27 Mar

Insulted Military Blasts Hillary’s Serial ‘Sniper” Lies




Col2
Uploaded by krs601


Pilot of Hillary’s Aircraft (in Bosnia) Speaks ….CLICK VIDEO above

NOW BUNKO HILL IS UNDER FIRE
New York Post
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s lies about risking her life under sniper fire during a visit to Bosnia as first lady have infuriated the US military brass and troops.

“She has no sense of what a statement like that does to soldiers,” fumed retired Maj. Gen. Walter Stewart, the former head of the Pennsylvania National Guard.

“She is insulting the command in its entirety,” he said yesterday.

Clinton came under fire after saying she “misspoke” about what happened during the trip and claimed it was the first time she erred in describing her visit – an assertion Barack Obama’s campaign quickly disproved by finding at least three prior occasions over the last few months where she’s claimed there was sniper fire.

Stewart, who was assigned to the Army’s European headquarters at the time of Clinton’s visit in 1996, called her statements “really astonishing.”

“Believe me, heads would have rolled all over” if the military put the then-first lady at “unacceptable risk,” added Stewart, who is supporting Barack Obama.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Buster Glosson, a John McCain supporter who ran the air attack in the first Gulf War, said, “It bothers me any time anyone running for the highest office in the land fabricates a story.

“That should bother any American, whether you’re military or nonmilitary.”

Another source, a former Army analyst who was stationed abroad when dignitaries visited, said, “You know, we have soldiers overseas now who are getting shot at by real bullets from real enemies who really want to kill them.

“Getting shot at by snipers is not something you forget – or make light of,” he added.


Wild Thing’s comment……..
Hillary is a congenital, pathological, blatant, obvious, non-caring liar! EVIL and so is Obama, both sent to us from the hell of the democrat party.
Interesting to note on one of the military quotes….this one from Maj.. Gen. Walter Stewart::
“Believe me, heads would have rolled all over” if the military put the then-first lady at “unacceptable risk,” added Stewart, who is supporting Barack Obama”
Maj. Gen. Stewart, a surrogate for B.Hussein Obama, aka “God Damn America” Obama. Hillary is a liar and a fraud but the person that the good Maj. Gen. is supporting is no better!
More power to Operation Chaos.
I am still hoping that she hoping that she hangs on long enough to make the Democrat convention a total mess.

27 Mar

Muqtada al-Sadr Orders Iraq PM Out Of Basra




A man holds up a banner depicting Mr Maliki as an American pawn during a protest in Sadr City

Relations between Sadr and Nouri al-Maliki have deteriorated sharply as the two men clashed over fighting between Iraqi forces and gunmen in Sadrist communities in Iraq.
Telegraph.co.uk
The Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has demanded that the country’s prime minister leave Basra where he is overseeing a military operation to purge the southern city of its radical Shi’ite militiamen.
Maliki gave followers of Sadr and other Shi’ite gunmen 72 hours to surrender their weapons and renounce violence or bear the brunt of a military crackdown.

“We are not going to chase those who hand over their weapons within 72 hours,” said Mr Maliki. “If they do not surrender their arms, the law will follow its course.”

A spokesman for Sadr said his movement had appealed to Mr Maliki to reduce tensions in the city by returning to Baghdad and sending a parliamentary delegation to seek an end to fighting.
Liwa Sumaysim, a spokesman for Sadr said: “Sadr has asked prime minister Maliki to leave Basra and to send a parliamentary delegation to resolve the crisis in the city.”
Fighting has raged in Basra since Tuesday morning.
A military operation targeting rogue elements of the group was also underway in the Sadr City area of Baghdad


Wild Thing’s comment……..
Uh…he actually thinks the Maliki will just get up and leave one of his own cities because a random cleric said so? Mook-man is full of Shi’ite.
OK so here is a hint for Maliki, the American way. Forget the 72 hours, forget letting them threaten you Maliki.



27 Mar

The Bunker Notebook ~ News From In Country



This Category Bunker Notebook at Theodore’s World, 
will be about the things shared in emails from 
our troops and other Americans that are 
located in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Theodore’s World is very aware of how 
loose lips endanger our troops and other Americans 
working in the hot zones, so at all times great care will be 
taken in how much information is posted. 

Some notes will be directly from the troops 
and other notes from those such
as employees with Halliburton and others.
.

.

A note from my friend and employee with Haliburton in Baghdad:

” This has been a rough few days. I’m not in the Green Zone, but am near enough to hear the bombs that have fallen there constantly today. I was just outside and there are gunbattles going on in this part of town. I heard more than one. I hope the good guys are winning.
The coalition is standing down and letting Iraq handle this and Iraq wants to. This is a testament to how well the coalition has trained them. They would never have been able to do something like this a year ago.
I just think that letting Mookie live is going to have a real negative impact on Iraq in the future. – Wild Thing email back.
Oh, I’ve never favored that little creep taking one more breath. But we’re not even sure he is alive right now. Some “spokesman” in Tehran is doing all of his talking right now. It’s all very strange. The Mehdi Army is getting its marching orders from Iran, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do.
It’s just after midnight in Baghdad and unfortunately, just when I thought it had quieted down, I head a couple more mortars a few minutes ago.
Maliki has issued an ultimatum that the Mehdi-Scum has 72 hours to turn in their weapons. I’m in favor of the US forces dropping a few very loud messages off in Tehran, personally. Even terrorists have to rest and those cockroaches have been busy today.
This latest attack I feel will have a good ending. It just might be a bit rough getting there. “

27 Mar

Mahdi Army Attacks Opposition and Iraq Leadership




Muqtada al-Sadr


Map locating the four cities where Mahdi Army fighters fought with Iraqi and US forces Tuesday.
(AFP/Graphic)

IMPACT: Shiite enclave back on edge
BAGHDAD..AP report
Shiite militiamen are everywhere. Police and Iraqi army checkpoints are nowhere in sight. U.S. soldiers are keeping their distance.
Sadr City — the Baghdad nerve center for the powerful Mahdi Army — is suddenly back on edge as the militia leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, and Iraq’s government lock in a dangerous confrontation over clout and control among the nation’s majority Shiites.
The epicenter of the showdown has been the southern oil hub of Basra, where clashes have claimed dozens of lives this week and al-Sadr’s forces face a Friday deadline to surrender.
But a more finely tuned measure of the tensions may be found among the one- and two-story homes and shabby storefronts of Sadr City. As the crisis deepened, The Associated Press toured Sadr City on Wednesday to observe its rapid swing from relative quiet to a return of the Mahdi Army swagger before the U.S. military troop buildup in Baghdad last year.
Sadr City — named after Muqtada al-Sadr’s father, who was assassinated in 1999 — is seen as critical to the overall stability and security of the capital.
A resurgence of Madhi Army attacks and opposition could roll back the gains that have allowed Baghdad residents to take cautious steps toward normal life and offered Washington hope of accelerating troop withdrawals.
But recent days have resurrected old challenges.
Al-Sadr’s militia forces, estimated at about 60,000, now seem itching for a fight. The current crisis came to head over U.S. and Iraqi raids that have detained hundreds of Mahdi Army loyalists even as the group maintained a shaky cease-fire since August — which the Pentagon has credited for helping bring down violence.
The tensions have spilled over into street battles in Basra between Mahdi fighters and Iraqi government forces. Fighting also has flared in other cities across southern Iraq’s Shiite heartland — where Iran is hedging its bets by supporting factions of the Mahdi Army and its main Shiite rival.
Mahdi fighters also are blamed for a series of rocket barrages on the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which was hit again Wednesday. The Pentagon appears to want no part of the current troubles. Commanders worry that American troops could be drawn into difficult urban conflict, sapping energy from the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents.
U.S. forces have made only sporadic stabs into Sadr City, choosing instead to strengthen a security cordon on the outskirts. U.S. commanders, meanwhile, have a limited presence in southern Iraq and show no signs of diverting soldiers — as they did in the last major fight against the Mahdi Army in 2004.
“We are a different force than the one you saw in 2004,” a senior Mahdi commander said at his Sadr City home.
“We are now better organized, have better weapons, command centers and easy access to logistical and financial support,” added the commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Squatting on the floor next to two of his fighters, the commander sipped sweet black tea as a U.S. helicopter flew low overhead. A burst of gunfire rang out at one point. Another moment, he listened to the screech of a rocket.
“That’s going to the Green Zone,” he said.
When one of his fighters left the house, he warned about driving too close to American patrols on the edge of the district — a grid-pattern of teeming streets in northeast Baghdad built in the 1950s to house poor Shiite workers.
It was first named Revolution City. Then it became Saddam City. After Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003, it was designated Sadr City after al-Sadr’s father, Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, whose death is blamed on Saddam agents.
“Don’t be too impressed with what the Americans have. We can still win because we have faith and a just cause on our side,” said one of the two militiamen in the commander’s home.
Sadr City, home to 2.5 million people, looked like a place bracing for battle.
Its streets — normally crowded and noisy — were oddly quiet. Beside the militiamen, only youngsters were out in large numbers, playing soccer on dirt fields. Most stores were shuttered.
The militiamen, some wearing ammunition belts and sporting two-way radios, were out in full force dressed in a ragtag collection of tracksuits, jeans and pajamas. But they carried the essential firepower for effective street conflict: AK-47 rifles or grenade launchers.
Some stood behind rickety market stands with machine guns perched on top. Snipers took up position on rooftops. Others drove in pickup trucks fitted with machine guns.
Many curbs showed traces of disturbed asphalt — usually a telltale sign of freshly planted roadside bombs. Streets were barricaded by rocks, metal furniture or burning tires. Lookouts on motorbikes relayed the latest movements of U.S. armor deployed nearby.
Mahdi Army commanders have told the AP that the militia has recently taken delivery of new weapons supplied by backers in Iran. The arsenal, they said, included roadside bombs, anti-aircraft guns and Soviet-designed Grad rockets.
They also said an infusion of cash, also from Iran, helped the militia set up new command centers equipped with Internet-linked computers, fax machines and satellite mobile phones. They have also received global positioning system devices, they said.
The United States has long accused Iran of providing Shiite militias in Iraq with arms and training. Iran denies it.
Aides to al-Sadr in Baghdad insisted the Mahdi Army cease-fire remained in force, but warned of dire results if Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government continued its crackdown against Mahdi militiamen.
“There will be grave consequences,” said Sheik Salman al-Feraiji, al-Sadr’s chief representative in Sadr City.
“We are not going to stand by and watch our sons getting killed,” he told tribal leaders at a mosque. “You must tell the government that you will disown it if it doesn’t stop the operations in the entire south.”
Al-Sadr’s movement gained ground in Sadr City in the immediate aftermath of Saddam’s ouster. It quickly filled the vacuum left by the regime’s fall — and Washington’s lack of postwar planning — by running basic services and clamping down on looting in a district that had once been notorious for high crime and unemployment.
The militia is not universally popular in Sadr City because some of its men are involved in extortion and kidnapping. But the Mahdi Army is credited by most residents for protecting the district against Sunni militants during the height of Baghdad’s sectarian war in 2006 and early 2007.
The bond between Sadr City’s residents and the militia was on display Wednesday, with families offering fighters water, tea and food.
“Today, a family sent us rice and meat for lunch,” said another militia commander, who identified himself only by the nickname Abu Ali and said he was one of 12 who oversee the Mahdi Army operations in Baghdad and the south.
Al-Sadr’s support was instrumental in helping al-Maliki clinch the prime minister’s job in 2006, but the two men fell out about a year ago.
“Down with al-Maliki’s government,” is now common graffiti in Sadr City. “The Dawa party is treasonous,” declared another one, referring to al-Maliki’s party.

This is the report from Reurters
14 killed, 140 wounded in Baghdad’s Sadr City
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Fourteen people were killed and more than 140 wounded in clashes between security forces and Shi’ite militants in Baghdad’s Sadr City slum, a medical source said on Wednesday.
Another UPDATE:
U.S. airstrike in Iraq reportedly causes 60 casualties
yahoo

Amid heavy clashes between government forces and Shiite Muslim militants in Baghdad and the southern port city of Basra, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki issued an ultimatum Wednesday demanding that the militias surrender their weapons within 72 hours. Radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr , whose Mahdi Army militia is a prime target of the government offensive, responded by demanding that Maliki leave Basra.
U.S. forces joined Iraqi troops in Baghdad to fight Mahdi Army militants, and police said that at least 20 people had been killed in the Sadr City neighborhood, a stronghold for Sadr’s backers.
The city’s fortified Green Zone sustained a third round of intense mortar fire beginning at 5:30 a.m. that seriously injured three U.S. government employees, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy. A mortar round struck near Maliki’s office.
With barely functioning hospitals and people holed up in their homes it was unclear how many people had died in Basra. According to health ministry officials in Basra, at least 33 people had been killed and 150 had been wounded in the fighting.
Maliki stipulated in his ultimatum that the militants would be spared if they surrendered their weapons within 72 hours. Sadr called for calm, asking Maliki to leave the Mahdi Army-dominated oil hub of Basra and send a parliamentary delegation to solve the crisis through dialogue, Sadr spokesman Hassan al Zargani said from Tehran, Iran .
In Baghdad , Mahdi Army-dominated neighborhoods remained sealed off, angering residents who couldn’t open their businesses, get to hospitals or send their children to school.


Wild Thing’s comment……..
I sure wish Muqtada al-Sadr was no longer consuming oxygen. I sure hope they can use this chance to take down Mookie and his “army” once and for all, if he is still in Iraq.

26 Mar

Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Cancels Florida Appearance




Rev. Earl B. Mason Sr. addresses the press from the sanctuary of Bible-Based Fellowship Church of Temple Terrace. ( Tampa news)
A Florida church has canceled an appearance by Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., citing security concerns and the anticipation of a media circus.
According to media accounts, Rev. Earl Mason told reporters at a press conference Tuesday that he asked Wright to stay in Chicago instead of lead a three-day revival celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Bible-Based Fellowship Church of Temple Terrace.
The revival was to be Wright’s first public appearance since his remarks that were critical of, among other issues, American domestic and foreign policy surfaced on the Internet.
Wright has been a longtime staple at church revivals around the country. He has made regular appearances at the Temple Terrace church because of his longtime friendship with Mason.

The Rev. Earl Mason cited security concerns and said the three-night revival featuring Wright was turning into an “event” and media circus, rather than the celebration of the church’s 10th anniversary that it was intended to be, so Mason asked him to stay in Chicago.

Tampa police said the department was prepared for Wright’s visit and did not recommend the event be canceled.
The Tampa Police Department was prepared to handle the visit from the time he landed at the Tampa International Airport, through the event and until his departure from our city,” the recording said. “We were surprised to hear of his cancellation.”
According to police, officers had scouted the location, gathered intelligence and put a security plan into place employing both patrol and plainclothes officers. “We had additional officers on standby if there was any unusual activity or threats,” the recording said.
Wright is scheduled to receive an award from Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Tex. on Saturday after contributing to a panel discussion about the state of the black church.


Wild Thing’s comment…..
This is so funny, democrats just cannot tell the truth if their life depended on it. Last night this story was on local TV news. The police said just like the article above that they had done the preparation to be ready for whatever could happen. Then the news played a video of the minister of the church , Rev. Earl Mason, and he said the church cancelled Wright’s visit because the church could not get the police to say they would protect them and give them security. The only thing the police told the church they would have to take care of getting their own security for would be the parking lot. I guess the church did not want to spend the money for that part of it.
But why the lie, that the police said no. I am glad though it is better that he does not come to Florida, he can stay far away with his rantings as far as I am concerned.
My guess is though that Obama’s campaign told Wright NOT to have any speaking engagements for awhile so we will see if Wright goes to Texas or not or will they cancel that one too.

26 Mar

America’s Enemy Within Afraid Of Real Heroes



Minneapolis high school cancels former student’s and Iraq vets’ talk
911 Families for America

The veteran’s bus tour featuring decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is stopping in the Twin Cities today. But controversy at Forest Lake High School forced the tour to make a change in plans. Capt. Pete Hegeseth founded the group Vets for Freedom. He is an Iraq War vet and a Forest Lake High School graduate. He received word yesterday that the school did not want the bus rolling through, calling the talk too political for a public school. He said parents and an outside group threatened to protest if they came. Instead, the group spoke at the Forest Lake American Legion. Dozens of students at Forest Lake High School were so upset that they skipped school to go see the speech

.

Students Skip School To See Iraq Speech
A veteran’s bus tour featuring decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is stopping in the Twin Cities today.
But controversy at Forest Lake High School forced the tour to make a change in plans.
Capt. Pete Hegeseth founded the group Vets for Freedom. He is an Iraq War vet and a Forest Lake High School graduate. He received word yesterday that the school did not want the bus rolling through, calling the talk too political for a public school.
He said parents and an outside group threatened to protest if they came.
Instead, the group spoke at the Forest Lake American Legion.
Dozens of students at Forest Lake High School were so upset that they skipped school to go see the speech.

“My brother’s in the armed forces…it’s a slap in the face for people with family members in the armed forces,” said student Elijah Miller.

The non-profit, non-partisan group does talk about staying in Iraq, but Hegeseth said the current speech has been adjusted for public school students. He said it’s about sharing experience.

“I was out there for three days outside the neighborhood outside the green zone and I didn’t hear a single shot fired or a single explosion,” Heggeseth told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “Markets were open, the Iraqi Army was out on the street corner–that’s not political, that’s what I saw first hand,” Hegeseth told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.

School officials repeatedly denied our requests for comment on the situation.
Coast-to-Coast Bus Tour by War Heroes




Wild Thing’s comment………
“He said parents and an outside group threatened to protest if they came”
Can you imagine, it is not only the school saying no but it says…… parents too, sure the outside groups are probably CODE PINK’s and ANSWER ETC. But parents?!!
OK so here we go, parents like this are teaching their kids the steps in being a good liberal, a good American hating communist military loathing citizen. Now kids this is how mom and dad want you to feel about our military, this is how we want you to disrespect and show zero support to those that fought for your being able to live in the land of the free.
No thank soldier is not on our side he is the enemy. We don’t like people like that. And we certainly don’t encourage the things they do by going to hear them speak or applauding them and cheering for them.
Yep nice huh, my guess is that is exactly the conversation that goes on in the house of liberals with their mush brained kids.
God bless these soldiers. And God bless the students and families that were not like the leftie’s that wanted no part of this very special time in their lives.


* Blackfive ….thank you for the video

26 Mar

China Wants Troops To Guard Olympic Torch In Australia




85,000 miles of protest against the Murderers of Beijing! This photo above was taken in Greece on Monday.

CHINA has told Australia its army should oversee the local leg of the Olympic torch relay amid mounting security concerns.
adelaide now
Chinese officials have asked Australian Federal Police to hand over security to its own forces to ensure protests do not mar the relay when it lands in Australia next month.
The move – which has been rebuffed by the AFP – comes as Beijing reels from an embarrassing relay launch in Greece when human rights activists hijacked the event.
China has responded by radically cutting back its relay legs in cities where it expects more trouble, police sources told The Advertiser.
The U.S. city of San Francisco, with a large expatriate Chinese community and Paris – headquarters of Reporters Sans Frontieres, the group behind the Athens protests – have had their legs of the torch relay cut.
It is understood Beijing is concerned that protesters will turn the Australian leg of the relay in Canberra on April 24 into another public relations disaster.

“They’re absolutely wetting their pants but the federal police have really rammed home to them that while the torch is in Canberra security is our responsibility,” a Government source said yesterday.

The Canberra leg will parade a cavalcade of Australian Olympic stars including Ian Thorpe, Jodie Henry, Petria Thomas, Marjorie Jackson-Nelson and Ron Clarke.
It will pass through Federal Parliament and outside the Chinese Embassy in the Canberra suburb of Yarralumla.
The Australian Olympic Committee said yesterday there were no plans to cancel or limit the Canberra leg.
“The relay will definitely go ahead,” said AOC spokesman Mike Tancred.

“We have explained to the Chinese Embassy people have a democratic right in Australia to stage demonstrations and people are free to demonstrate when the torch does arrive, but we would hope that demonstrations are peaceful and won’t disrupt the relay in any way.”

The security taskforce for the relay, formed 18 months ago, includes a Chinese Embassy official, the AFP, the AOC and ACT Government representatives.


Wild Thing’s comment……..
NO NO and NO! . Since when to ChiCom troops get to enforce their human rights violations on NON CHINESE SOIL???
That is so wrong in so many different levels!
#1 — are they saying that the Australian security is incompetent and China’s is not?
#2 — and what exactly will you do to the protestors — reeducate them like you are doing to the Tibetian monks and gun then down or beat them horribly with wood?
#3 — You must think Australia is really dumb enough to allow Chinese armed forces to police public areas…
This whole thing is insane, the Olympic Committee was wrong in every way to let China have the Olympics in their country. The only thing they were thinking about was how much money would be in the briefcases passed under the table to them by the Chicoms if they gave them the olympics.
Can’t you just see it now? A torch runner surrounded by a squad of Chinese cops with helmets on and riot guns at port arms. Showing up with their tanks and the whole thing.
ChiComs are wanting to do this in Aussie land probably because of this:
Protests disrupt Olympic torch ceremony
CNN
OLYMPIA, Greece (CNN) — Activists protesting China’s crackdown in Tibet briefly disrupted the Olympic flame-lighting ceremony in Greece on Monday, calling for a boycott of the Summer Games in Beijing later this year.
Despite the brief disruption by protesters, the Olympic flame began a 130-day, 85,000-mile journey Monday slated to take it from ancient Olympia in Greece to Beijing, China, where the 2008 games are to begin in August.
Charging onto the field of an ancient Greek stadium in Olympia, three protesters unfurled a banner calling for the boycott.
Police said they detained the three French protesters — members of the Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders, who had evaded security to unfurl the black banner, which depicted the Olympic rings as handcuffs.
“If the flame is sacred then so are humans,” the French group said in a written statement. “We cannot let the Chinese seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of piece, without denouncing the dramatic situation of human rights in the country.”
Olympic officials said it was the first time the movement’s flame-lighting ritual had been interrupted by protests at the birthplace of the games.
More protests followed, after the torch began its long trek. A Tibetan woman covered herself with red paint and lay on the ground, forcing the torchbearer to weave around her as other protesters shouted “Flame of shame.”
Other protesters were detained by police for trying to stage a peaceful protest along the torch-relay route.
A pro-Tibet group said in a written statement that two of its members were “violently detained after unfurling banners and Tibetan flags on the road as the torch made its way through Olympia.”

26 Mar

Bill Clinton Voodoo doll very funny ~ Oldie But Very Funny

Bill Clinton Voodoo doll very funny




Wild Thing’s comment………
I remember seeing this back when Bill Clinton was President and just saw it again. It is very funny.

26 Mar

Visiting With our Troops




Capt. Aaron Bowman, commanding officer of Naval Station Mayport, presents a command coin to 8-year-old sea cadet Jesse Carter for having the best uniform during a uniform inspection. (U.S. Navy photo)




With a little help from Command Senior Chief Don Abele, three children lead hundreds of invited guests in reciting the pledge of allegiance while aboard USS Constitution during the ship’s 2nd underway demonstration of the year. The three masted, wood-hulled frigate was towed about three miles to Castle Island area where she gave a 21-gun salute to the nation for USS Constitution Day. At 209 years old, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by 64 active duty U.S. Navy Sailors and visited by nearly half a million tourists annually.


Wild Thing’s comment……..
I loved seeing this, what wonderful children and they are being taught how special our military is which always makes me very happy.
God bless the children and our troops.

25 Mar

Negative U.S. media linked to increased insurgent attacks



Negative U.S. media linked to increased insurgent attacks
Washington Times
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.