Bush, Cheney comforted troops privately Washington Times
For much of the past seven years, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have waged a clandestine operation inside the White House. It has involved thousands of military personnel, private presidential letters and meetings that were kept off their public calendars or sometimes left the news media in the dark.
Their mission: to comfort the families of soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and to lift the spirits of those wounded in the service of their country.
On Monday, the president is set to make a more common public trip – with reporters in tow – to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, home to many of the wounded and a symbol of controversy earlier in his presidency over the quality of care the veterans were receiving.
Vice President Dick Cheney, an avid fly-fisherman, practices his cast with wounded troops from Walter Reed Army Medical Center during one of the half-dozen barbecues he’s hosted at his Naval Observatory home. (White House photo)
But the size and scope of Mr. Bush’s and Mr. Cheney’s private endeavors to meet with wounded soliders and families of the fallen far exceed anything that has been witnessed publicly, according to interviews with more than a dozen officials familiar with the effort.
“People say, ‘Why would you do that?'” the president said in an Oval Office interview with The Washington Times on Friday. “And the answer is: This is my duty. The president is commander in chief, but the president is often comforter in chief, as well. It is my duty to be – to try to comfort as best as I humanly can a loved one who is in anguish.”
Mr. Bush, for instance, has sent personal letters to the families of every one of the more than 4,000 troops who have died in the two wars, an enormous personal effort that consumed hours of his time and escaped public notice. The task, along with meeting family members of troops killed in action, has been so wrenching – balancing the anger, grief and pride of families coping with the loss symbolized by a flag-draped coffin – that the president often leaned on his wife, Laura, for emotional support.
“I lean on the Almighty and Laura,” Mr. Bush said in the interview. “She has been very reassuring, very calming.”
Mr. Bush also has met privately with more than 500 families of troops killed in action and with more than 950 wounded veterans, according to White House spokesman Carlton Carroll. Many of those meetings were outside the presence of the news media at the White House or at private sessions during official travel stops, officials said.
The first lady said those private visits, many of which she also attended, took a heavy emotional toll, not just on the president, but on her as well.
Wild Thing’s comment………
It is impossible to dislike President Bush at least for me, despite how much I disagree with him on many things. We will be missing his human qualities very shortly. Both Bush and Cheney are class acts in so many ways. Thank God they have been in office for 8 years and not Gore or Kerry.
What a contrast between President Bush and what we having coming up, Barack Hussein Obama, who has never performed a truly sellfess act in his entire life.
Bush and Cheney for certain, never waivered in their pride and support of our troops.
I’m going to miss President Bush and Vice-President Cheney.
This is a VERY special video ….”Military Christmas”…….. PLEASE CLICK TO WATCH HERE – Thank you.
President’s speech to the troops at Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Iraq
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for coming out to say hello. General, thank you for the introduction, I am honored to be at Camp Victory. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: Laura and I have been having a lot of Christmas parties at the White House, so I thought it would be kind of neat to change the scenery. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: And I would rather be with the men and women of the United States military than with anybody else. (Applause.)
So as you can see I decided to fly over, and in the spirit of the season we renamed Air Force One to Rudolph One. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. I bring greetings from a proud and grateful nation — Merry Christmas to you, happy holidays. Congratulations on your inspiring accomplishments here in Iraq. And above all, thank you for volunteering to defend our country in a time of danger. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: This is a time of year to give thanks for our many blessings B- and the greatest blessing we have is freedom and the fact that we’ve got a United States military to defend that freedom.
So General, thank you very much for your leadership. I’m proud to be with you again. I appreciate the leadership of General Austin, as well. Ambassador Crocker and Christine are with us today. I had the pleasure of meeting Sergeant — Command Sergeant Major Lawrence Wilson; Command Sergeant Major Joe Allen; Major General Hammond — (applause) — put it together for Hammond. (Laughter.) AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: Command Sergeant Major Gioia. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: Major General Oates. (Applause.) How about, have you ever heard of a guy named Redmore? (Applause.)
Thanks for coming out. I am thrilled to be here with the diplomats, embassy personnel who are so critical to our success.
I want to thank the Iraqi citizens who are here with us today. I appreciate your courage. I know there are members of the coalition who are here with us. There have been a lot of troops from around the world who have come to help this young democracy survive and thrive. And so I want to thank the citizens of those country [sic] and the troops who have served here before us.
This is my fourth trip to Iraq — and you’ve probably heard I’m heading into retirement — (laughter) — so it’s going to be my last trip as the President. But thanks to you, the Iraq we stand in tonight is dramatically freer, dramatically safer, and dramatically better than the Iraq we found eight years ago. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: And as a result of the sacrifices of our troops, America is safer, and America is more secure. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: I want to take you back to what life was like eight years ago here in Iraq. Iraq had a record of supporting terror, a record of developing and using weapons of mass destruction, was routinely firing at American military personnel, systematically violating United Nations resolution. Life for the Iraqi people was a nightmare, with Saddam Hussein torturing and murdering anyone who did not support his repressive rule. Iraq was a sworn enemy of the United States at the heart of the Middle East; the region was a serious threat to the us.
After the attacks of September the 11th, 2001, America concluded we could not tolerate a regime like this in a pivotal region of the world. I gave Saddam Hussein a chance to peacefully resolve the question as to whether or not he had weapons of mass destruction. You might remember, I went to the United Nations, where a body said: disarm, disclose, or face serious consequence. It was his choice to make. And he made the wrong choice. And so the United States military, with a vast coalition removed this man from power and the world is better off for it. (Applause.) AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: I doubt in his worst nightmares he ever would have dreamt that we’d be standing in one of his palaces. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks to you, 25 million Iraqis are free.
Thanks to you, Iraq is no longer sponsoring terror — it is fighting terror. It’s making American people safer as a result.
The enemies of freedom in Iraq are determined, and this fight has been tough. Two years ago, the situation had grown dire — the political process was frozen and sectarian violence was spiraling out of control. Some of you were here then/
Many said the mission was hopeless; many called for retreat. Retreat would have meant failure — and failure is never an option. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: So instead of pulling troops out, we sent more troops in — called the surge. And because of you and because of your courage, the surge is one of the greatest successes in the history of the United States military. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: Terrorists who once held safe havens across the country are being driven out of their strongholds. The political process that was once stalled is moving forward. Iraqi citizens once afraid to leave their homes are going back to school, and shopping in markets, and leading a more normal life. And American troops are returning home because of success. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: The dramatic turnaround you led in Iraq culminated in the two agreements completed last month, which the Prime Minister and I affirmed in a ceremony earlier today.
These agreements formalize the ties between our two democracies in areas ranging from security and diplomacy to culture and trade. These agreements show the way forward toward a historic day — when American forces withdraw from a democratic and successful Iraq, and the war in this land is won.
There’s more hard work to do before we reach that day. But if there is any — but if there is no doubt — but there is no doubt in my mind, there’s just no doubt that we’re going to reach that day. I am confident because our cause is just. And freedom is universal. I’m confident because the Iraqi people are showing unshakable determination and courage.
And above all, I am confident because I know the character and the strength of those who wear the uniform of the United States military. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: Over the past five years, you have shown the world some unmistakable truths:
You have shown that when America is tested, we rise to meet the test.
You have shown that the desire for freedom is more powerful than the intimidation of terrorists.
You have shown that there is no task too difficult for the United States military. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: And so I have a message for you and all who serve our country: I want to thank you for making the noble choice to serve and to protect your fellow Americans. Sometimes it can be hard to tell when history is being made, particularly if you’re in the middle of the action. What you’re doing in Iraq is as important, and courageous, and selfless as what American troops did in places like Normandy and Iwo Jima and Korea. Your generation is every bit as great as any that came before it. And the work you do every day will shape history for generations to come.
I guess what I’m telling you is your grandchildren some day are going to say, “Thank God you showed up and served.”
America now has a strong friend and a partner in the fight against extremism in the heart of the Middle East, and that is historic.
People across this troubled region of the world now have an example for a more hopeful path — a model of liberty that can prevail over tyranny and terror. Killers who wanted to take the lives of Americans back home have been brought to justice before they reached our shores.
Because of you all who work to protect this nation — and all who work to protect the nation, America has done something many said was impossible: We have gone seven years without a terrorist attack. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: We think of those who have laid down their lives for freedom here in Iraq. Their children are growing up without a mom or a dad. But all of our children are growing up with something else — the promise of a safer America and a better world. And that is the lasting memorial of all who have sacrificed here in Iraq. And thanks to you, that memorial will be achieved — and their sacrifice will not be in vain. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: We think of your comrades who have been wounded. And this nation pledges that we will give them all the care and all the support they need to recover. AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!
THE PRESIDENT: We think of all your families back home. I know many of you have a sweetheart who misses you, or a daughter who longs for her dad, or a mom who worries about you day and night. For many of you, it won=t be your first holiday away — and that certainly doesn=t make it easier. So I’m going to give you an order: When you get out of here, call home or email home; you tell your families you love them; and you tell the Commander-in-Chief came by to thank them for their sacrifice along with yours. (Applause.)
Thanks — thanks for coming by to let me say hello. Thanks for serving the United States of America. They ask me what I’m going to miss as the President. I’ll tell you what I’m going to miss: being the Commander-in-Chief of such a fabulous group of folks. May God bless you, and God bless America.
(Applause.)
Wild Thing’s comment…….
I am sooooo glad President Bush went to see them. This will be the last visit he makes over there, it is so sad too. Becauase he respects them and is very aware of their scarifices and they know this too. We won’t have this from the next CIC for our troops.
‘Wonder Years’ star works wonder for troops
‘I just felt that, why don’t we open for the men in harm’s way?’ wnd
A top Hollywood star has decided to spend this Christmas taking a copy of the Christmas Day release “The Spirit” to U.S. soldiers in the Middle East.
Actor Dan Lauria, who starred on television’s “The Wonder Years,” and has been in movies including “Never Say Die” and “Independence Day,” told WND he doesn’t understand why more special efforts aren’t being made to provide soldiers relief from the intensity of fighting the war on terror.
“We have a number of films opening during the Christmas week,” he told WND, “and I just felt that, why don’t we open them for the men in harm’s way?”
“I don’t understand why every film is not sending one, at a least a copy over,” he said. “I understand we’re in a lot of trouble right now, especially the economy, but the war is page 20 in the newspaper. The nightly news hardly reports anything about what’s going on.”
The issue, he said, is that without the military’s work to protect the basic freedoms Americans enjoy, even the economy’s difficulties wouldn’t matter a great deal. Lauria said he decided he wanted to do something for the soldiers.
“The USO said it was too late (to make arrangements), so I just went through the Marine Corps,” he said. “We have two different types of discs. I’ll see five different bases in the three days.”
“I just want to make sure that over the holidays, they’re not forgotten,” he said.
Lauria will be in both Iraq and Kuwait to screen the movie. Plans have been made to show it in Kuwait Christmas Eve and then move into Iraq Christmas Day.
A release to soldiers in combat zones at the same time a movie is released in the U.S. is rare, according to promoters.
But because of the “invaluable service that our troops give to this country, they above anyone deserve a special gift this holiday season and, while they can’t be with their loved ones, we can at least give them a touch of home to enjoy and a break from the rigors of fighting,” Lauria said.
The movie decidedly is entertainment, he said.
“”The Spirit’ is very hard to explain,” he said. “It’s more like a comic book. It’s where the future lies. It’s sending a message it’s the next step in what film and creativeness will go to.
“I hope it really inspires,” he said. “I hope it sparks their creativeness, makes them feel like when they come back from this ordeal, almost anything is possible.
“If you can imagine it, it can be created,” he said.
Lauria is joined in “The Spirit” by Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Paz Vega, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson.
Lauria plays Commissioner Dolan in the feature about police officer Denny Colt, who is killed but returns to continue fighting crime.
The role allowed Lauria to explore his interest in 1940s movies.
“The actors in those films, particularly in film noir, speak at a very rapid pace. … I would just fly through my dialogue, which gave it an edge that I love,” he said.
Lauria, whose own duty in the Marines included a tour in Vietnam and the rank of captain, worked with “300” creator Frank Miller on the new project. It is being released by Lionsgate.
The film was adapted from the writings of Will Eisner and uses storytelling and graphics to create a stylized world of adventure, danger and romance.
The PG-13 project tells the story of Colt, a murdered officer who is reborn mysteriously as the masked crime fighter. He is determined to keep his beloved Central City safe and pursues villains from the shadows. His ultimate target is the “psychotic megalomaniac” Octopus.
Wild Thing’s comment……….
Fantastic! I agree, more people should do this kind of thing with their films. Our troops LOVE movies, the list of things to send them always included vidoes especially action films. I am so glad Lauria is doing this and did not stop his idea when the USO was unable to do it. The USO is great but they plan very far ahead. And Lauria did not give up.
YESssssssssss good one!!!
HERE IS THE TRAILER FOR THE MOVIE….JUST CLICK TO SEE IT.
David Spade Buys High-Powered Rifles for Local Police Department FOX news
LOS ANGELES
Actor and one-time Phoenix resident David Spade has donated $100,000 to the Phoenix Police Department. The department will use the much needed funds to buy high-powered rifles to defend the city from the growing influence of Mexican drug cartels.
Through his publicist, Spade explained that “these guys need to be able to do their jobs, and I am just happy I could help.”
Spade says he got the idea for the donation after seeing a story on FOX News. Phoenix police say Spade called asking to donate to their rifle program after he saw that officers, outgunned and desperate for more firepower, wanted to buy their own semi-automatic rifles.
“Mr. Spade has stepped forward and has given a gift to our officers of increased safety,” said Police Chief Jack Harris. “I am thrilled that we were able to accept that money that will hopefully bring us to 300 rifles on the street.”
Phoenix Police Sgt. Alan Hill says 50 AR-15 rifles to be purchased with the donation will be given to patrol officers.
Spade, 44, grew up in the Phoenix area and graduated from Arizona State University. The “Rules of Engagement” star has helped out cops before, donating $25,000 to the family of a fallen Phoenix police officer last year.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
I heard this story on FOX and was surprised, but Nicholas said that David Spade is politically conservative.
When we still lived in Malibu, Calilf. there was a horrible North Hollywood Shootout. Nicholas and I had just been to that same bank the day before. 1997 North Hollywood Shootout part 2…there are more videos of this at the YouTube site
Service members are deployed worldwide if possible they are singing hymns, sharing good wishes, dreaming of home, and generally making the best of whatever situation they are in as they always have done this time of year.
Not that this has always been easy. In fact, there have been some very dark Christmases in our nation’s military history; from that bitter December at Valley Forge in 1777 to the massive wound-lickings following devastating December losses at Fredericksburg in 1862 and Pearl Harbor in 1941 to the terrible December siege of Bastogne in 1944, and others.
We all may have a favorite Christmas that holds a special place in our hearts and memories, maybe more then one. To those that are deployed at Christmas it takes on a whole new meaning.
I have never served in the military, but the gift to be able to go and see our troops overseas those 4 times will be as real to me today as they were then. Those visits live in my heart forever. As each of the Christmas shows finished there was always the song “Silent Night”.
Here is my favorite Chrtmas memory.
It was 1968, I was living in Dallas, Texas and the modeling agency I was with picked a few of us to hostess an event that Bob Hope was having.It was not a big event, just a small gathering to entertain a handful of Dallas business people that were Republicans and supporting the Vietnam War. When we showed up we were all introduced to Bob Hope. I was thrilled, he was one of my parents favorites as well as my own. He always made me laugh and his support of our military had meant a lot to my family.
He took me aside and asked me some questions and then asked if I wanted to do a few skits with him for part of the entertainment. I told him yes I would love to and even though I was a nervous, my shyness was overcome with excitement. He asked if I had anything memorized I could show him since there was no piano there for me to play for him. I remembered one of the things my Uncles had taught me when I was a very little girl. ” Ready on the right, ready on the left, ready on the firing line….” For fun I had added body posture and physical animation and changed the words ever so slightly…..giggle.
“Ready on the right, ready on the left, ready on the firing line. You have five (said in slow drawl) seconds to get into a tight prrrrone position and squeeeeeze off your rounds” Then I pretended to aim and fire. LOL When I got done I smiled and asked if it was OK. He loved it. He laughed and smiled and said it was a keeper. LOL After the event that night, he talked to me about his tours to support the troops. The next time I saw him it was in California of that year as we were getting the run down on the 1968 Tour and God blessed my life to be able to go a total of 4 times. To be able to see my heroes, our countries heroes too, and thank them…..those were the best Christmas’s in my whole life.
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This Video below is an outtake from the 1944 20th Century Fox movie “FOUR JILLS IN A JEEP,” adapted from Carole Landis’ book about the real-life journey by Landis, Raye, Mitzi Mayfair and Kay Francis to entertain U.S. troops overseas in WWII.
Martha Raye also went to entertain the troops during the Vietnam War. She is one of my heroes.
US Soldiers celebrate Christmas by attending midnight services
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Sharing your past
or present most memorable Christmas
memory (ies) when
deployed in past wars or present.
It was a very wet and cold Christmas Eve in Vietnam.
Being on a reconnaissance-sniper mission that day, we had been in the field for more than three straight weeks, living on C-rations and dehydrated foods.
The choppers could hardly be expected to show, since the density of the rain and the fog grew thick as we went deeper into the mountains.
Childhood memories of my brothers and sisters came back to me, and each time we rested, I was drawn into a deep silence. The leeches were all over us, sucking what life we were trying desperately to preserve, but we were much too tired to do anything about them.
Vines and thorns pierced into our necks. Colonies of red ants bundled into balls of leaves swarmed over us at the slightest touch. Our skin was turning into crusts and flaked when scratched. The ringworm on my face and the burning itch between my thighs had taken its toll, and I began to cry.
I could hardly believe that I celebrated my 19th birthday in this God-forsakened country with a pound cake from a C-ration can, and that I was about to celebrate Christmas in the same way, this time having a fruitcake from another C-ration can.
So disgusted with hate, so damned disgusted with fear, so damned disgusted with this stinking life and where it had put me! “God,” I prayed, “when is all of this going to end? Why me, and why not someone else?” As I lay with my poncho wrapped around me in the mud, with my head resting on my rucksack, I looked over to see my buddies huddled in their own ways, as if they were being snuggled in their mothers’ arms. I could see the same tears of heaven fall on their heads, hiding their own tears.
And as I whispered myself to sleep, I cried, “Mama, mama, I miss you so … Where’s all my brothers and sisters? … Dad, dad, I love you too … Don’t worry, I’m all right, I’ll be strong … Grandma? Hi, Grandpa, boy I sure miss you guys … Let’s go fishing soon, okay?”
Suddenly, a noise – like machinegun bursts – drew quickly toward me. I couldn’t think, my mind was blank from being so tired, so cold. I could only think, and feel, fear.
I grabbed my rifle and tried to scream as the noise got louder, echoing and bouncing back and forth in my head. Then I opened my eyes as if a bolt of lightning had pierced my body. To my amazement the rain had stopped and only beads of sweat covered my forehead as I began to look about.
Then I looked up and saw a chopper hovering above us, dropping cannisters attached to ropes. I dropped my rifle in my excitement to see what we had. We carried the cannisters and began to open them. To my astonishment and delight we found steaming hot turkey smothered in gravy, mashed potatoes and yams, peas and carrots, bread and butter, and beer. A new change of clothing, too, and some hot cocoa to relax over.
I just couldn’t believe it, I just couldn’t, as I cried for joy, and we all gave thanks in our own way. Christmas was never forgotten, even as deep into the mountains as we were, we hadn’t been forgotten. The good Lord heard our cries and touched the hearts of our commanders, who knew what it was like here.
This story was originally published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in December 1981. The author, Jimmy F. “Jeno” Enocencio, hopes to share his experience of a Christmas spent in Vietnam as a tribute to the service men and women, past and present, who serve our country, as well as to offer a message of hope to family members of service members deployed abroad. For his service in Vietnam, the author was awarded the Bronze Star with valor, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Medal, the Combat Infantry Man’s Badge and the Good Conduct Medal, which is his favorite. Enocencio served as a Pointman in the Reconnaissance/Sniper Team with the Americal Division from 1970-1971.
During Christmas 1969, former Army Ranger and artillery forward observer John Temple Ligon was positioned near the Cambodian border.
“It was hot as hell in the day,” he tells NRO. “Night was worse: We were being regularly mortared, and the mosquitoes were so big you thought they’d carry you away.” But Ligon and his fellow soldiers had a Christmas tree.
“It was artificial, of course, just under three-feet tall, on which we hung cut-and-polished C-ration peanut butter cans for ornamentation,” he says. “We stood it up in the sandbagged command post. Other than that, it was just another day in Vietnam.”
Wild Thing’s comment……
LMAO this is so funny. I will miss Bush, he has not been perfect no one is, but he is a night and day difference in Obama. I know…no pun intended. haha. I didn’t know how else to put it. hahahhaa
……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
The high-powered guns used in both incidents on the evening of Sept. 24 undoubtedly came from the United States, say police here, who estimate that 100 percent of drug-related killings are committed with smuggled U.S. weapons.
The guns pass into Mexico through the “ant trail,” the nickname for the steady stream of people who each slip two or three weapons across the border every day. The “ants” — along with larger smuggling operations — are feeding a rapidly expanding arms race between Mexican drug cartels.
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Ramos-Compean treatment has border agents quivering wnd
Mexican drug smugglers spray bullets, but U.S. officers dare not return fire
By Chelsea Schilling A team of Mexican drug smugglers unloaded $1 million worth of drugs across the U.S. border, spraying bullets at U.S. Border Patrol agents with automatic weapons, but the agents dared not return fire – as one official said they fear losing their jobs or ending up behind bars like agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.
Ramos and Compean are serving 11- and 12-year prison sentences, respectively, for shooting an illegal alien drug dealer while he smuggled nearly 750 pounds of marijuana across the border. They were convicted of assault, discharge of a weapon in the commission of a crime of violence and deprivation of civil rights.
This time drug smugglers wore military clothing and fired “military type” automatic weapons at U.S. Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel in Tuscon, Ariz., on Dec. 1.
The brazen smugglers backed a flatbed tow truck into an 18-foot border fence and unloaded two pickup trucks packed with marijuana into the U.S. as National Guard and U.S. predator surveillance cameras recorded their efforts, and Border Patrol agents were immediately dispatched to the scene.
When the agents attempted to stop the pickup trucks, a Chevrolet Avalanche and a Ford F150, the smugglers began driving back toward Mexico. However, U.S. authorities deflated the truck tires before the smugglers could make it to the other side, the Laguna Journal reported.
Just then, another vehicle was spotted in Mexico, and a sniper began firing an automatic weapon at the U.S. agents. But agents did not fire back.
According to reports, additional heavily armed smugglers began scaling the border fence and tossing bundles of drugs from the Avalanche pickup truck into Mexico.
The agents refrained from discharging their weapons.
When authorities arrived on the scene, the suspects lit the Avalanche on fire and retreated to Mexico, leaving behind 1,158 pounds marijuana – worth $1 million.
Registration records revealed the F150 had been stolen in Douglas, Ariz. Mexican police were notified, but they have not arrested suspects.
Many witnesses, including U.S. scientists working in Arizona, report seeing heavily armed illegal aliens crossing border fences in the area. When U.S. agents arrive on the scene, smugglers often pelt them with rocks, strike them with vehicles or fire weapons at them – and agents sometimes face penalties for firing back.
In an incident similar to the Ramos and Compean case, one border patrol agent said he feared for his life after a group of illegal aliens began throwing rocks and concrete chunks at him in August at the San Ysidro border crossing. He fired his weapon and wounded one of the men in the buttocks.
Officials at the Mexican consulate in San Diego criticized the 10-year Border Patrol veteran and demanded the U.S. conduct a full investigation, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. Local police and the FBI investigated the agent.
“Any kind of shooting toward Mexican territory is rejected by the Mexican government,” Consul General Remedios Gómez Arnau warned Border Patrol agents. “They should have waited for response of the Mexican authorities.”
After this month’s incident, an anonymous officer close to the investigation told the Laguna Journal that agents often fear defending themselves because shooting back could mean prison time – just as it did for Ramos and Compean.
“These men are still in prison for doing what many of us think was just doing their jobs as Border Patrol agents,” he said.
Bush springs drug dealers, leaves border agents to rot wnd
President George W. Bush today added a convicted methamphetamine dealer, a cocaine distributor and two marijuana suppliers to the list of drug operators he’s pardoned while in office, bringing his total of drug suppliers who have been pardoned or had their sentences commuted to 36.
He’s also pardoned more than a dozen thieves, seven embezzlers, an arsonist, several mail thieves, a man who violated the Neutrality Act and eight Thanksgiving turkeys, but there’s been no clemency for U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were convicted of shooting at a fleeing drug smuggler.
Andy Ramirez, of Friends of the Border Patrol, long has been involved in the Ramos-Compean case, and said the questions just start piling up.
“First and foremost is the question that has to be asked, ‘Why is the president dug in so deep’ on Ramos and Compean?” Ramirez said. “Look at how many members of Congress have sent him letters, and have held hearings.
“You really have got to start to wonder … does this doper (in the Ramos-Compean case) lead to somebody really big?” he said.
Joe Loya, the father-in-law for Ramos, said he, his daughter and grandchildren were “devastated” by word that Ramos and Compean had been denied clemency on the latest list of presidential actions.
“We were praying for a miracle. We just don’t understand where the connection is when drug smugglers are getting pardons and commuted sentences, yet two agents who are not criminals, who were just doing their jobs, are in isolation,” he told WND by telephone as he traveled to visit his son-in-law in jail on Christmas Eve.
“George Bush could redeem himself,” he continued. “Ninety-five percent of our support is coming from Republicans. He certainly has nothing to lose.
Wild Thing’s comment…….
So now our government has empowered drug smugglers as never before. Sided with those who mean harm to American citizens instead of those wanting to protect our borders.
Before leaving for the holidays, President Bush on Tuesday commuted the prison sentence of a drug offender and granted 19 pardons, including one to a man who helped the Jewish resistance in the 1940s.
With this latest batch, which includes forgiveness for convictions ranging from gun and drug violations to bank and mail fraud, Bush has granted a total of 191 pardons and nine commutations. That’s fewer than half as many as Presidents Clinton or Reagan issued during their two terms.
The only proper redress for these two BP agents is pardon, expungement, full back pay, reinstatement, and apologies from all the sorry a$$ judges and prosecutors involved.
This travesty should be righted, immediately by President Bush. So far it shows Bush’s loyalty for Johnny Sutton runs deeper then his wanting to do the right thing for Ramos and Compean.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
Our country owes our heroes so much, we owe them everything. If not for their sacrifices we never would have been able to live in the land of the free. I hate war, but I know with all my heart that without it there is no peace. What I hate more then war are the people that don’t understand or care about what our military givies up, goes through and pays the highest price for and why they enlilst, why they have a love for our country that the protesters will never understand or appreciate.
I will never forget and each Christmas and every day of every year rings out across our land a thank you from all of us that know and appreciate the service of American heroes each one of them.
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
….Thank you Tom for sending this to me.
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