Theodore's World

Paratroopers Join Afghan Forces to Take Control of Bridge, Checkpoint
BY Staff Sgt. Brandon Aird
173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team
Public Affairs Office
NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan
Operation Mountain Highway II began in Afghanistan’s eastern Nuristan province in late April.
The operation started April 22 when Soldiers from International Security Assistance Force and the Afghan National Army made a simultaneously night air assault onto three mountains above Gowerdesh Bridge.
Afghan and American Soldiers created Observation Posts Mace, Hatchet and Brick, which enabled the Afghan Border Police and ANA to drive up from the south and seize the bridge April 26.

“It was (a very) synchronized air assault to get everybody in,” said Capt. John Williams, commander of the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry’s Headquarters and Headquarters Troop. “Over four months of planning was put into this operation.”

During the planning phase, ABP members participated in training on weapons, vehicle searches, first aid and reacting to enemy contact, said Capt. Kafi Gwira, an ABP embedded tactical trainer from Chicago. The ABP were also issued new uniforms, weapons, ammunition and equipment for the operation.

“We got them ready to seize the bridge for good this time,” said Gwira. “The ABP will now maintain a presence at the bridge at all times.”

The ANA built three local observation posts near the bridge during the first few days of the operation, which were handed over to the ABP a few days later.

“The reason why this bridge is so critical is that it’s one of the last ones left for insurgents to use,” said Williams. “If they can’t use the Gowerdesh Bridge, this severely limits their capabilities in this area.”

The bridge has been a key altercation point between insurgents and Afghan forces over the last year. Numerous firefights between ISAF and insurgents have occurred near the bridge, and last summer insurgents drove off the ABP and destroyed their security checkpoint.

“They need strong positions, which is why we provided the engineers to build the bunker positions at the bridge,” said Williams. “They also needed local OPs, which we’re building near the bridge. So now we can see all the area around us. The enemy can’t come here unimpeded like they have been.”

ISAF forces will continue to operate two of three larger observation posts to support the ABP, but once the bunkers and fighting positions are built the ABP will take over operations there.
Operation Mountain Highway II is an ongoing operation, but Williams said it’s already considered a great success.

“Since we have secured this bridge, we can now bring development to this region,” he said. “We can fix the road and bring economic and government development here. The insurgents have lost the upper hand in this area.”

The 1-91st is part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, a U.S. Army Europe unit based in Vicenza, Italy.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
God bless our Airbourne!

“Operation: Rock The Casbah” by the 2-3 Mafia, from “Outside The Wire”. Filmed Feb-Apr 2007.

Wild Thing’s comment…….
LOL I love this and also how the citizens get involved as well.

And this one:
Jackie and Dunlap discuss Obama’s Preacher Rev. Wright

….Thank you Mark this is so funny.

New book out:
American Heroes: In the Fight against Radical Islam
Author Oliver North and editor Chuck Holton
Pub. Date: May 2008

Sgt. 1st Class John Duggins (left), a platoon sergeant with B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, and Loneoak, Texas-native Pfc. Tommy Shumpert, a S.A.W. gunner, patrol through the streets of the Graya’at neighborhood in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah District

Paratrooper Makes the Cover of Best-selling Author’s New Book
By Staff Sgt. Mike Pryor
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Public Affairs
FORT BRAGG, N.C.
Even though he is a decorated veteran of the war in Iraq, Sgt. 1st Class John Duggins doesn’t think of himself as an “American Hero.”
So it came as quite a surprise when Duggins saw his face on the cover of a new book with that name written by best-selling author Oliver North.

“People started calling me up as soon as they saw it saying, ‘Hey, you’re on the cover of a book!’ I was like, ‘Yeah, right. Shut up,” recounted Duggins, 37, a platoon sergeant with Battery B of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment.

At first, Duggins thought his buddies were playing a prank on him, but they were telling the truth – it is indeed his face staring out from the front cover of North’s just-released book, “American Heroes.”
The book is a tribute to U.S. military personnel serving on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

” We were looking for a Captain America photo, and that one just jumped out at us,” said Chuck Holton, the book’s co-author, who ended up selecting Duggins’ photo from a pool of hundreds of other possibilities.

The photo has already made Duggins famous in his hometown of Madison, N.C. His picture is hanging up on the wall at the local tavern.
On the other hand, Duggins’ newfound celebrity has also earned him some ribbing from his fellow paratroopers.

“We all say, ‘Hey, what’s up, American Hero?” said Capt. Josh Richardson, Duggins’ battery commander.

Duggins, a humble man of few words, said he prefers to avoid the spotlight. He said he didn’t do anything worthy of a spot on the front cover, even suggesting that a different photo on the back of the book of a Soldier carrying a wounded comrade would have been a better choice.

“That should be the one on the cover. That’s the real hero,” Duggins said modestly.

But if Duggins wasn’t exactly thrilled to be in the limelight, his two sons, Taylor, 15, and Cody, 13, were more enthusiastic about the book. Taylor even gave it the ultimate teenage endorsement.
“It’s cool. I put it up on my MySpace page,” he said.
Duggins’ appearance on the book’s cover even earned him a chance to meet with Oliver North personally. As fate would have it, North was passing through Fayetteville on a book signing tour and arranged to meet Duggins after a signing at a local Barnes & Noble book store May 6.
At the store, a line of customers clutching copies of “American Heroes” for North to sign snaked out the door. Some of them did double takes when they saw Duggins waiting outside with his family. One man recognized Duggins from the cover photo.

“Wow, he even looks mean in real life,” the man noted.

“No he doesn’t,” Ruth Duggins said protectively.

Marine Oliver North (left) autographs a copy of his new book “American Heroes,” for Sgt. 1st Class John Duggins (right), of Madison, N.C. at a book store in Fayetteville, N.C., May 6. A photograph of Duggins, a platoon sergeant with Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, appears on the book’s cover.

After the signing was over, Duggins and his family were taken into a back area of the store to meet with Oliver North privately. When North entered the room, he gave Duggins a giant bear hug.
North, a former lieutenant colonel in the Marines and a war hero in his own right, said he has nothing but admiration for Duggins and all the other Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines serving in today’s Armed Forces. He said Duggins was the perfect choice to appear on the cover of his book.
“He represents a generation of American heroes that the American people need to know,” North said.
North presented Duggins and his sons with free, signed copies of “American Heroes,” and then asked Duggins to autograph a few copies for him. Like a seasoned pro Duggins began scrawling his name across the front covers of a stack of books.

McCain’s frontpage at his Presidential run website.

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I clicked on the little GREEN box and this is the page that came up.

His Climate Change page LINK HERE
At that page, McCain has a petition ( it would not all fit in the graphic above at my blog) where you can sign saying that you trust McCain to” protect our enviroment by using effectice market based solutions. ”

OK now if you click on McCain’s Online Store …..and then notice among the list of things you can buy it says……”GO GREEN”.
LOL ok I clicked on Go Green and well here you go, McCain has this………….

At his GO Green page you can oder shirts, hats etc. for GO Green with MCcain.
One of the problems is that he is ignoring the very large numbers of scientists who are arguably more credible that hold a considerably more conservative view.
Rush spoke about McCain’s going green yesterday and he was excellent:
Transcript snipets:
“When it comes to global warming and the ‘fixes’ for this hoax, our goose is cooked. It doesn’t matter who you vote for president; we’re going to get a liberal Democrat approach to fixing something that doesn’t exist. It’s just going to add up to more taxes.”
“Senator McCain is sounding more and more like he’s trying to position himself as a vice presidential candidate for Obama rather than as a Republican presidential candidate.”
“I’m really conflicted here. I have not faced a situation where a major Republican presidential candidate sounds just like a liberal Democrat, and I know of no other thing to do than to tell you the truth: This is embarrassing, and it is frightening.”
“I don’t care whether you look at Obama or McCain; you are looking at people who want to recreate policies of the past under new names. But those of us who still proudly call ourselves Reagan conservatives are the ones looking forward.”
“Now, back to McCain. I… I don’t know. You people at the GOP and the RNC — do you have any idea what you’ve done here? Do you have the slightest idea what you’ve done here?”
“Well, one thing I do know is that I’m 57 years old, and every winter that I’ve been alive, it’s been cold. And every summer I have sweated myself silly outside in high humidity and high temperatures.”
“President Bush is going to go to Saudi Arabia this week to ask King Abdullah to increase oil production. I want you to think about something before we come back: What’s wrong with that? Because there’s something really wrong with it.”
“Oh, I see now. We’re going to get our reputation restored by becoming just like those little pansy countries who couldn’t defend themselves if their lives depended on it — that’s how we’re going to get our respect back.”
“An SUV hog hybrid is fine and dandy with me. We have one here! There’s nothing chintzy about it — you know, nothing white-wine-and-brie about this thing.”
“‘He doesn’t really mean this, Rush.’ I can’t take that chance! I’ve never heard McCain so enthused! He was more passionate in this speech than I’ve heard him in years about anything — other than maybe amnesty for illegal aliens.”
“It’s outrageous that we have American leaders willing to facilitate an attack on capitalism via this global warming hoax, who then have the audacity to say that what we’re going to be doing is somehow related to ‘free markets’.”

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Wild Thing’s comment……..
Once McCain clinched the nomination, he had roughly nine months to earn conservative votes. Three months have passed…and he’s actually moved further to the left, seemingly turning his back on the party’s base. What a mess!
Pray for our country, and like Tom has said…..buy ammo! Now is the time to get ready for whatever we might have happen no matter who wins this thing.

You Raise Me Up

The music of Josh Groban and starring our awesome soldiers.

….Thank you John for sending this to me.

Tiger Force Soldiers scan rooftops in Bayji, Iraq during a recent mission. From Vietnam to Iraq, Tiger Force Soldiers have been at the tip of the spear.Tiger Force, which is part of the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, is the most highly decorated platoon sized element in the U.S. Army. Tiger Forces Soldiers, past and present, maintain close ties. (U.S. Army photo/Spc. Rick L. Rzepka)

Tiger Force Soldiers investigate a building suspected of being used to store black market fuel in Bayji, Iraq

Uncommon Bond: Screaming Eagle’s Stay Connected to Vietnam-era Brethren While Serving in Iraq
By Spc. Rick Rzepka
1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division
BAYJI, Iraq – This ain’t your father’s Army. Some say it’s a kinder, gentler Army, wary of political correctness and public perceptions. Some say that this has caused soldiers to lose touch with their roots, to disconnect themselves from the past. But for one Infantry platoon, at the heart of the fight in Iraq, some things never change and they are neither kind nor gentle.
Somewhere, in the dusty expanse of the Salah ad Din province in Iraq, the Tigers are lurking. They patiently wait for their prey in the city and in the desert. They are keenly aware, not only of their immediate surroundings, but of their heritage as well. They know they have some big boots to fill.
Tiger Force, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), is the most highly decorated platoon sized element in the U.S. Army.
Over the past 48 years, Tiger Force Soldiers have earned two Medals of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, numerous Silver Stars for valor and countless other commendations. Names like Hackworth, Gertsch, and Gardner are synonymous with the Tiger legacy, which began in the sweltering jungles of Vietnam.
In 1965, as the Vietnam War picked up steam, Army brass recognized a need for more unconventional, guerilla style warfare. A young Lt. Colonel in the 101st Airborne Division named David Hackworth proposed that by utilizing small, highly trained units, Vietcong tactics could be effectively countered. The brass liked what they heard and the Tigers were born through highly experienced, hand selected volunteers from the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.

Their mission: “To out guerilla the guerillas,” according to Hackworth, or as MoH recipient Staff Sgt. John G. Gertsch said, “How to really be there, but not be there.”

“During the Vietnam years, Tiger Force went through many changes in the full spectrum,” said Hank “Doc” Ortega, who served as a Tiger Force medic in 1968. During their time in Vietnam, Tiger Force Soldiers ran the gauntlet of small unit operations, from scouts, ready reaction and long range reconnaissance. “We were basically the eyes and ears of the battalion commander,” he said.

“Here is a platoon deep-rooted in history and tradition,” said Lt. Col. Peter Wilhelm, “Above the Rest” Battalion Commander. “A platoon that I reserve for the best of the best,” he said.

Tigers today, still serve at the behest of the battalion commander in the surly terrain of the Salah ad Din province. To pigeon-hole the Tigers, would be to say that they simply serve as the battalion’s sniper and recon asset, but like their predecessors in Vietnam they have found themselves covering down on a wide array of missions and have been instrumental in taking high-value targets, weapons caches and improvised explosive devices off of the streets, as well as conducting various non-lethal operations.

“We do what is necessary in the area of operations to defeat IED’s, secure high –value targets and support the division’s effort,” said Sgt. Josh Smith, Tiger Force sniper section team leader. “Today’s battlefield requires so much more out of every element,” he said. “There’s no arguing that what we are doing today is the graduate level of warfare. You’ve got to think outside the box or wind up in a box.”

For Smith and other Tiger Force Soldiers, preserving the Tiger’s legacy is an important part of the job. “We do everything with the past in mind,” said Smith. “The bond that the current members have with the past members is unbelievable,” he said.

During a 101st Airborne reunion event dubbed “Week of the Eagles”, in the summer of 2000, Ortega and other Tiger Force veterans returned to Fort Campbell, KY, to give young Soldiers a glimpse into their past and have been dropping in on the Tigers ever since.

“We gave these young men back their history,” said Ortega. “We brought names like James Gardner and John Gertsch to life because we knew these men and served with them,” he said. “They are not just names on a wall to us, and the young guys deserve to be connected to that history.”

In garrison, it is not uncommon for an old Tiger to stop by the battalion to see how the platoon is coming along. During these visits, tales are swapped and the vets get a chance to check out the newest tools of the trade. “Back in the day they were using M-14 rifles with big old Starlight scopes and they were really impressed with the new gear,” said Smith. “They get a kick out of it and we get a kick out of doing it because it’s just old meets new.”

In today’s rapidly evolving force, Soldiers often overlook the history of their units and have little or no link with the warriors who came before them.

“I would say it’s very rare,” said Smith. “I’m in touch with at least a dozen Vietnam-era, Tiger Force vets, and a few in between,” he said. “We are very much a big extended family.”

Veterans of Tiger Force send care packages and essential items to their deployed brethren in Iraq and have acted as a support system through the hard times.

“December was a bad month for us,” said Smith. On Dec. 4, 2007, Tiger Force lost its Platoon Leader, Capt. Adam Snyder and two fellow Soldiers, Sgt. Eric Hernandez and Pvt. Dwayne White to an IED attack. The loss was devastating to Tiger Force Soldiers both young and old.

“When we lost men on Dec. 4th of 2007, it felt the same to us vets as when we lost those we served with…exactly the same,” said Ortega. “These young guys are our brothers.” Tiger Force veterans were in attendance at each fallen Soldier’s funeral services and were there to provide support to loved ones. “They got in touch with the families, made trips for support and basically did everything they could to make them as comfortable as they could be in their time mourning,” said Smith. “You’re not going to see that level of dedication, 40 years later, in many other places,” he said.

For Ortega, supporting the Tigers isn’t a random act of kindness, it’s fulfilling the oath of honor and country.

“For my own part, my wife and I spent almost two months at Ft. Sam Houston at the bedside of a Tiger who was wounded, assisting him and his family with his recovery,” said Ortega. “I would work in the aid-station if I could.”

“Doc” Ortega’s selfless-service to his country and to the Tigers is the model upon which the latest generation looks up to.

“All I can hope for is that the new Tigers are as receptive to the older guys as we are,” said Smith. “They go so far above and beyond. So many people get out of the Army and leave it all behind,” said Smith. “They are who we are.”

Ortega would like to see more of these uncommon bonds forged between warrior generations. “I think that more and more Vietnam-era veterans, especially of combat units, are making an effort to relocate their buddies and as a part of that effort, they are sometimes making contact with their younger counterparts at the reunions,” said Ortega

“We need to make this sort of contact and support far less unusual.”

For Smith and the rest of the Tigers in Iraq, bridging the generation gap has bred a sense of respect and admiration to the Tiger name. “We’re just proud to know them, you know? “The best thing for us is for them to feel like they’re still part of the team.”

The Senate has rejected a Republican energy plan that calls for opening an Alaska wildlife refuge and some offshore waters to oil development. Supporters of the measure couldn’t get the needed 60 votes to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster threat.
Senate votes to halt oil reserve shipments
WASHINGTON
The Senate, in a direct challenge to President Bush, voted Tuesday to temporarily halt the shipment of thousands of barrels of oil a day into the government’s emergency reserve. Both Democrats and Republicans said such shipments make no sense when oil is costing more than $120 a barrel and could better be used to add supplies to a tight market and possibly lower prices.

We are buying the most expensive crude oil in the history of the world and storing it,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. “When American consumers are burning at the stake by high energy prices, the government ought not be carrying the wood.”

Until both chambers of Congress pass the emergency reserve directive and Bush signs it — or Congress enacts it over a presidential veto — the legislation has no force of law. But the Senate’s message to the president Tuesday was a strong one.
With Republicans joining Democrats, senators voted 97-1 to suspend the shipments — averaging about 70,000 barrels a day — until the end of the year. Only Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., voted against the measure.
The House was scheduled to vote on a similar directive later in the day. The Senate measure was added to legislation on flood insurance that passed shortly after the oil reserve vote.
Bush has been steadfast in continuing shipments of oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a system of underground salt domes on the Gulf Coast, arguing that the stockpile should be filled to its maximum capacity of 727 million barrels. It currently is 97 percent full at 701 million barrels, equal to two months of oil imports.
The reserve was created in the 1970s as a precaution against major interruptions of oil supplies.
Senators said the stockpile is big enough to meet any emergency.
Dorgan acknowledged that Tuesday’s vote was “a small step forward” as Congress grapples with ways to respond to soaring fuel prices that have pushed gasoline prices to nearly $4 a gallon after a winter of record heating bills.
It’s uncertain how much effect — if any — putting 70,000 barrels a day of crude onto the U.S. market that uses more than 21 million barrels a day would have. Dorgan said it could send a signal and curb market speculation.

“It could have a chance of reducing the price a small amount,” said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who joined the chorus against continuing the shipments. “But make no bones about it, this is no big energy policy. This is one little thing we can do.”

Earlier, the Senate rejected a broader Republican energy plan that called for opening an Alaska wildlife refuge and some offshore waters to oil development. Supporters of the measure couldn’t get the needed 60 votes to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster threat.

Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said more domestic oil production is needed to keep prices in check and to reduce U.S. dependence on oil imports. “We cannot repeal the law of supply and demand….We need to increase supply in order to lower gas prices,” said McConnell.

But opponents said areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and coastal waters that have been off limits to drilling for 25 years ought to remain that out of bounds to oil companies. The GOP measure, defeated Tuesday by a vote of 56-42, would have allowed coastal states to get a waiver to the offshore drilling ban.

“We can’t drill our way to lower prices,” said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.

The president has given no indication that he will move to halt shipments to the oil reserve, short of a congressional directive.

“Our position hasn’t changed,” said White House press secretary Dana Perino earlier this week. She said the president believes the emergency reserve needs to be increased “in order to protect ourselves against oil shocks” and that the oil being put in — a tenth of one percent of global production — “would have a negligible impact on gas prices” if put into the market.

Democratic Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, interrupting their presidential campaigns, voted to halt the oil reserve deliveries. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, was not present for the vote.

The VOTE and who voted and how they voted.

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Wild Thing’s comment…….
Where the HELL has common sense gone??!!
McCain ‘sat this one out’ (didn’t vote). McCain has no excuse for not being there, as Obama and Clinton cast their votes.
OK so I have to say this about McCain and his wimping out on the vote. If he can screw the conservatives and our country….. well he has and will and he just proved it once again. Sorry but if he wants my vote he has to take my condemnation with it and there will be plenty of it, bet on it McCainiac! My vote is dead on serious and I take it personally when you mess with my country. You already messed with our POW’s!!!!!
Good grief, Elizabeth Dole? How disappointing. sheesh! Sorry Liz, hate to see you turned into a rino.
Bush should go on TV weekly and read the list of congressmen who voted against new drilling.
We have the Chinese drilling off our borders….we have billions of gallons of oil in the ground waiting to be tapped….but, NOOOOO….we can’t do that…we must buy our oil from across the oceans from people who hate us, and build gold plated toilets with our money.
This ends the hope of drilling in Alaska for a decade or more. Whomever wins in November they’ve all gone on record as being against drilling.
McCain is part of the problem. He’s one of the Gang of 14. Too bad we don’t have a conservative candidate running for the GOP. All the candidates are leftists. All global warming Kool-Aid drinkers. All open borders enthusiasts. All Senators with no experience in governing. All three are ignorant of how to run a business and make a payroll.
Bin Laden set out to bring the us economy to its knees. While hiding out, OPEC is doing it for him, with the help of the dems and the rino’s.
The McCain platform: High energy costs and lots and lots of illegal immigrants. He says he’s tough on security but he condones a slow-motion invasion across our borders.
With the 3 horrible people we have running for President, God have mercy on America!

US drops charges against Saudi in Sept. 11 attacks
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
AP
The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi at Guantanamo who was alleged to have been the so-called “20th hijacker” in the Sept. 11 attacks, his U.S. military defense lawyer said Monday.
Mohammed al-Qahtani was one of six men charged by the military in February with murder and war crimes for their alleged roles in the 2001 attacks. Authorities say al-Qahtani missed out on taking part in the attacks because he was denied entry to the U.S. by an immigration agent.
But in reviewing the case, the convening authority for military commissions, Susan Crawford, decided to dismiss the charges against al-Qahtani and proceed with the arraignment for the other five, said Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, the Saudi’s military lawyer.
Crawford dismissed the charges Friday without prejudice, meaning they can be filed again later, but the defense only learned about it Monday, Broyles told The Associated Press.
The attorney said he could not comment on the reasons for the dismissal until discussing the case with lawyers for the other five defendants. Officials previously said al-Qahtani had been subjected to a harsh interrogation authorized by former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, confirmed the case was proceeding against the five defendants and that their arraignment will be within 30 days of the charges being served at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Gordon declined further comment since the Office of Military Commissions had not yet released the formal announcement about the legal developments.
The five defendants include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the terrorist attacks in 2001 that killed nearly 3,000 people, and Ramzi Binalshibh, who is said to have been the main intermediary between the hijackers and al-Qaida leaders. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for all of them.
Their trial is the first capital case thus far before the military tribunals at Guantanamo, where the U.S. holds about 270 men on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban. The military has said it plans to prosecute about 80 prisoners in the first U.S. military war crimes tribunals since World War II.
Authorities have said they plan to broadcast the trials to military bases in the United States so relatives of the victims of the attacks can see the proceedings.
Critics of the tribunals have faulted a rule that allows judges to decide whether to allow evidence that may have been obtained with “coercion.” U.S. authorities have acknowledged that Mohammed was subjected to waterboarding by CIA interrogators and that al-Qahtani was treated harshly at Guantanamo.

Al-Qahtani in October 2006 recanted a confession he said he made after he was tortured and humiliated at Guantanamo.

The alleged torture, which he detailed in a written statement, included being beaten, restrained for long periods in uncomfortable positions, threatened with dogs, exposed to loud music and freezing temperatures and stripped nude in front of female personnel.

The U.S. has alleged that al-Qahtani, who military records show is about 28, barely missed becoming the 20th hijacker on Sept. 11, 2001. The Saudi was denied entry into the country by immigration agents at the airport in Orlando, Florida.

At the time, he had more than US$2,400 in cash, no return plane ticket and lead hijacker Mohamed Atta was waiting for him, the military has said.

Separately Monday, Gordon said the Pentagon has not decided whether to appeal a ruling that ousted a top legal official from a detainee case scheduled to become the first to go to trial at Guantanamo Bay.
In a ruling last week, a military judge at Guantanamo found that Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, the legal adviser for the tribunals, lacks neutrality and should not participate in the case against a Yemeni who is a former driver for Osama bin Laden. His trial is set for June 2.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
OH well good I feel so much safer now…..NOT!
At the time, he had more than US$2,400 in cash, no return plane ticket and lead hijacker Mohamed Atta was waiting for him, the military has said.
Oh. Okay. Let him go… What the hell?!?

Obama on Zionism and Hamas
The Atlantic.com …..for entire article
Jeffrey Goldberg
The Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef did Barack Obama no favor recently when he said: “We like Mr. Obama and we hope that he will win the election.” John McCain jumped on this statement, calling it a “legitimate point of discussion,” and tied it to Obama’s putative softness on Iran, whose ever-charming president last week called Israel a “stinking corpse” and predicted its “annihilation.”
Jeffrey Goldberg and an interview with Obama on Israel:
(these are snipets from the interview)
JG: You’ve talked about the role of Jews in the development of your thinking.
BO: One of the things that is frustrating about the recent conversations on Israel is the loss of what I think is the natural affinity between the African-American community and the Jewish community, one that was deeply understood by Jewish and black leaders in the early civil-rights movement but has been estranged for a whole host of reasons that you and I don’t need to elaborate.
JG: Do you think that Israel is a drag on America’s reputation overseas?
BO: No, no, no. But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions, and so we have a national-security interest in solving this, and I also believe that Israel has a security interest in solving this because I believe that the status quo is unsustainable.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
Obama and his mad wife hmmmm ….let’s see can’t you just see them traveling to Israel and his wife telling how down trodden she has been in America and how she understands how the PLO feel.