reconciliation plan and the political process," al-Mutlaq said. "I call upon Arab leaders and ... to interfere for the sake of Iraq's unity."

The head of another prominent Sunni group, Harith al-Dhari, said any verdict should be delayed until after the departure of U.S. forces, who toppled Saddam following their March 2003 invasion of the country.

"If this court issues the verdict, I would consider it to be illegal, illegitimate and political," al-Dhari told al-Arabiya, viewed throughout the Arab world.

Echoing those sentiments, the Association of Muslim Scholars, a hard-line Sunni clerical group, demanded that Saddam's trial be postponed until "the occupation leaves."

One of Saddam's lawyers, former Qatari justice minister Najeeb al-Nu'aimi, said Saddam and his co-defendants had not been given sufficient time to present their cases.

"The court is not neutral. It lacks legitimacy," al-Nu'aimi said.

The curfew was only lightly observed in Baghdad's sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City, where the Mahdi Army militia of radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr holds sway.

Local police commander Col. Hassan Challoub said special reaction teams made up of the Iraqi police, army and the Interior Ministry commandos units are on patrol in the city.

"No incident and nothing abnormal is reported so far," Challoub said.

Posted by Wild Thing at 04:04 AM | Comments (9)

November 03, 2006

NYT ~ Saddam's Scientists On Verge Of Building Atom Bomb in 2002

U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Guide

New York Times <<<<<....and for complete article
Mideast Edition
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: November 3, 2006

NYT REPORTING FRIDAY, SOURCES SAY: Federal government set up Web site — Operation Iraqi Freedom Document Portal — to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war; detailed accounts of Iraq's secret nuclear research; a 'basic guide to building an atom bomb'... Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency fear the information could help Iran develop nuclear arms... contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that the nuclear experts say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums

New York Times put on the front page that IRAQ HAD A NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM AND WAS PLOTTING TO BUILD AN ATOMIC BOMB?

The New York Times tells how in 2002 Saddam Hussein's "scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away:"

Among the dozens of documents in English were Iraqi reports written in the 1990's and in 2002 for United Nations inspectors in charge of making sure Iraq abandoned its unconventional arms programs after the Persian Gulf war.
Experts say that at the time, Mr. Hussein's scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away.

Had the United States not eliminated this threat, today we would be facing a nuclear armed Iraq and possibly a nuclear armed Iran.

Shocker: New York Times Confirms Iraqi Nuclear Weapons Program
Jim Geraghty
National Review Online

What? Wait a minute. The entire mantra of the war critics has been "no WMDs, no WMDs, no threat, no threat", for the past three years solid. Now we're being told that the Bush administration erred by making public information that could help any nation build an atomic bomb.

Let's go back and clarify: IRAQ HAD NUCLEAR WEAPONS PLANS SO ADVANCED AND DETAILED THAT ANY COUNTRY COULD HAVE USED THEM.

I think the Times editors are counting on this being spun as a "Boy, did Bush screw up" meme; the problem is, to
do it, they have to knock down the "there was no threat in Iraq" meme, once and for all. Because obviously, Saddam could have sold this information to anybody, any other state, or any well-funded terrorist group that had publicly pledged to kill millions of Americans and had expressed interest in nuclear arms. You know, like, oh... al-Qaeda.

The New York Times just tore the heart out of the antiwar argument, and they are apparently completely oblivous
to it.

The antiwar crowd is going to have to argue that the information somehow wasn't dangerous in the hands of Saddam Hussein, but was dangerous posted on the Internet. It doesn't work. It can't be both no threat to America and yet also somehow a threat to America once it's in the hands of Iran. Game, set, and match.

Having now read it, I can see that every stop has been pulled out to ensure that a reader will believe that posting these documents was a strategic blunder of the first order.

But the story retains its own inherent contradiction: The information in these documents is so dangerous, that every step must be taken to ensure it doesn't end up in the wrong hands... except for topping the regime that actually has the documents.

(By the way, is it just me, or is the article entirely devoid of any indication that Iran actually accessed the documents? This threat that, "You idiot! Iran could access all the documents!" is entirely speculative. If the government servers hosting the web site have signs that Iranian web browsers accessed those pages, it's a different story; my guess is somebody already knows the answer to that question.)

I'm still kinda blown away by this paragraph:

Among the dozens of documents in English were Iraqi reports written in the 1990’s and in 2002 for United Nations inspectors in charge of making sure Iraq abandoned its unconventional arms programs after the Persian Gulf war. Experts say that at the time, Mr. Hussein’s scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away.

Is this sentence referring to 1990, before the Persian Gulf War? Or 2002, months before the invasion of Iraq? Because "Iraq is a year away from building a nuclear bomb" was supposed to be a myth, a lie that Bush used to trick us into war.

And yet here is the New York Times, saying that Iraq had a "how to manual" on how to build a nuclear bomb, and could have had a nuke in a year.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I used the article write up by Jim Geraghty on this it is so excellent, and as you can see only a small portion of the NY Times write up. Jim Geraghty did such a great job of it. If you wish to read the entire NYTimes article I have it availvable at the top with the first link.

Well they think this will humiliate Bush. The newest bit from Drudge is "NYT: U.S. POSTING OF IRAQ NUKE DOCS ON WEB COULD HAVE HELPED IRAN..."

But see ... the problem with the NYT thinking (beyond the obvious fact that they're traitors) is that it proves that Bush was RIGHT. The New York Times may think they are reporting another "gotcha" on Bush....but, this is THE gotcha that Bush has for all of the war in Iraq naysayers!!!

Bottom line is as simple as this, the DOCS are proof of Saddam having WMD and how he supported destruction and terrorism.

* Thank you to Sierrahome

* Flopping Aces

* Stop the ACLU

* The Dread Pundit Pluto

* Captains Quarters

* Michelle Malkin

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (16)

November 01, 2006

Project Valour IT: Marines

For those of us that love our Marines and appreciate all they do. Those of us that have Marines in our family this is a great opportunity to say thank you.

Because some of you have sons and daughters serving now, I want to give you an opportunity as well to donate to their branch with Project Valour IT.

Dates: From October 30th until November 10th (a day rich with significance for many reasons, not the least of which is that on that day in 1775 the United States Marine Corps was founded by the Continental Congress) Theodore's World or also known as PC Free Zone will carry the battle colors for the Project Valour IT Marine Corps fundraising team.

If you're a blogger, you can sign up and join a team here. You will get button code so your readers can make a donation (see below) that will be credited to your team.

If you wish to donate, you can use the button below or the one in my sidebar, or send a check (with MARINES in all caps on it!) to:

Soldiers' Angels
1150 N Loop 1604 W, Suite 108-493
San Antonio, TX 78248

Other ways to promote:

* Blog and email your friends about Valour-IT and the competition
* Tell your friends, family and neighbors about Valour-IT
* Challenge your co-workers or employer to match donations
* Consider involving clubs, churches, or charitable organizations you are involved with. Maybe your church would designate all or part of a Sunday collection. How about Scouts?
* Post flyers around your neighborhood
* If you have any contacts in the media (local or national newspapers, radio, TV, PLEASE spread the word! Point them to the Project Valour IT site

Project Valour IT offers a way for us to tell them we have not forgotten their sacrifices, and that is truly priceless.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (4)

October 30, 2006

Project Valour IT: The Few, The Proud, The Marines!

2006 Project Valour-IT Competition Starts Today

Announcement:

For those of us that love our Marines and appreciate all they do. Those of us that have Marines in our family this is a great opportunity to say thank you.

Because some of you have sons and daughters serving now, I want to give you an opportunity as well to donate to their branch with Project Valour IT.

Army would be Blackfive

Also Army at Argghhh!!!

Navy go to Chaotic Synaptic Activity

Air Force fly over to OP FOR

But it would also be nice if you also give to the Marines. I mean who doesn't just love the Marines.

What is Project Valour IT all about, you might ask?

It's grateful Americans, providing laptops with voice-activated software for severely wounded troops. The story behind this project is a moving one:

Project Valour-IT began when Captain Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss was wounded by an IED while serving as commander of a tank company in Iraq in June 2005.
During his deployment he kept a blog. Captivating writing, insightful stories of his experiences, and his self-deprecating humor won him many loyal readers. After he was wounded, his wife continued his blog, keeping his readers informed of his condition.

As he began to recover, CPT Ziegenfuss wanted to return to writing his blog, but serious hand injuries hampered his typing. When a loyal and generous reader gave him a copy of the Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred software, other readers began to realize how important such software could be to CPT Ziegenfuss' fellow wounded soldiers and started cast about for a way to get it to them.

A fellow who writes under the pseudonym FbL contacted Captain Ziegenfuss and the two realized they shared a vision of creating libraries of laptops with voice-controlled software that could be brought to the bedsides of wounded soldiers whose injuries prevented them from operating a standard computer. FbL contacted Soldiers' Angels, who offered to help develop the project, and Project Valour-IT was born.

In sharing their thoughts, CPT Ziegenfuss and FbL found that memories of their respective fathers were a motivating factor in their work with the project. Both continue their association with this project in memory of the great men in their lives whose fine examples taught them lasting lessons of courage and generosity.

If you're a blogger, you can sign up and join a team here. You will get button code so your readers can make a donation (see below) that will be credited to your team.

If you wish to donate, you can use the button below or the one in my sidebar, or send a check (with MARINES in all caps on it!) to:

Soldiers' Angels
1150 N Loop 1604 W, Suite 108-493
San Antonio, TX 78248

Other ways to promote:

Project Valour IT offers a way for us to tell them we have not forgotten their sacrifices, and that is truly priceless.

A little about my why

All the men in my family served in the military. My husband was in the Navy, as well as two of my Uncles Andrew and Greg. Another, Uncle Steve was Career Army. Then Uncle Ed and Uncle Alex were Air Force. Bringing in the Marines, my family had 5 that chose the Marine Corps. I wish I had photos of all of them but I only managed to get one on my last visit home.

This photo is Uncle John, he was a Marine all the way. Is there any other way to be? (big smile). He served in several wars, and lost his right arm and left left in the last one he was in (Vietnam).

Two of my Aunts also served as Nurses during WW11.

My Father was a baby during WW1 and just a tiny bit too old to serve during WW11. A year before Pearl Harbor, as my Father wrote in his company journal, his factory went to war. He wrote of the war clouds gathering and threatening the security of the United States. How the country began to plan for defense, a year before Pearl Harbor and how business owners and factory owners offered their factories to the government.

His words went on........." And then you know what happened? The day the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, since that day boys were marching away. The service flags appearing in the windows on streets and seeing some of those stars in the flags turn to gold. I will never forget seeing these things.
So our factory went to war. Our factory is one of the first in America to manufacture war goods, and I know others will follow. Our men and women had worked pridefully before, but when we turned the factory into helping in the war effort we all worked together for the lives of our sons and brothers because they depended on each piece we made. I could see the light shining in their eyes. I could see their hearts talking through their hands as those hands sped this new work.

It is magnificent, and thrilling, the amount of work the men and women in my factory are doing, all with such excellence, and an ever growing flow of war goods moving from our factory to our military that need what we have for them.

Harry and his wife Elma knowing what they do might be used by their son Eric. Pete and Susan thinking their son’s life too might be saved by what we are making here and how they are a part of it. So many of my employees having sons serving in this war. I want to always know each one of their names.

What a day it was opening the letter “ This is to inform you that the Army and Navy are conferring upon your organization the Army-Navy Production Award for high achievement in production of war equipment.” This was a letter to all of us, to share with all my employees.

And what a day it was, Army and Navy distinguished guests, a band and you all know how I love bands playing. The Army and Navy awarded this Flag. Everyone in the company looked up as the Flag hoisted up the staff. Tears in all of our eyes and pride welling up in our hearts. And the men and women that did all the work I know they were proudest of all, I know I was proudest in them. It was a grim sort of pride though, hard to explain really, a pride that seemed to say “ you think what we did was fine, just watch what our boys are going to do.” And we will keep on making war goods until victory and peace are won. And then we’ll start again the work we put aside to go to war."

My Father is the one with the red heart above him.The Army - Navy E pennant was received by my Father along with all the employees at a celebation that day. Brig. Gen. Donald Armstrong presented the E banner to the entire company.

I tell you these things because all the branches are important not just to me, but to all of us. They all make a difference and all our Veterans from every branch are why I live in the land of the free. Our troops today need our support and how could we not be there for them when they are always there for us 24/7.

I chose the Marines to support in Project Valour IT because of Uncle John. I wish they had this for him when he was injured. Let's not let those in today's war be like Uncle John that could have used something so wonderful like Project Valour IT.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 PM | Comments (2)

American Mosques and Islamists

85% of American Mosques are Controlled by Islamic Extremists

Wild Thing's comment......

I like Cavuto and I thought it was interesting what Peter King had to say. I wish we could get rid of the mosques, I know we can't, but I do believe they are a being used to teach hate, and one day our country will pay a terrible price for all the PC that is allowed regarding Islam in our Nation.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (6)

' Free Saddam or else...'

29/10/2006 17:19 - (SA)

Amman - Saddam Hussein's defence team has drafted a letter to US President George W Bush warning of dire consequences if an Iraqi court issues a verdict against the ousted Iraqi president for crimes against humanity.

In a copy of the letter received by AFP in Jordan on Sunday, lead Iraqi lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi also urged Bush to set free Saddam and put an end to the trial which he described again as illegal and a farce.

"We believe that it is necessary to stop this farcical trial and set free President Saddam Hussein, and all the prisoners, because this is the only solution for your troops and your difficult position in Iraq," Dulaimi said.

"This is also the best way for the future of Iraq, the region and the world," he added.

He warned that a verdict by the Iraqi High Tribunal against Saddam and seven co-defendants over the killing of 148 Shi'ite villagers in the Iraqi village of Dujail could plunge Iraq and the region into violence. The villagers were executed after a 1982 attempt to kill Saddam.

"This decision will set ablaze anew the country and plunge the entire region into the unknown...," he said.

The Iraqi lawyer, who heads the Amman-based defence team, said the verdict due by the court was timed to coincide with US Congressional elections.

"There is an unfair decision that has already been taken by the court to eliminate President Saddam Hussein in time with the US Congressional elections, through which the US administration seeks to safeguard its position," he said.

Dulaimi also told Bush: "You will risk your troops who have lost control over Iraq and you will place in danger your interests and the security of the region."

Wild Thing's comment.....

Hmmmmm, so let's see now. Back on October 6th 2006, just a few weeks ago, we heard how loather of America Ramsey Clark said.....Saddams Death Will Unleash 'catastrophic' Violence. More on that at found at this post here at Theodore's World.

And now Saddam's lead Iraqi lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi and his letter he drafter. My goodness, my knees are shaking from all these doom and gloom threats, the sky will surely fall if Saddam is punished for his crimes apparently.

He sounds just like that Muslim doctor I used to work with. He also sounds a lot like the Democrats, " we never should have gone into Iraq", " we should have left Saddam in power", and on and on.

What a bunch of bunk! OH how I wish these lawyers had a website, one that I could post at and tell them just what I think about them and their Saddam.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (4)

October 23, 2006

West Point Caves To Muslims

Listening to Imam Asadullah speak Thursday during the dedication of a
new Muslim prayer space at West Point.

West Point opens Islamic worship space as Muslim cadets increase

Newsday
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP)

Muslims at the U.S. Military Academy numbered just two in 2001. This year, there are 32.

Now West Point has opened its first space dedicated to Muslims, a worship hall complete with a pulpit facing Mecca. The space officially opened Thursday.

"I knew the Army had a policy of religious tolerance, but I didn't know it was to this extent," said first-year Cadet Ahmed Moomin, 20, from the Maldives.

Until now, Friday prayers were held in an increasingly crowded first-floor office, said Imam Asadullah, the academy's Muslim cleric. The number of Muslim cadets jumped by 10 from last year.

The new hall is large enough for dozens of followers, he said.

West Point's Muslim leaders approached administrators last year for help.

"We live in a world where everyone is looking at the United States saying, 'You're anti-Islam.' But here at West Point, that's not what we do," West Point Chaplain Col. John Cook said.

Asadullah said the new hall is a strategic move.

"We have cadets here who are going to be the future of tomorrow," he said. "If we treat them differently from other cadets or other faiths, that will be a cause for future confrontation."

Wild Thing's comment......
All the fine soldiers who graduated at West Point are rolling over in their graves. I would not want to be in a foxhole with any of these guys when the lead started flying. Well it cannot be more diverse than training tomorrow's jihadists.

I have a very bad feeling about this, is this infiltration?? OK so shall we take a minute to imagine one of these Muslim cadets flying fully armed B52s into buildings.

So now, West Point is commanded by politically correct damn fools!!

I am sure that if muslim prayer time arrives during a parade, it will be halted and as non-muslims stand at parade rest, the muslim Cadets will face Mecca with their nose to the ground and their ass in the air as West Point comes to a stand still.

By the time our leaders wake up and realize that Islamites are the problem, they will be in command of our military forces.

Remember the soldier that threw hand grenades into a tent where his superior officers were gathered, during the liberation of Kuwait, an American soldier of the Islamite persuasion!!

And remember THIS story?
Muslim West Point graduate busted for espionage

Captain John Yee, a 1990 graduate of West Point and one of the U.S. Army's Muslim chaplains, has been arrested and is being held in the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C., on charges of sedition, espionage, aiding the enemy, spying and failing to obey a general order.
Military officials yesterday confirmed that a Muslim chaplain who was counseling al-Qaida prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval base has been detained since Sept. 10 after being found in possession of classified documents.

Capt. Yee served as "Muslim adviser to the commander of the joint task force at Guantanamo" since reporting there in November, said Capt. Thomas Crosson of the Southern Command in Miami, which oversees the mission at Guantanamo.

He grew up in New Jersey as a Lutheran, but learned enough about Islam while attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., that he decided to convert. He later became one of the 17 Muslim chaplains in the U.S. armed forces.

He became interested in Islam while a student and later spent four years studying Arabic and Islam in Damascus, Syria. He serves with the 29th Signal Battalion at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Capt. Yee, 35, a 1990 graduate of West Point, converted to Islam in 1991 and left the Army after completing airborne school at Fort Knox, Ky.

The suspect then went to Damascus to teach English and study Islam. After becoming a Muslim clergyman, he rejoined the Army as a chaplain.

Questions?????

* Why was Yee allowed to leave the Army after airborne training, rather than after completing his five years of obligatory service after receiving $250,000 worth of training at West Point?

* And after spending time studying Islam in Damascus – the site of 12 Muslim terrorist headquarters – why on earth did the U.S. Army Chaplains Corps accept him back into the Army?

Our troops deserve a hell of a lot better than to have to watch their backs from a enemy embedded into their ranks by the law of politically correct.

They are going to take us from within without firing a friggin shot. We need to get real and mean business.......THEY DO!!!!!!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (14)

October 18, 2006

"Myth of Delusion" Get's Noticed By American Intelligence

How Qaeda Warned Its Operatives on Using Cell Phones

WASHINGTON —

By ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun

October 18, 2006

When an aspiring Al Qaeda terrorist is buying a cell phone, it's best that he purchase the chip inside the device under a phony name or from a black market vendor that does not sell the accompanying documentation. If he has any reason to believe his phone has been tapped, he should sell it immediately to a stranger.

This is the kind of advice contained in "Myth of Delusion," a 151-page manuscript making the rounds on password-protected jihadi Web sites. The book recently caught the attention of American intelligence analysts, who estimate that it was released sometime this summer.

An English translation obtained by The New York Sun and whose authenticity was confirmed by a senior intelligence official gives an insight into what America's Islamist enemies believe they know about the CIA and the National Security Agency. It also underscores the paranoid mind at the heart of the international jihad movement, devoting paragraphs to how South Korean intelligence influences America's national security through a newspaper controlled by the Unification Church, the Washington Times.

The author of the book is a little-known terrorist named Mohammed al-Hakaymah, a member of a violent group that recently splintered off from an Egyptian Islamist organization, Gama'a al-Islamiyya, when it signed a cease-fire agreement with Cairo. Mr. Hakaymah gained some notoriety on August 5, when Osama bin Laden's Egyptian-born deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, mentioned his name in an announcement that Al Qaeda was merging with the splinter group.

An independent analyst affiliated with the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, Chris Zambelis, said yesterday that the book is similar to a military manual published by a Syrian named Abu Musab al-Suri, which was based largely on open sources and information released by the Pentagon.

"You see this kind of thing a lot. On the radical Islamic forums, you have people put up U.S.military manuals advising followers about American military tactics. In terms of an actual manual for intelligence, though, this is the most extensive and comprehensive I have seen," Mr. Zambelis said.

The book also gives a detailed description of how the CIA recruits spies, based on information widely available in fiction and nonfiction books about espionage. But in this section, the author conflates the training of spies and officers, writing that recruited spies are trained in the West Virginia CIA facility known as the Farm, when in fact only officers receive training there.

Yesterday, the senior intelligence official summed up the book as:

"an assessment of American intelligence, a mixture of a couple of things. There is some element of training from things they gather from open sources. ... But this is also clearly propaganda."

The propaganda element appears to be aimed at certain Islamists who have rejected Al Qaeda's view that America, or what the group's leaders call "the far enemy," is too powerful and too efficient to challenge.

One of the purposes of the book is to show that America's intelligence agencies "make mistakes and are not infallible," a professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University, Mary Habeck, said. The author is saying:

"We don't have to fear them like we always fear them. That is why it is called the ‘Myth of Delusion.' One of bin Laden's purposes, he says, in authorizing 9/11 was to break the media blockade, to show the invincibility of the United States as a media myth," Ms. Habeck added.

In his preface, Mr. Hakaymah writes that the book will "use the published reports, news, and research, which expose the extent of the failure of the American intelligence services inside and outside the United States."

He writes that the November 2001 killing of a CIA officer, Michael Spann, in Afghanistan represented an enormous victory for Al Qaeda because the agency had to admit his death publicly.

Wild Thing's comment......

I am glad our intelligence is on top of this. I found it interesting how desperate the Islamists are for information to turn it into propaganda for their use.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (8)

October 16, 2006

Al Qaeda leader 'in secret CIA jail'

This is one of the top Al Qaeda operatives Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, better known as Abu Musab al-Suri (a.k.a. Omar Abdel Hakim)

A past quote of his:

In December 2004, In December 2004, Abu Musab al-Suri, issued a statement on the Internet explaining, "if I had been consulted about [the September 11] operation, I would have advised them to select aircraft on international flights and to have put weapons of mass destruction aboard them... now that the American administration has revealed the evil and wickedness of its forces... it is not a far cry from justice to adopt the slogan, ?Dirty Bombs for a Dirty Nation?... Let the American people?those who voted for killing, destruction, the looting of other nations? wealth, megalomania, and the desire to control others?be contaminated with radiation!"

A suspected al Qaeda leader, accused of being involved in September 11 and planning the 2004 Madrid train bombings, has been imprisoned in a secret US jail for the past year, Spain's El Pais newspaper reported today.

Mustafa Setmarian, 48, a Syrian with Spanish citizenship, was captured in Pakistan in October 2005 and is held in a prison operated by the US Central Intelligence Agency, Pakistani and European security service officials told El Pais.

A spokesman for the US embassy in Spain declined to comment on the report.

Setmarian's 2005 capture was reported in May of this year after the United States put a $5 million bounty on the head of the alleged founder of al Qaeda's Spanish network.

A photograph of the red-haired Setmarian has been removed from the US Federal Bureau of Intelligence's most-wanted web page.

Pakistan has not answered requests from Madrid about the whereabouts of Setmarian, wanted in Spain for allegedly training September 11 hijackers in Afghanistan and ordering Madrid commuter train attacks that killed 191 people, according to El Pais.

Spain's high court is unable to request his extradition as he has not been officially imprisoned, the newspaper reported.

Spanish high court officials were not immediately available to comment.

Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon in June complained US officials were concealing information on his whereabouts.

Amnesty International has reported Setmarian's disappearance. The human rights organisation says dozens of Islamic radicals captured in Pakistan are held in clandestine jails operated by the United States and other countries.

Setmarian is married to Elena Moreno, a Spanish woman who says he is held in a secret CIA jail.

His bio:

Biography: Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, also known as Abu Musab al-Suri and Umar Abd al-Hakim, was a key figure in al-Qaeda before his apparent capture in Pakistan in November 2005. Nasar was born in 1959 in Syria where he joined the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, a fundamentalist organization, was heavily repressed by the Syrian government, prompting Nasar to write a book that would make him famous in Islamist circles, “The Syrian Experiment.” In the book, written under the pseudonym Abu Musab Suri, Nasar issued a call to action against the ruling Asad regime in Syria. He has also written under the pseudonym Umar Abd al-Hakim.
Nasar, a Spanish citizen by marriage, formerly directed and taught at terrorist training camps in Afghanistan where he met with Usama bin-Laden and was known to be an expert in the use of poisons.

Nasar moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 where he served as a European intermediary for al-Qaeda. He traveled widely to Europe and Afghanistan during the late 1990s before finally moving his family to Afghanistan in 1998.

Prior to September 11, 2001, Nasar tried to organize his own extremist group, but following the attacks, he pledged his loyalty to Usama bin Laden as a member of al-Qaeda. Nasar worked closely with Midhat Mursi al-Sayid ‘Umar (a.k.a. Abu Khabab al-Masri) to train extremists in poisons and chemical during his time in Afghanistan, and was also involved in training at the al-Ghuraba terrorist camp.

Nasar was indicted in Spain in 2003 for training al-Qaeda “sleeper” agents to be sent to Spain, Italy and France, and the U.S. Government offered a $5 million reward for his capture. He is viewed by American intelligence officials as a “propagandist,” a man valuable for his wealth of influence and contacts within the Islamist terrorist movement but not seen as an actual planner of terrorist attacks. Reports claim that he had a close relationship with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and was operating out of Iraq at some point, yet these reports have been denied by some American sources. Other unconfirmed press reports suggest that he may have had a role in the March 11, 2004 Madrid Bombings.

Wild Thing's comment......

Isn't that special .. the leftist group Amnesty International is trying to get him freed!!! Sheesh! double sheesh!

The first rule of FIGHT CLUB is you DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB.

These articles make capturing terrorist out to be some sort of bad thing. The point I belive is , Is he in a secret jail or is his location just being kept secret? I believe the latter and I believe its probably a good idea. This whole thing about secret jails is way overblown.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (2)

October 13, 2006

Red Cross Visits Top Terror Suspects At Gitmo

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For the first time, the International Committee of the Red Cross met this week with 14 suspected al Qaeda operatives held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including the reputed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, said sources with direct knowledge of the visit.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of planning the 2001 attacks and former No. 3 leader of al Qaeda, and Ramzi Binalshibh, an alleged would-be September 11 hijacker, were among the 14 prisoners to meet with Red Cross officials.

The detainees were transferred to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay from secret CIA prisons around the world. President Bush acknowledged the use of CIA prisons outside U.S. borders for the first time September 6.

Bush said then that the 14 detainees would be transferred to Guantanamo and a military tribunal would hear their cases.

International Committee of the Red Cross members had planned to meet with each of the suspects privately and relay messages to their families, Red Cross spokesman Simon Schorno said last month. The military censors all messages to and from the prisoners.

The visit is a way for detainees to share concerns about their detentions and conditions and any claims of ill treatment, Schorno said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross will use the visits to become better informed about Guantanamo's conditions and will share that information with authorities if necessary, he added.

Human rights groups and other critics repeatedly have called for the United States to close the prison at Guantanamo, alleging such violations as torture and religious discrimination.

In addition, a report last month by Amnesty International alleged that Pakistan abducted hundreds of people for the purpose of fetching "rewards" and transferring them to Guantanamo Bay or detention centers elsewhere. (Full story)

On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett called detentions of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo "unacceptable" and "ineffective" as she released Britain's annual report on human rights around the world, according to The Associated Press. (Full story)

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday it transferred 16 detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan and one detainee to Morocco. The transfers were recommended after several review processes, the agency said.

About 335 detainees have been transferred from Guantanamo into the custody of other countries, leaving some 440 prisoners in Cuba.

About 110 detainees who are eligible for transfer or release remain at Guantanamo, according to defense officials.

Wild Thing's comment......

A-hem.... "suspects" ??????.....what???? "relay messages to their families"........ shaking my head, eyes rolling, blood boiling here.

The International Red Cross is just another anti-US, terrorist loving organization.

The first to show up on 9-11 was the Salvation Army NOT the Red Cross. The first to show has always been the Salvation Army!! Go jump in the lake International Red Cross.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 AM | Comments (10)

October 12, 2006

U.S. Weighs First Treason Charges in Over 50 Years

Adam Gadahn is seen in these undated pictures released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

West 'will fail' without Pakistan

A California-born convert to Islam could become the first American accused of treason since World War Two after he appeared in al Qaeda videos, sources familiar with the man's case said on Wednesday.

They said U.S. prosecutors were strongly considering bringing the charges, which carry a maximum punishment of death, against Adam Gadahn, 28, who is believed to be overseas and is not in U.S. custody.

The charges could come as early as Wednesday.

The U.S. Justice Department last brought treason charges, during the World War Two era, the sources said.

Gadahn, who is also known on the videos as Azzam the American, has been involved in a propaganda campaign of the Islamic militant group, the sources said. Some of the videos have threatened attacks against the United States.

He converted to Islam from a Judeo-Christian family when he was 17 and a few years later moved to Pakistan. He previously was known as Adam Pearlman and grew up on a goat ranch outside Los Angeles.

The FBI has sought to question him since May 2004.

Besides treason, prosecutors have prepared other criminal charges against Gadahn, the sources said. They declined to give specific details.

AL QAEDA

The sources denied the case was timed to deflect attention from the fallout over lewd computer messages sent by a former Republican congressman to young male aides, a scandal that may help Democrats seize control of Congress in November 7 election.

The FBI has said that Gadahn attended al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, that he has been associated with al Qaeda's leaders and that he has done translations for al Qaeda.

His last video was posted on a Web site on September 2.

"If the Zionist crusader missionaries of hate and counter-Islam consultants like ... the crusader and chief George W. Bush were to abandon their unbelief and repent and enter into the light of Islam and turn their swords against the enemies of God, it would be accepted of them and they would be our brothers in Islam," Gadahn said in English.

Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, made a brief statement at the start of the tape urging viewers to listen carefully to the message.

U.S. officials believe Gadahn appeared in another video last year, right before the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, threatening al Qaeda attacks on Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia.

They also believe Gadahn threatened attacks in a video released in October 2004, just before the U.S. presidential election.

Wild Thing's comment.......

May I please add a few other candidates and they would be a lot easier to find since they are usually in Washington and one that does not work out of Washington???? The only difference between this guy and Hanoi Jane is is he doesn't appear to have a line of exercise videos.

So I guess now we just wait and see what names start to show up that say no way José can this man be charged with treason. Tick tock tick tock, when will Harry Reid, Pelosi etc. run up the clock. Oh and of course terrorist’s lover CAIR will be burning a candle in their window to welcome Adam Gadahn to some safe place to hide and then he can do videos of his whine of being picked on.

Hahaha The enemy is just ever so predictable.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 AM | Comments (15)

October 06, 2006

Terrorists in US Prisons Not Monitored

WASHINGTON - Convicted terrorists locked up in U.S. prisons can still use mail and verbal communications to conduct terrorist or criminal activities, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Department of Justice's inspector general.

The inspector general launched a review after a series of NBC News Investigative Unit reports in February and March 2005 revealed that jailed terrorists — even those responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center — were continuing to support jihadists and encourage violence around the world.

"We found that the BOP (Bureau of Prisons) has not effectively monitored the mail of terrorist and other high-risk inmates," concludes the 122-page report.

While behind bars at the Administrative Maximum Penitentiary in Florence, Colo., the 1993 World Trade Center bombers continued their terrorist activities, writing letters to other suspected terrorists and brazenly praising Osama bin Laden in Arabic newspapers. The prison, also known as "Supermax," houses the largest number of and most dangerous terrorist inmates.

In addition to inmates' mail, the inspector general's report revealed another related security problem: The prison bureau "is unable to effectively monitor high-risk inmates' verbal communications, which include telephone calls, visits with family and friends, and cell block conversations."

The report found that bureau staff often do not listen to or translate calls in a foreign language by inmates on monitoring lists, including calls placed by inmates identified as posing the greatest risk of being engaged in illegal or suspicious activity. For example, the inspector general's report found that at Supermax, 50 percent of such calls each month were not monitored.

Wild Thing's comment.......

We hunt them down, we arrest them and then we do not keep on making sure they cannot plan more attacks there is something seriously wrong with this. I feel badly for our police and those that do all the leg work, risk their lives to catch these terrorists and then the prisons can't keep a close eye on them once they are locked up.

Amazing!!!

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (11)

Seizures Of Radioactive Materials Have Doubled In Last 4 years

Seizures of radioactive materials fuel 'dirty bomb' fears
Times Online

SEIZURES of smuggled radioactive material capable of making a terrorist “dirty bomb” have doubled in the past four years, according to official figures seen by The Times.

Smugglers have been caught trying to traffick dangerous radioactive material more than 300 times since 2002, statistics from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) show. Most of the incidents are understood to have occurred in Europe.

The disclosures come as al-Qaeda is known to be intensfiying its efforts to obtain a radoactive device. Last year, Western security services, including MI5 and MI6, thwarted 16 attempts to smuggle plutonium or uranium. On two occasions small quantities of highly enriched uranium were reported missing. All were feared to have been destined for terror groups.

Scientists responsible for analysing the seizures have given warning that traffickers are turning to hospital X-ray equipment and laboratory supplies as an illicit source of radioactive material.

Investigators believe that the smugglers, who come mainly from the former Eastern bloc, are interested only in making a swift fortune and believe that they may have no compunction in selling to jihadist groups. Most undercover operations and recent seizures have been kept secret to protect the activities of Western security services.

Rigorous controls on nuclear processors, especially with Russia co-operating to stop the trafficking of enriched plutonium and uranium, have limited smugglers’ access to weapons-grade nuclear materials. But medical and laboratory sources, including waste, remain vulnerable. Such radioactive waste can be used to make a dirty bomb.

A dirty bomb combines a conventional explosive, such as dynamite, with radioactive material such as spent nuclear fuel like highly enriched uranium and plutonium. In most instances the conventional explosive would kill more bystanders but the dispersion of the radioactive material would have a hugely damaging “fear” factor.

There were 103 cases of illicit trafficking last year, compared with fewer than 30 in 1996. Fifty-eight incidents were reported in 2002, rising to 90 in 2003 and 130 in 2004. Experts point out that seizures in the past three years equal the same amount of trafficking in the previous seven years.

Olli Heinonen, deputy director-general of the IAEA, which monitors trafficking and inspects nuclear plants to audit their radioactive materials, said that while weapons-grade nuclear material smuggling was now rare there were serious concerns about other radioactive substances.

“A dirty bomb is something that needs to be taken seriously. We need to be prepared for anything because anything could happen,” he said. “Terrorists look for the weakest link. We need to be alert and we need to be prepared.”

Al-Qaeda makes no secret of its desire to obtain a dirty bomb. Last month its leader in Iraq, Abu Hamza alMuhajer, called for scientists to join it and experiment with radioactive devices for use against coalition troops. Even before 9/11, Osama bin Laden invited two Pakistani atomic scientists to visit a training camp in Afghanistan to discuss how to assemble a bomb using stolen plutonium. Captured al-Qaeda leaders have since confessed to the CIA of their attempts to smuggle a radioactive device into the US.

Professor Klaus Lützenkir-chen, who helps to analyse the seized substances, said that even small quantities of radio-active material could be of use to terrorists.

“If someone gets hold of it, it is possible it could be used in a dirty bomb,” he said. He added that if such a dirty bomb were detonated in a town centre the physical effect would be comparatively small and unlikely to cause huge loss of life but would have an enormously damaging “fear factor”.

One of the most serious seizures since 9/11 was that of several kilograms of a radioactive substance known as yellow cake that was found in a consignment of scrap metal at the port of Rotterdam in December 2003.

Professor Lützenkirchen said that seizures have been made across Europe, usually at borders and sea ports. Most of the trafficked material originated from the Caucasus region where he said that there was “considerable activity” among smugglers.

Seizures have continued this year, though overall figures for 2006 are not yet available. They include the discovery in Germany of a small quantity of highly enriched uranium.

Roland Schenkel, director-general of the European Commission Joint Research Centre, which analyses seizures for the IAEA and Western security services, said:

“Illicit trafficking will remain high on our list of activities, including threats by terrorists.”

Wild Thing's comment......

After reading this then thinking about how Harry Reid stood there and so proudly said they had stopped the Patriot Act. Gosh Democrats I bet you are really disappointed that these radioactive materials get seized since you do not believe in protecting the citizens of our country.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (9)

Clark Says Saddams Death Will Unleash 'catastrophic' Violence

Democrat Clark says Saddam death penalty will unleash 'catastrophic' violence

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democrat Ramsey Clark, a former US attorney general who is one of Saddam Hussein's lawyers, said that any death sentence against the former Iraqi president would increase violence in the strife-torn country.

"It seems clear that a guilty verdict will set off catastrophic violence" and that a death sentence would be even worse, Democrat Clark told a Washington press conference.

"It's hard to know how many Iraqis, dozens, hundreds, thousands, will die because of the sentence," he said.

A date for a verdict in the crimes against humanity trial against Saddam and seven co-accused, which opened in October, 2005, is due to be set soon after the trial resumes on October 16.

If Saddam is found guilty and sentenced to death, Iraqi law lays down that he should be executed within 30 days, said Clark.

The US attorney general from 1967-69 reaffirmed his belief that the court is illegal because it was set up only to try Saddam. He criticised the judges because they were "selected, trained, paid, protected by the United States."

Saddam and his co-defendants, including a half brother Barzan al-Tikriti, are on trial for a crackdown on a Shiite town of Dujail following an assassination attempt in 1982.

He faces a separate trial for genocide against Iraq's Kurdish minority in the 1988 Anfal campaign.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Yes I added "Democrat" where Clark's name shows up in the article.haha Let's call it a little emphasis of how wonderful the Democrat party is......NOT!

How about if we hang them both? Save the world a lot of grief. Ramsey Clark's death will unleash 'catastrophic' happiness.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (11)

October 05, 2006

Stuff Your Face ~ New Gitmo Torture

Gitmo prisoners gaining weight

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A high-calorie diet combined with life in the cell block -- almost around the clock in some cases -- is making detainees at Guantanamo Bay fat.

Meals totaling a whopping 4,200 calories per day are brought to their cells, well above the 2,000 to 3,000 calories recommended for weight maintenance by U.S. government dietary guidelines. And some inmates are eating everything on the menu.

One detainee has almost doubled in weight, to 410 pounds, said Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand, spokesman for the detention facilities at Guantanamo.

Human rights groups attribute the weight gain to lack of exercise. They cite accounts of released detainees who complained they were allowed to exercise fewer than three times a week outside their small cells.

But Durand said detainees are simply served a wide variety of food and are expected to choose what appeals to them.

"The detainees are advised that they are offered more food than necessary, to provide choice and variety, and that consuming all the food they are offered will result in weight gain," he said.

Most of the prisoners at Guantanamo picked up in Afghanistan and other conflict zones were slightly underweight when they arrived. Since then, they've gained an average of 20 pounds, and most are now "normal to mildly overweight or mildly obese," according to the most recent measurements, he said.

Even two detainees who have been on a hunger strike for more than a year are at "100 percent ideal body weight," from nutrients fed through tubes inserted in their noses, Durand said.

The calorie intake at Guantanamo is well above the norm for federal inmates in the United States, who receive about 2,900 calories a day, said U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesman Michael Truman.

He said weight gain in the civilian system is not widespread and that most inmates "keep themselves in pretty good shape."

Prisoners at Guantanamo who behave well get more exercise time. The most compliant get up to 12 hours a week, including access to treadmills, stationary bikes and other fitness equipment, Durand said. Guantanamo officials say compliance is gauged solely by whether a detainee follows detention center rules and avoids causing disturbances, and has nothing to do with whether he is providing information to interrogators.

Wild Thing's comment.....

When the dems make us let them go free, it'll be easier to locate them, that's for sure.

Now let's see they will have to find caves with larger entrances to squeeze through. Praying 5 times a day would be way too hard to accompolish to get down on their knees and back up again. Hahaha

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (8)

October 02, 2006

I Can't Stand This Jerk Musharraf !

Pakistan's president has warned the West would be "brought to its knees" without his country's co-operation in the so-called war on terror.
"If we were not with you, you won't manage anything," said President Pervez Musharraf in a BBC Radio 4 interview.

He said the Taleban, not al-Qaeda, was now the focus of the struggle against militancy in the region.

"The greatest danger today is if the Taleban movement gets converted into a people's movement," he warned.

Earlier this week Tony Blair assured Gen Musharraf a leaked paper condemning Pakistan's intelligence service did not reflect his government's view.

In the leaked report, a naval commander at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) claimed Pakistan's intelligence service, ISI, had indirectly helped the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

In the BBC interview Mr Musharraf rejected these claims and said ISI's support was vital.

You'll be brought down to your knees if Pakistan doesn't co-operate with you. That is all that I would like to say. Pakistan is the main ally. If we were not with you, you won't manage anything," he said.

"Let that be clear. And if ISI is not with you, you will fail."

He also claims the US and Britain had a historic debt to pay as Pakistan had helped "win the Cold War" for the West.

His comments develop arguments he has made over the past few days at meetings with US President George W Bush and Tony Blair and a speech given in Oxford.

Gen Musharraf said the Pakistani government's aim in the country's tribal border areas was to "wean the people away" from supporting the Taleban, pointing out that while al-Qaeda was mainly comprised of "foreigners", the Taleban's support was more locally based.

He denied the suggestion that the tribal elders with whom the government has forged a recent agreement are a front for the Taleban.

He said the tribal elders were the "only way" to establish support from the local population: "The army cannot get them on our side".

After two hours of talks on Thursday Downing Street said Gen Musharraf had accepted Mr Blair's reassurances.

Wild Thing's comments.....
This Musharraf is a piece of work! He has a lot of nerve to say the things he has said. NEVER trust these people!

Pakistan is lost to us as an ally. They have ceeded ALL their Taliban/Al Qaeda infested territories to the terrorists as of last week. Pakistan CANNOT control the terrorists in their midst and Musharraf is on borrowed time.

I do not trust Musharraf or Pakistan.

This Pakistani dictator is playing Bush for a fool. After the 911 attack he played wargames to determine whether he could stand against us. He wisely thought that that would be suicidal and decided to pretend to be a great ally while at the same time refusing to take action against the radical islamics in his country.

He has thwarted every effort to kill or capture Osama Bin Ladin and continues to this day to aid the Taliban and Al Qaeda. I believe the so called assassination attempts against him in Pakistan are manufactured. He is playing the US like a fiddle. He will continue his duplicity as long as we allow him to do so.

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (20)

September 29, 2006

Senate OKs Detainee Interrogation Bill

The Senate on Thursday endorsed President Bush's plans to prosecute and interrogate terror suspects. News

The 65-34 vote means the bill could reach the president's desk by week's end. The House passed nearly identical legislation on Wednesday and was expected to approve the Senate bill on Friday, sending it on to the White House.

The bill would create military commissions to prosecute terrorism suspects. It also would prohibit blatant abuses of detainees but grant the president flexibility to decide what interrogation techniques are legally permissible.

The White House and its supporters have called the measure crucial in the anti-terror fight, but some Democrats said it left the door open to abuse, violating the U.S. Constitution in the name of protecting Americans.

While Democrats warned the bill could open the way for abuse, Republicans said defeating the bill would put the country at risk of another terrorist attack.

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 2nd Session as compiled through Senate

HERE is how they voted.....Names and Yea's and Nay's. Alphabetical by Senator Name.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (6)

September 26, 2006

Afghan President Thanks U.S. Troops for Liberating Afghanistan

Afghan President Thanks U.S. Troops for Liberating Afghanistan

Karzai says Afghan people must confront narco-trafficking problem

Washington
USINFO.State.Gov.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)

– Afghan President Hamid Karzai thanked the U.S. military for liberating Afghanistan from the oppressive Taliban regime and for providing security as the country works to rebuild its institutions and infrastructure.

"My message for the American soldiers in Afghanistan is that they have liberated us from tyranny, from terrorism, from oppression, from occupation into a country that is now moving towards prosperity, that is once again the home of all Afghans,” Karzai told reporters September 25 after a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Karzai said that Afghanistan has been transformed fundamentally by the U.S. intervention. “Afghanistan was not the home of all Afghans,” he said. “Today it is. Everybody's back in that country with a parliament, with a constitution, with a market economy, with a free press, with all that.”

He added that the ongoing effort to fight terrorism in Afghanistan is bolstering the security of the entire world.

The Afghan president acknowledged that Afghanistan’s opium trade continues to threaten the country’s development.

“Narcotics is a menace to Afghanistan. It's also an embarrassment to us as a nation. We are ashamed of that terrible product hurting us and hurting young people around the world,” he said.

Karzai said it is the responsibility of the Afghan people to rid their country of the narcotics trade in the interest of their future prosperity and to ensure their good standing in the international community, but he welcomed foreign assistance in achieving this goal.

Rumsfeld praised Afghanistan’s progress and welcomed NATO’s unprecedented mission to support security operations in Afghanistan. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan is the first major military mission the organization has undertaken outside of Europe.

“The leadership that NATO's providing is important. It's valuable, and it reflects a commitment on the part of those 26 countries to your success and to the success of the Afghan people,” he told Karzai.

KARZAI ADDRESSES AUDIENCE AT WILSON CENTER

Later on September 25, the Afghan president told a group at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars that “reliance on religious radicalism as an instrument of policy” must stop. The use of radicalism began in the fight against the Soviets, but it had turned against the Afghan people, he said.

Making a distinction between genuine madrassas, or schools for Islamic studies, and those that taught violent radicalism, Karzai called for the closure of madrassas that turn boys into suicide bombers.

“Going to the sources of terrorism, where they get trained, where they get motivated, where they get financed, where they get deployed, is necessary,” he said. “There will not be an end to terrorism unless we remove the sources of hatred in madrassas.” He said those who run such schools should be arrested and imprisoned.

Karzai expressed optimism that the Afghan economy could grow once opium poppy cultivation is eradicated. He said that infrastructure had improved: new roads have been built and telecommunications have expanded. Recently, an Afghan-owned Coca-Cola plant was established.

“A lot has happened in Afghanistan,” he said, “And a lot more needs to be done in the coming years.”

Wild Thing's comment.....
Our troops deserve this said bgy Karzai and a whole lot more. With all the pressure on our troops, not only from the enemy but also from the lefties in our government, the media you name it. .....anytime someone says how grateful they are like this it should be headline news.
But wait......according to CNN we are loosing the war. Hey CNN....STFU! You are on the side of the enemy!

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 PM | Comments (2)

September 16, 2006

Hey Muslims Kiss My American Infidel Ass!

Well the little Muslims are upset yet again. This time it is not the Cartoons.

This time it's not about Piglet of the Winnie The Pooh fame.

And it's not about the Danish Pasties this time either.

No, this time it is about Pope Benedict.

Wild Thing's comment.......

I am not a Catholic but this demanding the Pope to make an apology is stupid. The Pope quoted someone....simple as that. Someone that lived a long time ago. It does not matter who it was, nor what it was about it was a freaking quote for pete's sake!
The Muslims lay in wait for any chance they can make something out of nothing. BUT when an attack happens like September 11th, 2001 or any of the countless other attacks BY MUSLIMS in the world. We hear zippo from the so called moderate Muslims. Know why?
Because they is no such animal!
They're peaceful they tell us, and they'll kill us to prove it. Well they can all get together and have a group hug with their suicide belts on. That will take care of the problem in one shot!
Actually this is just another day at the office for the Muslim world. Muslims are always out of control when someone says anything about Islam that they don't agree with. They are dumber than dirt. They are also demonic creatures lead by their demonic Mohammad, worshiping their moon god Allah, and they all came from the bowels of hell.

I'm glad they keep doing things like this because maybe just maybe it will open the eyes of the countries and people around the world who still don't understand what Islam is all about.

I am so sick of so called "Muslim Rage"..they can all kiss my American ass!

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (20)

Say What? Did The Pig Fly? Did Hell Freeze over?

Amnesty accuses Hezbollah of war crimes against Israel

LONDON — Hezbollah militants broke international humanitarian law by firing thousands of rockets into Israel and killing dozens of civilians during the recent conflict, an Amnesty International report charges.

The human rights group called for a United Nations inquiry into war crimes possibly committed by both Israel and Hezbollah, but their report focused on the actions of the Lebanese militants during the 34-day conflict.

Hezbollah launched nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel in July and August, killing at least 39 civilians.

The firing of rockets into urban areas in northern Israel violated international laws that call for distinction between civilian and military targets, Amnesty said.

"Targeting civilians is a war crime. There's no gray area," said Larry Cox, Amnesty's executive director in the United States.

Hezbollah fired inaccurate rockets packed with thousands of metal ball bearings that sprayed out to maximize harm to civilians, Amnesty said.

The report is Amnesty's most extensive condemnation of Hezbollah since the conflict began in July, and comes after Amnesty accused Israel of violating international law with indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian targets in Lebanon. The human rights group previously called on the Lebanese militia to release two kidnapped Israeli soldiers and abstain from targeting civilians.

Violence erupted between Israel and Hezbollah after the Shiite militia kidnapped the two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. Ensuing fighting left more than 1,000 people dead, mostly Lebanese civilians about a third of them children, UNICEF said.

Israel launched a large-scale military offensive with aerial bombardment and ground troops, and Hezbollah fired rockets deep into Israel.

A U.N.-brokered cease-fire in August quelled the violence and Israel and Hezbollah have mostly complied with the order, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said this week.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said he had no doubt that the Islamic militia fired rockets in a premeditated way to kill a maximum number of civilians.

"It is also important to remember that the leaders of Hezbollah have spoken on many occasions about their desire to destroy the state of Israel," Regev said. "(Hezbollah leader Hassan) Nasrallah used the word 'obliterate,' and I think a call to this sort of genocide is problematic and must also be considered a fundamental breach of international norms and international law."

Amnesty plans to publish additional reports studying whether Hezbollah contributed to civilian deaths in Lebanon by purposely hiding among civilians, said Nicole Choueiry, a spokesman for Amnesty in Britain.

Whether either group of combatants will see the inside of a courtroom remains to be seen. Israel and Lebanon reject the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, making prosecution there unlikely.

Groups seeking prosecution might take the route of preparing a dossier of evidence that could be tailored for different countries' legal systems.

Suspected war criminals have been prosecuted under the judicial principle of "universal jurisdiction," which says that every country has the obligation to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity, wherever they are committed.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (6)

September 15, 2006

National POW/MIA Recognition Day~Sept. 15th

National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2006

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

White House.gov
As a Nation, we look to our service men and women as examples of courage and sacrifice. When our country and the world have needed brave Americans to advance the cause of freedom, our men and women in uniform have proudly stepped forward and selflessly endured hardships to defend liberty. We are grateful to all who have served, and on National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we give special honor to the extraordinary patriots who have been prisoners of war and to those who are still missing in action. We take inspiration from their valor and loyalty and will not rest until we have accounted for them all.

On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the National League of Families POW/MIA flag is flown over the White House, the Capitol, the Departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, U.S. military installations, national cemeteries, and other locations across our country. The POW/MIA flag is a symbol of our Nation's resolve never to forget the service and great sacrifice of the heroes who have carried out liberty's urgent and noble mission, even at the cost of their own freedom. On this day, we express our deep appreciation to each of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines and our enduring commitment to achieve the fullest possible accounting for all of our men and women in uniform who have been prisoners of war or are missing in action.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States do hereby proclaim Friday, September 15, 2006, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I call upon the people of the United States to join me in paying solemn tribute to all former American prisoners of war and those missing in action who valiantly served our great country. I call upon Federal, State, and local government officials and private organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, U. S. Marine Corps, will host the Pentagon ceremony for National POW/MIA Recognition Day at the Mall Entrance Parade Field on Friday, Sept. 15, 2006, at 11 a.m. EDT. Congressman Rob Simmons, Chairman of the Homeland Security Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment subcommittee, will be the guest speaker
Louis T. Dechert,
National President, KWVA/US

Wild Thing's comment......

According to a July 13, 2005 DPMO report, the total number of remains that had not been accounted for totaled 8,114. Still a long way to go. Meanwhile, the families wait!

You are invited to visit my POW MIA page at my website. You can also click on each of the names on that page to read about them. Turn up the volume if you lilke as well.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (4)

Next Time We'll Know Not To Take Prisoners

US Outraged As Pakistan Frees Taliban Fighters

Pakistan's credibility as a leading ally in the war on terrorism was called into question last night when it emerged that President Pervez Musharraf's government had authorised the release from jail of thousands of Taliban fighters caught fighting coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Five years after American-led coalition forces overthrew the Taliban during Operation Enduring Freedom, United States officials have been horrified to discover that thousands of foreign fighters detained by Pakistan after fleeing the battleground in Afghanistan have been quietly released and allowed to return to their home countries.

Pakistani lawyers acting for the militants claim they have freed 2,500 foreigners who were originally held on suspicion of having links to al-Qa'eda or the Taliban over the past four years.

The mass release of the prisoners has provoked a stern rebuke to the Musharraf regime from the American government. "We have repeatedly warned Pakistan over arresting and then releasing suspects," said a US diplomat in Islamabad. "We are monitoring their response with great concern."

The Daily Telegraph tracked down and interviewed several former fighters who were part of a batch of eight foreign prisoners released last month. Burhan Ahmad, a 32-year-old Bangladeshi who has an American degree in engineering, admitted helping the Taliban against US-led forces in Afghanistan five years ago.

He was arrested by Pakistani security agents as he passed back over the frontier in 2003. Last month he was released from jail, where he spent three years without facing trial.

Like thousands of other Taliban and al-Qa'eda suspects who have been rounded up in Pakistan, Ahmad is now being fed and sheltered by an Islamic welfare group as he waits while a travel agency that specialises in repatriating jihadis prepares his identity papers and air ticket.

He was handed over to the al-Khidmat Foundation, a welfare organisation run by the hard-line Islamist party Jamaat-i-Islami, by a local court in Peshawar.

"I was arrested on the very same day that I arrived in Pakistan as I crossed from Khost to South Waziristan," said Ahmad who then spent 28 months in the custody of one of Pakistan's intelligence agencies before being transferred to a jail where he was imprisoned for three months. "The situation has become too difficult in Afghanistan and so I wanted to go home. I felt I had played my part."

In the hands of al-Khidmat Ahmad was more concerned with worldly goods than attaining a martyr's end in jihad. He produced a list of his personal items that he wanted back from the security agency: socks, a laptop, a thermal vest and some money.

His lawyer, Fida Gul, said:

"He is no problem. He will go to Bangladesh. He is not a criminal and he has been cleared by the security forces. His arrest was illegal."

One of those who spoke to this newspaper was a young Tajik who entered Pakistan last year to study, he claimed, at a madrassa in Peshawar. He was shot in the side by Pakistani police as he tried to escape when the madrassa was raided.

A third former prisoner, a 37-year-old Algerian, had come to fight the Russian-backed government in Afghanistan in the early 1990s. He married a Pakistani woman and claimed to have settled down and worked in the honey business when he was arrested last year.

"I am going home to Algeria as I want to take advantage of an amnesty offered by the government," he said. "I know I will be arrested on arrival and interrogated as this happened to several of my Algerian brothers. But then I will be released as I have done nothing wrong."

On the question of whether released militants would return to jihad, Hazrat Aman, a field officer of the al-Khidmat Foundation, said: "If they react like that it is a natural phenomenon. Some of these people spent two to three years in jail. Some of them will live peacefully and others will join jihad again."

Wild Thing's comment.......
Between this and our Senate fools, I hope our troops just forget about taking any prisoners and......well you know. Kill the bad guys right off the bat instead.

" His lawyer, Fida Gul, said: "He is no problem. He will go to Bangladesh. He is not a criminal and he has been cleared by the security forces. His arrest was illegal."

The only thing worse than a criminal defense lawyer is an Islamic criminal defense lawyer.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:40 AM | Comments (2)

September 14, 2006

Blair Attacks Europe's "Mad Anti-Americans"

LONDON (Reuters Yahoo News) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair launched a withering attack on Thursday on what he called "mad anti-Americanism" among European politicians.

Blair, U.S. President George W. Bush's closest ally in the so-called war on terror, said the world urgently needs the United States to help tackle the globe's most pressing problems.

"The danger is if they decide to pull up the drawbridge and disengage. We need them involved," Blair said, spelling out his political vision in a pamphlet published by The Foreign Policy Center think-tank.

"The strain of, frankly, anti-American feeling in parts of European politics is madness when set against the long-term interests of the world we believe in," he said.

Blair, accused by critics of being Bush's poodle who slavishly follows Washington's line, sought to stifle a revolt in his ruling Labour Party last week by promising to quit within a year after almost 10 years in office.

His popularity has tumbled in opinion polls after government scandals over sleaze and mismanagement were compounded by controversy over the wars in Iraq and Lebanon.

As he did during the Iraq War, he sided squarely with Washington over the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas, angering Arab nations and European allies by refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire.

Responding to those who have criticized the White House, Blair said in his pamphlet:

"The danger with America today is not that they are too much involved."

"We want them engaged. The reality is that none of the problems that press in on us can be resolved or even contemplated without them," he added.

Laying out his vision for countering extremists, he said:

"We need to construct an alliance of moderation that paints a future in which Muslim, Jew and Christian, Arab and Western, wealthy and developing nations can make progress in peace and harmony with each other."

Blair, returning from a trip to the Middle East, said the stand-off between Israel and the Palestinians remains "a -- perhaps the -- genuine source of anger in the Arab and Muslim world, going far beyond anti-Western feeling."

"The issue of even-handedness rankles deeply," he acknowledged.

Blair pledged to making Middle East "an absolute priority for the rest of my time in office."

Wild Thing's comment.......

Blair did great as he spoke out about the anti-Americanism in Europe. That's something that should be attacked. But the more dangerous one is the anti-Americanism in America.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (6)

September 12, 2006

Prisoners At Abu Ghraib Wishing Americans Were Back ~ LOL

Tortured screams ring out as Iraqis take over Abu Ghraib
Telegraph UK.co
By Ali Saber in Baghdad and Gethin Chamberlain

The notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad is at the centre of fresh abuse allegations just a week after it was handed over to Iraqi authorities, with claims that inmates are being tortured by their new captors.

Staff at the jail say the Iraqi authorities have moved dozens of terrorist suspects into Abu Ghraib from the controversial Interior Ministry detention centre in Jadriyah, where United States troops last year discovered 169 prisoners who had been tortured and starved.

An independent witness who went into Abu Ghraib this week told The Sunday Telegraph that screams were coming from the cell blocks housing the terrorist suspects. Prisoners released from the jail this week spoke of routine torture of terrorism suspects and on Wednesday, 27 prisoners were hanged in the first mass execution since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Conditions in the rest of the jail were grim, with an overwhelming stench of excrement, prisoners crammed into cells for all but 20 minutes a day, food rations cut to just rice and water and no air conditioning.

Some of the small number of prisoners who remained in the jail after the Americans left said they had pleaded to go with their departing captors, rather than be left in the hands of Iraqi guards.

"The Americans were better than the Iraqis. They treated us better," said Khalid Alaani, who was held on suspicion of involvement in Sunni terrorism.

Abu Ghraib became synonymous with abuse after shocking pictures were published in 2004 showing prisoners being tortured and humiliated, galvanising opposition to the US presence in Iraq.

The witness gained access to the prison just days after the Americans formally handed over control to the Iraqi authorities on Sept 1.

Inside the 100-yard long cell block the smell of excrement was overpowering. Four to six prisoners shared each of the 12ft by 15ft cells along either side and the walls were smeared with filth. The cell block was patrolled by guards who carried long batons and shouted angrily at the prisoners to stand up.

Access to the part of the prison containing terrorism suspects was denied, but from that block came the sound of screaming. The screaming continued for a long time.

"I am sure someone was being beaten, they were screaming like they were being hit," the witness reported. "I felt scared, I was asking what was happening in the terrorist section.

"I heard shouting, like someone had a hot iron on their body, screams. The officer said they were just screaming by themselves. I was hearing the screams throughout the visit."

The witness said that even in the thieves' section prisoners were being treated badly.

"Someone was shouting 'Please help us, we want the human rights officers, we want the Americans to come back'," he said.

Prisoners interviewed in the presence of their jailers said they were frightened for their safety. They complained that chicken and milk had been cut from their rations, leaving them on rice and water. They also complained about the oppressive heat.

Outside the prison, relatives of some of the inmates said they were being tortured by their captors. One woman, who gave her name as Omsaad, said:

"My son Saad [who was arrested in Fallujah as a suspected insurgent] said he is being tortured by the Iraqis to confess the name of his leader. I met my son and he told me they were being treated badly by the Iraqis."

Haleem Aleulami, who was released from the jail last week, three weeks after being arrested in Ramadi for carrying a pistol in his car, said the Americans had treated him better when they ran the jail. He claimed that visits from the International Red Cross staff had dried up and accused local human rights workers of being members of Shia groups who turned a blind eye to problems in the jail.

"The people are Iraqis and they are members of the Sciri and al Dawa parties. They have a good relationship with the leaders of the jail and they keep quiet," he said. The guards swore at the ordinary prisoners, he said, but those in the terrorist section were treated more brutally.

"The guards were swearing at us, but in the terrorist section they were beating them. I heard it all the time. Everyone knows what is happening."

And Khalid Alaani, who was also picked up in Ramadi suspected of involvement in Sunni terrorism, said: "We preferred the Americans. We asked to move with them to Baghdad airport because we knew the treatment would be changed because we know what the Iraqis are. When the Americans left everything changed."

Staff at the jail said that the prisoners were allowed out from their cells for only 15 to 20 minutes a day because of the danger from the regular mortar attacks. They are no longer allowed access to the main hall where the Americans had allowed them to watch television and the room is now reserved for the use of officers and guards. Staff explained that the air conditioning in the cell blocks had broken, although it was working in their quarters.

One officer, Capt Ali Abdelzaher, said: "We have a problem with the financing for the food, not like the Americans, and there is a technical problem with the air conditioning."

Capt Abdelzaher also confirmed that a number of inmates had been transferred from the Jadriyah detention centre, along with their guards and interrogators.

Graphic stories of abuse at that previously secret facility emerged after US soldiers found 169 prisoners showing signs of torture last November.

Most of the prisoners held by the Americans at Abu Ghraib were either released in recent months or transferred to a new £32 million detention centre at Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport.

Wild Thing's comment..........

ROTFLMAO I love this, this will keep me laughing for years!!! Well cry me a river! Now who will Kofi Annan deride? Both sides are muslim, no evil Americanos involved. Hahahaha

Hey terroriosts............Careful what you ask for - you wanted the Americans out, well.........! Allah Aardvark.

Posted by Wild Thing at 09:47 AM | Comments (13)

September 09, 2006

Missing U.S. Air Force Major Jill Metzger FOUND

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2006 — Air Force Maj. Jill Metzger, who vanished Monday in Kyrgyzstan, has been found and now is back in Air Force control, ABC News has learned.

"We are elated to have Jill back with us," said Air Force spokesman Col. Scott Reese. Local police notified U.S. officials that she had been found at 1:15 a.m. local time in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Air Force officials say she was found alone and appears to have been beaten. Officials say she is "coherent," in "relatively good condition" and is talking to investigators. She is also undergoing medical evaluation.

Officials would not comment on the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and said the investigation is ongoing.

The news brought elation to Metzger's family.

"It's a dream come true. The most significant event of our lives," said Kelly Mayo, Metzger's father-in-law. Mayo said he has not spoken to Metzger yet, but believes she had been kidnapped and "whoever had her dropped her off on the side of the road."

Metzger vanished on Monday afternoon in Kyrgyzstan — a poor, predominantly Muslim country in Central Asia. Since shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, Kyrgyzstan has been home to a strategically important U.S. military base that supports operations in Afghanistan. The government is generally pro-American, and in recent years has experienced sporadic clashes with Islamic fundamentalists.

Just 10 days before deploying to Kyrgyzstan in April, Metzger married Air Force Capt. Josh Mayo. They had already bought tickets for a honeymoon in Jamaica later this month, he said.

"We were going to take Jet Skis out, have a couple of romantic dinners. It is very disappointing," said Mayo

Before her disappearance, Metzger was last seen out shopping with five others from the base. The group briefly separated inside a department store in the center of Bishkek, several miles from the base. They had agreed to meet a short time later, but Metzger never showed up.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:27 AM | Comments (16)

September 06, 2006

Bin Laden Gets a Pass from Pakistan

Habibullah Khan Report
Osama bin Laden, America's most wanted man, will not face capture in Pakistan if he agrees to lead a "peaceful life," Pakistani officials tell ABC News.

The surprising announcement comes as Pakistani army officials announced they were pulling their troops out of the North Waziristan region as part of a "peace deal" with the Taliban.

If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden "would not be taken into custody," Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC News in a telephone interview, "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen."

Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere in the tribal areas of Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border, but U.S. officials say his precise location is unknown.

In addition to the pullout of Pakistani troops, the "peace agreement" between Pakistan and the Taliban also provides for the Pakistani army to return captured Taliban weapons and prisoners.

"What this means is that the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership have effectively carved out a sanctuary inside Pakistan," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, the former White House counter-terrorism director.

The agreement was signed on the same day President Bush said the United States was working with its allies "to deny terrorists the enclaves they seek to establish in ungoverned areas across the world."

The Pakistani Army had gone into Waziristan, under heavy pressure from the United States, but faced a series of humiliating defeats at the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters.

"They're throwing the towel," said Alexis Debat, who is a Senior Fellow at the Nixon Center and an ABC News consultant. "They're giving al Qaeda and the Taliban a blank check and saying essentially make yourselves at home in the tribal areas," Debat said.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Maybe this is for the best...now we can go in and clean things up without having to go through the Pakistanis who give the heads up to Osama and his crowd, protecting him while saying they are helping us. It is too bad though, because just recently Pakistan told us they want to help in the fight against terrorists. I just don't get why leaders of countries cave in when it comes to fighting back. imo, It comes down to handing over an entire country to the enemy.

One of our many allies is the Polish military.They are outspoken in their support of the United States, even when other European countries are running for cover; their troops are on the frontlines with ours, some even participating in the opening engagements of Operation Iraqi Freedom; and they are offering to open their borders for US forces to be stationed in their country, even as other European nations are pushing for US troops to leave their soil.

In addition, I love the fact that Poland considers Ronald Reagan to be the greatest of American Presidents and are planning on erecting a statue in his honor.

Romania, Hungary and Czeclovakia, are also offering forward bases, just to name a few.

And some of the others, Australia, Britain, Italy, Ukraine, and Japan, along with all of the other little countries like Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Georgia who sent troops to support us in Afghanistan and Iraq.

UPDATE:

I had done this post about this and now I see others have also been posting about it. I am adding in the video on this as well.

* Michelle Malkin

* Stop the ACLU

* The Fourth Rail

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (12)

September 03, 2006

Better Dead Than Bred! 200 Taliban Fighters Killed In Afganistan

230 Taliban, four ISAF soldiers killed in Kandahar operation

Pajhwok Report

KANDAHAR CITY, September 3 (Pajhwok Afghan News): As many as 230 Taliban fighters have been killed in two days of fierce fighting in Panjwayee and Zherai districts of the southern Kandahar province, a source told Pajhwok Afghan News on Sunday.

The fighters were killed in the operation launched by the NATO and Afghan forces in the two districts, which have been scene to attacks on Afghan and foreign forces over the past few months.

The source, which did not want to be named, said the operation was still going on to eliminate or flush out the miscreants from those areas.

Meanwhile, a military statement release from Kandahar airfield said four ISAF soldiers and more than 200 Taliban fighters had been killed since the beginning of the Operation Medusa early Saturday morning.

This figure was obtained after reviewing information from ISAF surveillance and reconnaissance assets operating in Panjwayee and Zherai districts as well as information reported by various Afghan officials and citizens living nearby, said the statement.

Four ISAF soldiers also killed during todays operations and seven others were wounded. More than 80 suspected Taliban fighters were captured by the police and a further 180 insurgents were seen fleeing the districts, said the statement.

Also written about here.............
CNN

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan and NATO forces killed more than 200 Taliban fighters in a major operation in southern Afghanistan, NATO said Sunday.
Four soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force were killed and seven others were wounded in the fighting in Kandahar province, a statement from the alliance said.

"Reports indicate that more than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation Medusa began early Saturday morning. This figure was arrived at by reviewing information from ISAF surveillance and reconnaissance assets operating in Panjwayi and Zhari districts as well as information reported by various Afghan officials and citizens living nearby," it said.

More than 80 suspected Taliban fighters were captured by Afghan police and a further 180 insurgents were seen fleeing the district, the statement said.

NATO said there were no reports of civilian casualties, despite the heavy weight of fire being used.

An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, Gen. Zahir Azimi, said earlier in the day that a number of civilians were killed.

A NATO spokesman, Maj. Scott Lundy, said NATO and Afghan troops had gained ground during Operation Medusa and had disrupted the militants' command and control so their fighters were moving in a confused way.

On Saturday, a reconnaissance plane supporting the offensive crashed, killing all 14 British military personnel on board. NATO said the plane was not brought down by hostile fire.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 PM | Comments (7)

August 31, 2006

The Bribe To Exit Pakistan: 15 cents

Afghanistan, Pakistan agreed last week to joint patrols of their border, but official crossings remain lax.

August 30, 2006

CHAMAN, PAKISTAN

For a little more than the price of tea, Abdul Razzak, a trader, says he crosses illegally from Pakistan into Afghanistan every day.

Mr. Razzak, who stood recently near the border, preparing to cross, has no passport or identification documents of any kind. But that doesn't matter: For only 10 rupees (about 15 cents), he bribes the border security forces to let him through. Sometimes he pays 20.

"I bargain for the price. All of these people," he says, indicating the throngs of pedestrians moving toward the border check post, "when crossing the border, don't have documents. They're all paying the Frontier Constabulary the border security forces."

Chaman, the main border crossing into Kandahar 60 miles away, is supposed to be a model of border security, symbolizing Pakistan's commitment to containing the Taliban surge.

Instead, security measures are breached for mere pennies, bolstering the accusation that Taliban fighters based in Pakistan are infiltrating the volatile Afghan provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.

That accusation was most recently leveled by Gen. John Abizaid, commander of the US Central Command. He told reporters at Bagram air base that militants are using Pakistan as a base from which to infiltrate into Afghanistan. He was quick to add, however, that he did not believe the Pakistani government is conspiring with them.

"I think that Pakistan has done an awful lot in going after Al Qaeda and it's important that they don't let the Taliban groups be organized on the Pakistani side of the border," he told reporters.

For 12 hours a day every day, 35,000 people pour through the Friend Gate at Chaman. Families and burqa-clad women stream from Pakistan to Afghanistan, gingerly bridging the divide in seconds. Border guards do a quick pat down, and random searches of bags, but mostly the stream continues uninterrupted, pacing through metal detectors that do not beep or produce any sounds.

Abdul Haleem, who was preparing to cross last week, says migrants can bypass even the occasional searches of pedestrians by paying 100 rupees (about $1.50) to hop on the back of amotorcycle . With young men perched on top, motorcycles roar through the checkpoint, seeming to stop for no one. As many as 4,000 motorcycles pass through Chaman every day, according to police sources. Mr. Haleem says many of them are illegally transporting people over the border.

Karem Mumtaz Ahmed, head of the Madina Mosque in Chaman, spoke recently of 12 men and their lethal commitment to jihad. Mr. Ahmed met them the night before their passage into Afghanistan, and said they had shaved their beards before crossing through Chaman.

"Yes, it's true, people are going to southern Afghanistan from Pakistan," he says. "The government of Pakistan is not sending its people from here. People are going by themselves.... It is the responsibility of Muslims to fight."

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)

August 27, 2006

Something To Realize

A Hostage Affair in Gaza is Ended by a Three-Part Ransom
DEBKA file

On the face of it, conversion to Islam would appear to provide a painless escape device for any hostage who happens to fall into fundamentalist terrorist hands. After all, once free, the hostage can always revert to his real faith or non-faith. It is hard to blame the two Fox News journalists, the American Steve Centanni, 60, and the New Zealander, Olaf Wiig, 36, for taking that path on to buy their way out of an uncertain fate at the hands of Palestinian terrorists – especially as they later reported they were forced to make the gesture at gunpoint.

And, indeed the two journalists were released from 13 days of captivity in Gaza three hours after announcing their conversion on a new videotape released by the kidnappers in Gaza.

Relief over the two journalists’ coming safely out of their ordeal is quite apart from considerations of the consequences for the war on terrorism. It must be said that the Palestinian kidnappers also walked away without suffering any harm and can keep on snatching victims without fear – exactly as the same terrorist gang got away with murdering three Americans in Gaza in 2003. In fact, the prime minister Ismail Haniya, who belongs to an Islamist terror group, was allowed to take credit for the release after winning a face saver in the form of the conversions and an anti-American diatribe.

Some further points are worth considering:

1. Shortly after Centanni and Wiig were snatched by masked gunmen in Gaza on Aug. 14, the various intelligence agencies operating in Gaza knew who the kidnapper was: the Palestinian warlord Zakaria Dughmush, who had been hired by the same Hamas group which on June 25 kidnapped and - is still holding - the Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit.

Dughmush is a former follower of the late Jemal Semhadana, head of the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees who was killed in Rafah by rockets fired from an Israeli warplane on June 8, 2006. Semhadana was the first Palestinian terrorist to attack Americans. He staged the bombing attack of October 15, 2003 on a US embassy convoy from Tel Aviv as it drove past Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. Three American security officers died in that attack.

After Semhadana’s death, his PRC fragmented into several small militias, one of them led by Dughmush, a fundamentalist freelance terrorist, who set up base in Gaza City. He was adopted by Hamas, but also draws funds and weapons from al Qaeda and Hizballah elements working together in the Gaza Strip.

The efforts of the Hamas abductors of Shalit to negotiate a prisoner swap broke down. Hamas ended up refusing the quid pro quo of a promise by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, already deposited with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, to release 600 Palestinian prisoners. The abductors held out for a simultaneous trade and then withdrew from the talks.

Then, when pressure built up to end the episode which was embarrassing Haniya, Mahmoud Abbas and others, they contracted Dughmush to stage a more spectacular abduction operation. He chose the two American Fox New journalists as his prey.

2. Although the foreign intelligence agencies with a presence in Gaza knew where the Fox reporters were being held, neither the Americans, the Israelis nor the British – the senior US ally in the war on terror – were willing to go in and recover them by force, or even lay hands on Dughmush and his gunmen.

In the final reckoning, the Palestinians were granted a face-saver – the Hamas prime minister in particular, who is using the release of the American and the New Zealander to whitewash his organization, without freeing the Israeli soldier.

3. Various Palestinian middlemen were used by British agents at the request of the US to bring the Fox journalists home. They worked out a convoluted deal which entailed their public conversion to Islam, an anti-American harangue on air and a six-figure cash ransom paid under the table to Dughmush to fund his terrorist militia’s operations in Gaza. While the first two parts of the ransom were publicly aired, the third part will no doubt be vehemently denied. But the face remains that a terrorist chief who freelances for at least three fundamentalist terrorist organizations walks free with a strong incentive to develop his profitable hostage-taking business.

4. For Israel, the fate of Gilead Shalit, whom Hamas kidnapped from sovereign Israel in a cross-border assault, is left up in the air. Israel did not link him to the two Fox journalists; Hamas did. The Americans, the New Zealanders and the British worked fast to separate the two abduction episodes. Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who says he does not sleep at night for worrying about Shalit and the two Israelis in Hizballah hands, did not take advantage of the subsequent abductions of Centanni and Wiig to have him included in the package for their release. He must have known that the two journalists would not have been released without the say-so of the Hamas group holding the Israeli soldier. This was a card Olmert did not play.

All that remains to be found out now about this shabby episode is the size of the rake-off the Palestinian warlord Dughmush has handed over from his ransom to Shalit’s Hamas abductors.

Posted by Wild Thing at 11:55 AM | Comments (4)

Thank God! But NO Thank You Allah the Moon god

Fox News journalists Olaf Wiig, 36, second right, Wiig's wife Anita McNaught, right, and Steve Centanni, second left, are seen with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, from Hamas, after their release at an hotel on the Gaza City beach front Sunday Aug. 27, 2006. The two were released Sunday, nearly two weeks after being seized by militants in Gaza.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Fox News
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two FOX News journalists were released by their kidnappers Sunday, nearly two weeks after they were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.

The two journalists were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel by Palestinian security officials and appeared to be in good health. A tearful Centanni embraced a Palestinian journalist briefly as he entered, then rushed upstairs as Wiig followed.

Centanni, in a phone interview shortly after his release, said "I'm fine. I'm just so happy to be free."

He said he was so emotional because he was out and alive.

"There were times when I thought 'I'm dead,' and I'm not," Centanni said. "I'm fine. I'm so very happy."

He recounted how he and Wiig were pulled out of their car on August 14 and taken at gunpoint into another car. The kidnappers blindfolded them and handcuffed their hands behind their backs with plastic ties. They were then transferred to another car and driven to a building that they later learned was a garage.

"We were pushed down onto the dirt-covered concrete floor and we were forced to life face down with our handcuffs on," Centanni said.

"Olaf was in the same room with me. Our shoulders were wrenched back, very painful."

Both of the men were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint, Centanni said.

"We were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint," Centanni told FOX News. "Don't get me wrong here. I have the highest respect for Islam, and I learned a lot of good things about it, but it was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns, and we didn't know what the hell was going on."

From Reuters

"My name is Steve, I am American, after I entered Islam I changed my name to Khaled," Fox News Correspondent, Steve Centanni said in the Video.

"My name is Olaf, I am from New Zealand. After I entered the Islam I changed my name became Yaqoub," said Fox News Cameraman, Olaf Wiig.

Wild Thing's comment.....
I am glad these two men are free, I thank God for it, and I have prayed for their safety and that nothing would happen to them such as beheading that the followers of Islam love to do.

I am STILL praying for the release, ALIVE and well of the IDF soldiers that have all but been forgotten by so many.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, is a terrorists, an evil man from the depths of hell. IMO he is going to use this to say how wonderful he is ( which he is NOT) and how Islam is the religion of peace. ( which it is NOT)

When we all know Islam is NOT the religion of peace it is a death cult and let us never forget that.

I was listening to the three stooges on Fox & Friends and they were going on and on about how great it was that the two journalists didn't have any animosity towards their captors, they were being professional in doing so, etc.. I found this smacked of appalling, sickening, and full of the usual liberal American guilt. We are talking about vicious animal terrorists, kidnapped two of their own (other journalists), threatened them, and the three stooges felt they had to humanize these terrorist and basically give them a pass. I thought the moral relativism by the news media was disgusting.

Fake conversion is not the issue.

The press pretending that Hamas and the Pals had nothing to do with this kidnapping is sickening.So now we are supposed to swallow the line that the "good people" of Hamas and the Pal authority worked hard to get their release from some mythical "radical" group?

Thank goodness for Brit Hume, he is the BEST! His commentary regarding the release and forced conversions of Steve Centanni and Olaf Wigg is just fabulous. He said something like: What a "great" faith is Islam when people are forced to convert at the end of a gun"? (something like that)

* Captain's Quarters
* Hot Air
* Michelle Malkin

Posted by Wild Thing at 11:47 AM

Galloway Galloway Congratulates Hezbollah

Galloway is in Beirut to present a phone-in radio show for a British radio station

George Galloway Congratulates Hezbollah and its Leader on "Victory" over Israel

MP George Galloway has congratulated Hizbollah on its "victory" in Israel.

At a news conference in a Beirut hotel, the controversial politician said: "I came here to extend my congratulations to the Lebanese people on a great and historic victory against this aggression.
"I want to congratulate the Lebanese resistance and their leading edge, Hizbollah, whose martyrs and her s have achieved this great victory.

"And in particular to their leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose name now rings in joy around the world."

Galloway is in Beirut to present a phone-in radio show for a British radio station.

He also condemned Prime Minister Tony Blair's response to Israel's war with Hizbollah.

"Tony Blair did everything he could to extend, to prolong, to intensify the suffering of the people of Lebanon. The blood of these thousands is on his hands," he said.

Galloway is known for his outspoken comments and was kicked out of the Labour party for his outspoken opposition to the Iraq war.

Wild Thing's comment.....

When the Brits arrest and try this man for treason, we will know that they are serious about preventing terrorism.

The really sad thing is the left thinks it is immune from destruction due to their support of the poor Jihadis. They think they will be rewarded for the support. They are the last to realize, too late, that their heads can roll also.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (7)

August 25, 2006

The Man Who is Coming To Dinner

CAIR to Host Dinner for Former President of Iran; Khatami to Speak on 'The Dialogue of Civilizations: Five Years After 9/11'

Contact: Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, or ihooper@cair-net.org

News Advisory:

On Friday, Sept. 8, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will host a dinner for former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Va. The theme of his address at the CAIR dinner will be "The Dialogue of Civilizations: Five Years After 9/11." Khatami will be in Washington, D.C., to take part in an event at the National Cathedral.

WHAT: CAIR Hosts Dinner for Former President of Iran

WHEN: Friday, Sept. 8 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (A private reception with President Khatami, including a photo opportunity, will precede the dinner at 6 p.m.)

WHERE: Marriott Crystal Gateway, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Va.

COST: Dinner only: $250 per person; private reception and dinner: $500 per person

CONTACT: R.S.V.P. by Tuesday, Sept. 5, by calling 202-742-6409 or 202-488-8787 ext. 6052, or e-mailing irahman@cair.com

Not only that but also this.......

Former President of Iran Invited to Speak in D.C.

Despite a looming diplomatic showdown with Iran over its nuclear program, the Bush administration has agreed to issue a visa to former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami to give a public address at the Washington National Cathedral next month, according to the Rev. Canon John L. Peterson, director of the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation.

Khatami would be the most senior Iranian to visit Washington since Iran's 1979 revolution and the 1979-1981 takeover of the U.S. Embassy, which led Washington to sever relations with a country that had been one of its two closest allies in the Middle East.

The State Department said yesterday that it had not yet approved a visa for Khatami because he has not yet formally applied, which he must do outside Iran.

The White House decision to allow a prominent Iranian reformer to visit comes at a time of mounting tension with the new hard-line leadership in Tehran. Iran is expected to give its official answer today to a U.S.-backed package of incentives designed to get Tehran to give up uranium enrichment, a process in a peaceful nuclear energy program that can be converted to develop a nuclear weapon.

Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns said Friday that the United States is ready to push for new international sanctions on Iran at the United Nations if it does not accept the undisclosed package. Burns's office made the decision to grant the visa, according to the cathedral.

The Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, dean of the cathedral, said, "It will be an honor for the cathedral to provide a platform for President Khatami." He added: "President Khatami's commitment to a dialogue between civilizations and cultures is an important component in the peace process. This is much needed in the world today."

Wild Thing's comment........

Khatami is a BIG supporter of Hezbollah's Nasrallah. Perhaps CAIR could invite Osama over for dinner as well.

Remember this quote from CAIR:

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith but to become dominant." -- Omar Ahmad, CAIR chairman of the board, July 4, 1998.

Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns, why are you allowing this guy into the US?

Posted by Wild Thing at 03:07 AM | Comments (11)

August 23, 2006

Steve Centanni and Olag Wiig Video

Video shows seized Gaza abductees

A previously unknown militant group has released a video of two Western journalists who were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip nine days ago.

Olaf Wiig, 36, and Steve Centanni, 60, of US channel Fox News, were shown telling their families they were in "fairly good health".

A fax from the "Holy Jihad Brigades" to news agencies demanded the US release "Muslim prisoners" within 72 hours.

The video was sent to the Qatar-based TV news channel al-Jazeera TV.

The two men were kidnapped in Gaza City on 14 August. The footage shows the two men seated on the ground side-by-side and cross-legged, in an apparently darkened room, dressed in tracksuits.

Call for pressure

"We're in fairly good condition, we're alive and well," Mr Centanni, a US citizen and a Fox News reporter, says in the video.

"Just want to let you know I'm here and alive and give my love to my family and friends and ask you to do anything you can to try to help us get out of here."

He adds that the two men have been given access to clean water, showers, toilets, food and clothing.

Mr Wiig, a cameraman from New Zealand, asks his family and supporters to apply pressure for their release on the Palestinian government in Gaza and the West Bank.

"To my family, I love you all. Please don't worry, I'll do all the worrying for us," Mr Wiig says.

The group also issued pictures of the journalists' identity cards, and, in a separate statement faxed to news agencies, called for a prisoner release within three days.

The statement, which was written in strongly religious language and quoted from the Koran, did not say what would happen to the two journalists if the US did not meet their demand.

The Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya, of the militant group and ruling party Hamas, re-iterated his call for the journalists' release.

"Our demand for the people behind the kidnapping to release the journalists still stands, because... this act contradicts the habits and customs of our people," he said.

'More serious'

There had been no word on the journalists since they were seized from their vehicle near the Palestinian security services' headquarters in Gaza City.

The crew's Palestinian driver told security officials their car had been stopped in Gaza City .

He said masked gunmen ordered the men into another vehicle and they were driven away.

The BBC's Nick Thorpe in Jerusalem says several factors make this kidnapping more serious than several previous abductions of foreign journalists and aid workers in Gaza in recent months.

The length of time the journalists have been held is longer than in previous cases, and also their fate has now been linked to the question of prisoners and thus to the wider conflict in the Middle East, our correspondent says.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 PM

Italy Reports Seizing US-bound Arms Shipment ~ Grazie

Rome

Italian authorities seized a container full of weapons including Kalashnikov assault rifles and plastic explosives bound for the US from Saudi Arabia in May, Press reports said.
Il Mattino newspaper reported that the 'arsenal' was discovered during a search of a ship registered to an unnamed ex-Soviet republic which was travelling from Saudi Arabia to the US east coast.

In addition to 70 AK-47 assault rifles and plastics used in explosives, the shipment also contained launch pads for rockets, it said.

An inquiry is under way with the participation of US secret services, said an AFP report.

The report could not be confirmed.

BUT this is weird........ I remembered something like this from a long time ago, so is it the same story re-rerleased or a new one. weird.

AK-47s headed to U.S. had legal permits

By CURT ANDERSON
The Associated Press
4/28/2004, 3:13 p.m. CT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S.-bound shipment of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles and other combat-type weapons, seized by Italian authorities who suspected they were being smuggled, actually have legal permits to be imported, American officials said Wednesday.
About 7,500 AK-47s, AKM rifles and other weapons worth an estimated $6 million were seized April 20 aboard a Turkish-flagged ship in the port of Gioia Tauro. They were bound for New York from Romania.

At the time, Italian authorities said the guns were hidden aboard the ship.

But Andrew Lluberes, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the weapons actually were cleared by U.S. authorities. "The permits are valid," he said.

Wild Thing's comment.....

When it absolutely, positively needs to get there.....
Sorry I could not resist!

Wouldn't you love to know who was going to pick them up here in the USA? And I wonder how many shipments they've missed.

Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (4)

August 22, 2006

No More Silence About The Fox News Journalists

On August 14, 2006 two journalists working for FOX News were kidnapped in Gaza City near the Palestinian security services headquarters. Abducted were Steve Centanni, 60, national correspondent for FOX News and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand.
Questions are arising over the blackout of information regarding the investigation of the missing FOX journalists. The FOX News Network itself has been virtually silent concerning the story. There is little or no mention of the incident by FOX's hard news division, including FOX's lineup of primetime political talk shows.

The mainstream media, including other cable news networks, have also seemingly ignored the kidnappings. In the past, when journalists were abducted by Islamic extremists in the Middle East their stories were widely covered, bringing daily headlines about the status and condition of the abductees.

Some are speculating the silence over the disappearance of Centanni and Wiig is due to the fact negotiations may be underway regarding the release of the two men and the media may not want to antagonize those who perpetrated the crime by heavily reporting on the search for the FOX News journalists. However, it is not clear who would be negotiating with who--if there are indeed negotiations taking place.

FOX News has been a harsh critic of what some are calling Islamic fascism, leading many to believe its journalists were targeted for this reason. However, critics feel this strategy may be setting a dangerous precedent concerning the safety of other journalists working in the Middle East and whether such a strategy might influence how the war against terrorism is covered in the United States.

Wild Thing's comment........
I have not mentioned the kidnapping of Fox News reporter Steve Centanni and his free-lance cameraman, Olaf Wiig, because it was my understanding that Fox was working hard to negotiate a release of these men.

I am not a patient person and so in war I know I have to go into the patient mode and I can handle that. But this is different and I have thought about these men every day since they were kidnapped. Not saying one word on my blog about them trying to be supportive of the negotiations. I still am supportive but I am no longer going to keep silent.

I am not the only one that has decided to speak out about this, Michelle Malkin, Ace of Spades . Riehl World, and others are speaking out about it as well.

For their families you are in my prayers.

I hope and pray Steve Centanni and his cameraman Olaf Wiig may be recovered safely.

I think that the terrorists were pissed off at Fox for telling the truth. For the human pieces of flesh that have kidnapped these men there is a special place in hell for you and I hope you get there soon.

Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 PM | Comments (4)

August 19, 2006

Protesting the Protesters

What the media doesn't show you: Military personnel and their families protesting the protesters.

Posted by Wild Thing at 06:05 PM | Comments (2)

August 05, 2006

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr MIA at Protest Rally in Baghdad

Portraits of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah and Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are carried by Iraqi Shiites, as some thousands gather for a mass demonstration against Israel's bombing of Lebanon, Friday, Aug. 4, 2006, in the Sadr City area of Baghdad, Iraq. Over 200,000 Shiites filled the streets of the Shiite dominated Sadr City slum to attend a rally in support of Lebanon after Friday prayers. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Iraqi Shiites Chant 'Death to Israel'

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Hundreds of thousands of Shiites chanting ``Death to Israel'' and ``Death to America'' marched through the streets of Baghdad's biggest Shiite district Friday in a massive show of support for Hezbollah in its battle against Israel.

No violence was reported during the rally in Sadr City. But at least 26 people were killed elsewhere in the country, most of them in a car bombing and gunbattle in Mosul in the north.

The demonstration was the biggest in the Middle East in support of Hezbollah since Israel launched its attacks against the guerrillas in Lebanon on July 12. The protest was organized by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose political movement built around the Mahdi Army militia has been modeled after Hezbollah.

Al-Sadr summoned followers from throughout the Shiite heartland of southern Iraq to converge on Baghdad for the rally but he himself did not attend.

Demonstrators, wearing white shrouds symbolizing willingness to die for Hezbollah, waved the guerrillas' yellow banner and chanted slogans in support of their leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, which has attained a cult status in the Arab world for its defiance of Israeli military power.

``Allah, Allah, give victory to Hassan Nasrallah,'' the crowd chanted.

``Mahdi Army and Hezbollah are one, let them confront us if they dare,'' the predominantly male crowd shouted, waving the flags of Hezbollah, Lebanon and Iraq. Many walked with umbrellas in the searing afternoon sun. Volunteers sprayed them with water.

``I am wearing the shroud and I am ready to meet martyrdom,'' said Mohammed Khalaf, 35, owner of a clothes shop in the southern city of Amarah.

Al-Sadr followers painted U.S. and Israeli flags on the main road leading to the rally site, and demonstrators stepped on them - a gesture of contempt in Iraq. Alongside the painted flags was written: ``These are the terrorists.''

Protesters set fire to American and Israeli flags, as well as effigies of President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, showing the men with Dracula teeth. ``Saddam and Bush, Two Faces of One Coin'' was scrawled on Bush's effigy.

Iraqi government television said the Defense Ministry had approved the demonstration, a sign of the public anger over Israel's offensive in Lebanon and of al-Sadr's stature as a major player in Iraqi politics.

``I consider my participation in this rally a religious duty. I am proud to join this crowd and I am ready to die for the sake of Lebanon,'' said Khazim al-Ibadi, 40, a government employee from Hillah.

Although the rally was about Hezbollah, it was also a show of strength by al-Sadr, and many worried that the presence of so many Shiite demonstrators - most of them from the Mahdi Army - would add to tensions in the city that has seen almost daily clashes between Shiite and Sunni extremists.

The sectarian violence escalated after the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra unleashed a wave of reprisal attacks on Sunnis nationwide.

In the latest violence Friday, at least 13 people were killed when Iraqi security forces fought street gunbattles with suspected insurgents in Mosul after a suicide car bomber blew up a police patrol, provincial police commander Maj. Gen. Withiq al-Hamdani said.

He said the suicide bombing killed four policemen and eight insurgents were killed in the subsequent gunbattle.

Also Friday, another suicide bomber killed three people on a soccer field in Hatra town near Mosul. An engineer was shot dead and an unidentified body, showing signs of torture, was found in western Baghdad.

The U.S. military said in a statement that coalition forces killed at least three ``terrorists'' during an air strike and multiple raids southeast of Baghdad on Thursday.

Separately. gunmen shot and killed four people and wounded eight from a Shiite family late Thursday in Dujail, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police Lt. Hussam al-Dujeili, said.

On Thursday, Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, told a Senate committee in Washington that sectarian violence in Iraq ``is probably as bad as I have seen it'' and that if the spiral continued the country ``could move toward civil war.''

Wild Thing's comment......

They're always chanting DEATH to someone, it's in the DNA of their Quran, their death cult, Islam. It's a shame we missed an excellent target of opportunity.

Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 AM | Comments (8)

July 27, 2006

Taliban Goes For Cash

Financial Times (UK) / July 26, 2006

The Taliban has found a way to recruit fighters that is less about winning hearts and minds and more about the enduring appeal of cold hard cash.

They are paying fighters up to $12 (£6.50) a day to fight the fledgling Afghan National Army, which pays only $4 a day to its soldiers in the field, according to military officials.

"The Taliban are supported by Pakistan and they get money from the drugs trade, so they get more pay than our soldiers," said Colonel Myuddin Ghouri of the national army's 205 Corp.

While the ANA has the advantage of superior equipment and the same medical treatment as UK troops, its soldiers often have to risk their lives far from home.

"If you were a lad in the hills and you were offered $12 to stay local or you could take $4 and fight miles away from home, which would you do?" said Lieutenant Colonel David Hammond, an officer with 7 Para who is training Afghan officers in the southern province of Helmand as part of a mentoring scheme.

The pay difference is making it harder to recruit soldiers to the 38,000-strong ANA, which has faced a much better equipped and funded insurgency sinceJanuary.

Western officials have estimated that the Taliban's forces have risen from 2,000 last year to 6,000 this year. The Taliban claims to have 12,000 men.

Afghan defence ministry officials believe funds for the insurgency are flowing over the border from Pakistan and possibly from Arab countries.

The multi-ethnic Afghan National Army has been one of the success stories of the post-September 11 era and is hugely popular with most Afghans.

However, Afghan officials in Kabul say the pay of Afghan soldiers will remain a problem.

"Basic pay of $70 a month was a lot of money three years ago, but it's harder to recruit people to fight in a bitter insurgency now," said one Afghan official.

Posted by Wild Thing at 02:27 PM | Comments (8)

July 18, 2006

WMD

On June 9th [2004], the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission briefed the Security Council about the export of Iraqi WMD, missile and nuclear components shipped out of Iraq before, during and after the invasion. As reported by MENL news service, UNMOVIC acting executive chairman Demetrius Perricos told the Council:

"The removal of these materials from Iraq raises concerns with regard to proliferation risks," and said inspectors found Iraqi WMD and missile components shipped abroad that still contained UN inspection tags.

The World Tribune reported on Perricos's briefing.

"He said the Iraqi facilities were dismantled and sent both to Europe and around the Middle East at the rate of about 1,000 tons of metal a month... The Baghdad missile site contained a range of WMD and dual-use components, UN officials said. They included missile components, reactor vessel and fermenters ... required for the production of chemical and biological warheads. 'It raises the question of what happened to the dual-use equipment, where is it now and what is it being used for,' Perricos's spokesman, said. 'You can make all kinds of pharmaceutical and medicinal products with a fermenter. You can also use it to breed anthrax.'"

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper, head of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, said "vehicle traffic photographed by U.S. spy satellites indicated that material and documents related to the arms programs were shipped to Syria."

"Last month Moshe Yaalon, who was Israel's top general at the time, said Iraq transported WMD to Syria six weeks before Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

Last March, John A. Shaw, a former U.S. deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said Russian Spetsnaz units moved WMD to Syria and Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

"While in Iraq I received information from several sources naming the exact Russian units, what they took and where they took both WMD materials and conventional explosives," Mr. Shaw told NewsMax reporter Charles Smith.

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong was deputy commander of Central Command during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In September 2004, he told WABC radio that "I do know for a fact that some of those weapons went into Syria, Lebanon and Iran."

In January 2004, David Kay, the first head of the Iraq Survey Group which conducted the search for Saddam's WMD, told a British newspaper there was evidence unspecified materials had been moved to Syria from Iraq shortly before the war.

"We know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam's WMD program," Mr. Kay told the Sunday Telegraph.

Also that month, Nizar Nayuf, a Syrian journalist who defected to an undisclosed European country, told a Dutch newspaper he knew of three sites where Iraq's WMD was being kept. They were the town of al Baida near the city of Hama in northern Syria; the Syrian air force base near the village of Tal Snan, and the city of Sjinsar on the border with Lebanon.

In an addendum to his final report last April, Charles Duelfer, who succeeded David Kay as head of the Iraq Survey Group, said he couldn't rule out a transfer of WMD from Iraq to Syria.

"There was evidence of a discussion of possible WMD collaboration initiated by a Syrian security officer, and ISG received information about movement of material out of Iraq, including the possibility that WMD was involved. In the judgment of the working group, these reports were sufficiently credible to merit further investigation," Mr. Duelfer said."

"The short answer to the question of where the WMD Saddam bought from the Russians went was that they went to Syria and Lebanon," former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense John A. Shaw told an audience Saturday at a privately sponsored "Intelligence Summit" in Alexandria, Va. (www.intelligencesummit.org).

"We are not talking about a large stockpile of weapons," he said. "But we know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam's WMD programme. Precisely what went to Syria, and what has happened to it, is a major issue that needs to be resolved."