Theodore's World

More than 1100 mortar rounds were found by Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 89th Calvary Regiment, Wolverines, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division

Iraqi troops, Mountain Soldiers find largest cache in Commando Brigade history, more than 1100 mortar rounds
By 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div.
Troops from 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Troop B, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment “Wolverines,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), made the discovery during Operation Wolverine Alesia near Yusufiyah, Iraq, just 10 miles southwest of the capital. 1,129
Acting on a tip from a local resident, the troops conducted an intentional search of the area which resulted in the largest cache find in 2nd “Commando” Brigade’s history. In all, 1,129 mortar rounds were uncovered.
The cache, which was buried in the dirt, was larger than expected. As the Soldiers continued to unearth more mortar rounds, it became evident that this was a major find.

“These mortars rounds are in the configuration to use as improvised explosive devises,” said Lt. Col. Mark Suich, the 1-89th’s commander and native of Redding, Pa. “The mortar rounds in this state cannot be used for indirect fire; they are fabricated and stored to be used against the coalition and sectarian enemies as IEDs.”

Suich said the seizure of so many munitions can only hurt terrorist operations.“We put a significant reduction in the enemy’s ability to emplace IEDs in this area today,” Suich said. “We are pretty sure that these are affiliated with al Qaeda in Iraq.”

The area around Yusufiyah has long been identified as an al-Qaeda and former regime safe haven where attacks against Baghdad and coalition and Iraqi security forces originated.

“This is what we refer to as a weapons supermarket-type cache,” said Maj. Mark Aitken, the 1-89th executive officer and a naturalized U.S. citizen from Leicester, England. “The terrorists place a large cache of weapons in one place to draw from. They then pre-position what they draw in many other smaller caches around the countryside.”

During the operation four individuals were detained by the Iraqi Army for suspicious activity in the vicinity of the cache.
At a second cache site located nearby, Troop C, 1-89th found 20 120mm mortar rounds, 26 81mm mortar rounds, four medium machine guns, 8,000 rounds of machine gun ammunition, three rifle scopes, 60 fragmentation hand grenades, 50 pounds of homemade explosives, 27 boxes of 5.56mm rifle ammunition and 10 rocket-propelled grenade projectiles.

Operation Wolverine Alesia is named after a Roman battle led by Julius Caesar against the Gauls in 52 B.C., where the conquering force surrounded the enemy at the fortifications of Alesia in modern-day eastern France and defeated the defenders through siege warfare. The battle of Alesia marked the turning point in the Gallic Wars.

“Today we took over 1,100 IEDs off of the streets of Baghdad,” said Maj. Web Wright, spokesman for the Commando Brigade and a native of Annapolis, Md. “Not only did we take these weapons off of the streets, 3-4-6 IA is fully integrated into this operation. Last night, they found three caches and were actively involved in finding these two.”

The mortar rounds were destroyed during a controlled detonation by the explosive ordnance disposal detachment at approximately 2:35 p.m. The blast could be heard for more than 20 miles.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hold a press conference after Republican senators blocked Senate debate on the Iraq buildup resolution on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Feb. 5, 2007

A ‘Robust’ G.O.P. Blocks Senate War Debate
Washington
On the Senate floor just a short while ago, a pretty hot debate ensued before any real debate on Iraq resolutions was allowed, or actually not allowed by the vote following the debate about the proposed debate. The Senate went 49-47, the Democrats well shy of the 60 votes needed to moved ahead on one of the war resolutions.
As you may have anticipated through reports during the weekend and today, Republicans in the Senate voted in near unanimity tonight against the Democratic leadership’s intention to bring the Warner-Levin resolution opposing President Bush’s troop buildup to the floor for debate. From watching the roll call on the vote, it would appear that nearly all Republicans, excepting Susan Collins of Maine and Norm Coleman of Minnesota,voted to keep the Warner-Levin measure from being Topic A.
Even senators, like John Warner, Republican of Virginia and premier author of the resolution backed by the Democratic leadership, and Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska and a persistent critic of the administration’s Iraq policies, voted with their party’s senators to block debate on Warner-Levin alone.
As Minority Leader Mitch McConnell explained on and off the floor today, the Republicans want all resolutions debated, including one offered by Senator John McCain in support of the president’s plan (that also includes benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet), as well as now a separate one offered by Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire.

Reid warned that even if Republicans continued to block debate, “you can run but you can’t hide…. They may stop us temporarily from debating the escalation.” But, he predicted, it will come up again and again in amendments on other legislation going forward.

Wild Thing’s comment……
LOL sorry but they used the word “robust’ to describe how passionate the Republicans are about this. Er ah some of the Republicans are about this. Gosh I wish the word robust had described our Republican leadership when we were in the majority.
sigh

Iraq says half of extremists come from Syria
BAGHDAD
Focus on Iraq

” Half the extremists who commit bomb attacks in Iraq come from Syria”, Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh said on Saturday.

“What we see on the streets of Baghdad, 50 percent of it is coming from Syria. I confirm that 50 percent of murders and bombings are by Arab extremists coming from Syria,” Dabbagh said.

“They come from Syria, we have evidence to prove it. We have already proved it to our brothers in Syria.

“We want to tell all Arabs now that those who call themselves mujahedeen come from Syria, and murder our oppressed population this way.”

Dabbagh’s remarks came after a suicide bombing in a central Baghdad market killed 127 people and wounded 305.
The attack was the biggest since November 23 car bombings in the Shiite district of Sadr City left more than 200 people dead.
Dabbagh also pressed Syria to hand over suspects wanted for carrying out attacks in Iraq.
A number of top former regime officials have reportedly found refuge in Syria and many of them are on Iraq’s most wanted list.
The US military has repeatedly accused Damascus of turning a blind eye to foreign fighters slipping across the border to join the insurgency dogging US troops in Iraq.

Wild Thing’s comment…….
We won’t need uniforms to distinguish friend or foe … there will only be one faction … foe … and that, to me, is an open invitation for the establishment of a glass factory.

UK Gov’t Urged to Clamp Down on Muslim Stereotyping in Media, Arts
London (CNSNews.com)
Charging that movies and TV are filled with stereotypical images of Muslims, an Islamic rights group in Britain is calling for more government intervention in the media.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission, the non-profit group, said in a report there was a systematic bias shown against Muslims throughout the arts.
Beginning centuries ago with classic literature such as the Song of Roland and the works of Dante, where the prophet Mohammed was shown to be trapped in hell, the report charged that prejudice has filtered down to today.
This was seen in newspaper and television journalism, but also in popular movies and fiction, the report said.

Muslims were either shown to be terrorists – for example in action thrillers such as Executive Action or The Siege – or as exotic but inferior, as in movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, the commission said.

In spy novels, “evil and barbaric Muslims” often wanted to overthrow the United States, while the writing of popular novelist James Clavell depicted Iranians as filthy and irrational, it reported.

The commission said the stereotypes affect how non-Muslim British citizens regard Islam, and at the same time alienate Muslims from the rest of society.

The report was accompanied by results of an opinion poll of British Muslims, in which 62 percent of respondents found the media to be “Islamophobic.”

The authors of the report concluded that it was apparent the British media’s efforts to self-regulate were not working, and that it was time for the government to step in.

The government should monitor media representation of Muslims, and “watchdogs with teeth” should punish news institutions that allow prejudice, through deliberate action or negligence, the commission said.

It also argued that censors need more power to curtail or decline certification of movies with questionable material.
Arzu Merali, one of the report’s authors, told Cybercast News Service the measures were needed to combat the barrage of negative images.

“It’s not something we’re advocating lightly or even happily but it’s a solution that must be considered,” she said.

However, the report drew some critical reaction, including a scornful response by a prominent Pakistani columnist, Kamran Shafi.

Writing in the Lahore-based Daily Times, Shafi said the commission seemed to want to depict Muslims everywhere as perfect. It’s criticism of the cartoon film “Aladdin” as stereotyping Arabs was “ridiculous,” he added.

“Can we lighten up please, folks?” Shafi wrote. “Especially those of us who live in the West by choice?”

In recent years, efforts have been made in the British film and television industry to increase the number of minorities seen on screen.
In 2005, a detailed study by documentary maker Mukti Jain Campion found that the BBC was coming close to its stated goals of having around eight percent of drama roles being filled by minority actors.
While this roughly represents the percentage of black and Asian citizens in Great Britain, Campion also discovered that most minority actors were relegated to background roles or as the single non-white lead in a show, and that those she spoke to had recalled auditions where they were expected to put on strange accents or to behave in what the directors thought was a more “ethnic” manner.
In the United States, actors with a Muslim background have often complained of being offered a limited number of cliched roles on screen such as fanatical terrorists or immigrants with funny accents.
Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Friday Hollywood was losing out by not tapping this growing source of talent.

“I know there have been the incorporation of some positive roles for Muslim actors, but really, they have been few and far between,” she said.

Wild Thing’s comment……
Don’t you just love the part that says…..

“Muslims were either shown to be terrorists – for example in action thrillers such as Executive Action or The Siege – or as exotic but inferior, as in movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, the commission said. “

“In spy novels, “evil and barbaric Muslims” often wanted to overthrow the United States, while the writing of popular novelist James Clavell depicted Iranians as filthy and irrational, it reported.”

We have seen Muslims portray muslimes as bloodthirsty madmen waving signs that demand the torture deaths of “infidels,” whom they define as anyone who doesn’t believe their way. Or they might show airliners flying into office buildings, falsely alleging that the planes were hijacked by muslimes. Some even depict decapitations of innocent people by muslimes with dull knives.
Oh, wait. Those are documentaries. Those are the true Muslim we have to deal with.
I mean their cult they belong to, Islam, is about death and destruction. But they want to be protrayed as touchie feelie warm and fuzzy characters in movies and TV shows? Oh My Gawd! Give me a break!
Well here are some names of shows for them….add to it:
Beavis and Nohead
Virgin 54 Where are You?
Leave it to Osama
Three’s Jihadi
My Mother the Car Bomb

The Hill News
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), co-chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, is vowing to use the appropriations process to force lawmakers to vote on separate parts of a resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Iraq.
The resolution would pay Iraqis reparations of up to $10,000 for damages caused by the war if they made claims; ban American firms from pumping oil in Iraq; cut off funds to build long-term bases in Iraq; pay for the destruction of landmines; and create a House-Senate select committee to study the origins of the war in Iraq.
Lee and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), the other co-chair of the House Democratic Progressive Caucus, introduced H.R. 508, and they have signed up 28 co-sponsors. Woolsey says she plans to meet next week with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) to ensure the resolution is considered in committee.

“I want to see this move very quickly,” Lee said.

Wild Thing’s comment…….
Rep. Barbara Lee and Lynn Woosley are both communists and I jsut keep shaking my head at how this great country has let people like this get into our government. Most of you probably know Barbara Lee cast the only No vote against authorizing a military response to 9/11. Barbara also served on national committee of Communist-splinter group Committees of Correspondence. There is a ton of information on Barbara to fill a book of what a good communist is for that lives in our country and her goals for our government. augh!

Imam Husham Al-Husainy delivered the following invocation/prayer at the opening of the Democrat National Committee winter meeting in Williamsburg

Democrats Invite Radical Muslim to Speak at Nat’l Committee Meeting
February 04, 2007
By Warner Todd Huston
Last year, al-Husainy was a principle organizer and speaker at a rally in Dearborn of 3,000 Hezbullah supporters who marched carry anti-Jew signs and signs equating Americans and Jews to Nazis. During one of his speeches he called Jews and Americans “diseased”.
It must be noted that the US counts Hezbullah as a terrorist organization.
At that same event he hosted a visit of Rabbi Dovid Weiss, the Rabbi that participated in the anti-Jewish Holocaust denial conference sponsored by one of America’s chief enemies, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
He also was a leader of several 2004 anti-American rallies in support of Iraqi insurgents as well as past rallies in support of Hamas and Yassir Arafat. al-Husainy has also voiced direct and open support of Iraq militant Moqtada al-Sadr, and Iranian anti-American cleric Khomeini.
During this “prayer”, al-Husainy said:

“We thank you, god to send us your messages through our father Abraham, and Jesus and Mohammed, through you, god, we unite, so guide us to the right spot we wish for peace, equality and help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation.”

Wild Thing’s comment…..
This man supports those that want to harm us… do they have no idea what he stands for !?!
Which Dem was it that actually selected this guy for this ‘prayer’… supporting the enemy within??
It is very hard for me to distinguish between liberal democrats and radical muslims with the exception that the demos have yet to try suicide bombings! If these Democrats lived in the late 1930s, they would have booked Adolph Hitler as a guest speaker.

Peyton Manning’s Colts and Brian Urlacher’s Bears meet in Super Bowl XLI

I will be cheering on the Bears. My two favorite teams are the Bronco’s and the Bears. Those of you that will be watching the game I hope your team does well, Colts or Bears and may the best team win.
Now those of you that know me know that not much happens in my life that I am not thinking of our troops and how thngs effect them. Soooo here is what will be happening regarding the Superbowl this year and our awesome troops.
Randy Cross to report live from Iraq with American troops.
Bay area news
Last April, the former 49ers offensive lineman went to Afghanistan for six days to visit U.S. troops after being invited by Ron Barr of the Sports Byline USA radio network.

“I mingled with them, worked out with them, ate with them and talked to them,” said Cross, whose dad was a Marine. “Whenever I would meet one of the soldiers, the first words I’d hear were, ‘Thank you.’ They were just so appreciative that someone had taken the time to visit them. It was an unbelievable experience.”

As soon as returned, Cross told his bosses he wanted to go back to Afghanistan or to Iraq to be with the troops on Super Bowl Sunday.
Networks in the past have shown footage of U.S. troops on Super Bowl Sunday, but never sent an announcer to be with them.
Cross, who spent 13 seasons with the 49ers, has lived in the Atlanta area for the past 15 years with his wife, Patrice, and their three children.
Cross won’t be making the trip to Iraq alone. Suzanne Smith, a director-producer for CBS Sports, is also going.
“I said, ‘You’re going to need a producer, aren’t you?'” Smith recalled.
The plan for Baghdad will be to arrange a touch football game among the troops on the eve of the Super Bowl, with Cross serving as the referee. The game will be taped and highlights will be shown in a live spot with Cross and military personnel during the pregame show.
Super Bowl kickoff is scheduled for around 3:25 p.m. At that time, it will be 2:25 a.m. in Baghdad.

“I’ll guarantee we will have plenty of soldiers there,” Cross said. “Military people work on a 24-hour clock. There is always a lot of activity.”

And this is a great story to hear about too.
Chicago news
Two former Super Bowl players got a taste of what real war is like. Two of the 1985 Bears stars traveled to the frontlines recently to pay tribute to the true heroes.

“They sacrifice their lives for our way of life,” said former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon. “The least I can do is spend a few hours, a few days with some of these guys that are risking their lives for us.”

Former teammate Kevin Butler concurred.

“They’re true American heroes and there’s no greater compliment I can give them,” Butler told NBC5.

They are older and grayer now, and meeting soldiers and Marines who hadn’t been born when they rocketed to fame 20 years ago. “Any news from home, any connection with the United States and they’re happy to have it,” McMahon said of his time shared with U.S. troops.

“It lets you know just how lucky we are to have what we have here in America,” Butler said.

“We were … right in the middle of Baghdad. We land, we get up there with armed guards, and the first thing that pops up over all the speakers is The Super Bowl Shuffle,” Butler said.

“The Super Bowl Shuffle will haunt us forever,” McMahon said with a smile. “A lot of them still knew about it. A lot them still had posters and Bear paraphernalia.”

“These guys are coming over and thanking us for coming over and visiting for an hour or so and, you know, we’re trying to say, ‘Thank you for sacrificing your lives for us and our families back home,'” he added.

“When we’re sitting there signing autographs, I really just wanted to, you know, flip it around and sit them down and get their autograph. Actually, having a soldier (who) just came off of a mission look and me and say, ‘How did you go out there at the end of the game and kick a field goal? That’s got to be nerve-wracking.'” Butler said. “You know, the humble meter goes straight up.”

The two Bears shared pictures of their accomodations in Saddam Hussein’s place the night he was hanged.

“It was pretty cool to be in Baghdad the day that all this took place,” McMahon said.

Both men called the visit a life-changing experience. Both came home convinced that messages of support are more important than ever, Rogers said.

“I hear a lot of stuff in the media about how bad our youth is,” the former quarterback said. “But, every time you talk to these people in the Marines … our country is in good hands with these kids.”

Butler said Bears fans can be especially supportive of the troops.

“If you’re a Chicago Bears fan and your team is down at the halftime of the championship game, you’re going to be cheering them in the third quarter, no matter how they played those first two quarters. And we need to cheer our soldiers over there and just tell them how much we support them and love them,” he said. Rogers said that bother Butler and McMahon have been invited to return and both told NBC5 that they intend to go.

I’LL END WAR: ANGRY PLEDGE: MAKE ME PREZ AND IT’S DONE!
New York Post
February 3, 2007
WASHINGTON

Pumping her fists and shouting to the rooftops, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed yesterday to bring an immediate end to the war in Iraq if she’s elected president.

“If we in Congress don’t end this war before January 2009, as president, I will,” Clinton pledged in a speech to the Democratic faithful as she staked out a new position on the conflict.

While she has been escalating her criticism of the war for months, yesterday was the first time Clinton spoke about what she would do about it if she wins the White House in 2008.
The former first lady’s pledge to pull the plug on Iraq and bring the troops home came during the Democratic National Committee’s annual winter meeting. She and her top-tier White House rivals, Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards, took tough stands against the war.
Clinton, raising her voice at one point to be heard above a few anti-war hecklers, also suggested that calls from Edwards and others to cut off funding for President Bush’s troop increase are unlikely to win approval in a narrowly divided Senate.

“Believe me, I understand the frustration and the outrage,” said Clinton, who is backing a Senate resolution that expresses disapproval of the troop surge but would not cut off funding.

Wild Thing’s comment……
What is her plan? And if she has a plan, why doesn’t she share it now? I still remeber how she came to the floor of the Senate in October of 2002 and supported the war; she even said that Hussein was associated with al Qaeda.
She says if she were president in Oct 2002 she wouldn’t have started ‘this war.’ A-hem Hillary we went into Afghanistan in Oct 2001 and into Iraq in March 2003. Better have your team get their act together on the dates before you start yelling and screaming at voters your demands and pleas to become President.

September 15th, 2002, on Meet the Press, Tim Russert says to Hillary, “Do you believe that we could have disarmament without regime change?”
HILLARY: I doubt it. I can support the president. I can support an action against Saddam Hussein because I think it’s in the long-term interests of our national security.

Neville Chamberlain said he would end war with Germany. You can always end war by unconditionally surrendering. When are liberals ever going to understand that appeasement and surrender do not equal peace?

WaPo Weasels II
Contributed by Russ Vaughn
Want to slam our soldiers, Arkin?
Well here is one to slam.
I got used to Lefty slamming
When I came back from Vietnam.
So you want to put a muzzle
On our brave fighting men?
Well try muzzling me you jerk,
Just tell me where and when.
Your profession needs a lesson
In basic free speech rights,
For those you worms all hide behind,
For those who fight your fights.
Like all your soft and smarmy kind,
You really have no clue,
Who American warriors truly are,
What our warriors truly do.
How many times in your four years
As a chair-borne analyst,
Were you within an ocean’s width
Of combat’s hard mailed fist?
How many medals did you earn
In those warrens at Fort Meade?
In four years of four-eyed service,
Just what was your bravest deed?
FOX news has combat warriors
To help us understand the score,
While MSM uses clerks like you,
Who have never been to war.
Your resentment of your betters,
Seeps through your bitter writing,
And shows you have no clue or care
Of those who do the fighting.
Like your ivy-cloistered Comrades, your war’s between the classes,
Dialectics, speeches, theory, your heads firmly up your asses.
Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

* Old War Dogs

The evil spirit thrives in Evita Pelosi.

Bush, Pelosi plan joint news conference Saturday
Yahoo
Bush is scheduled to hold a news conference on Saturday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after he addresses a meeting of House Democrats, congressional aides said on Friday.
Bush will speak to House of Representatives Democrats holding an annual weekend retreat at about 10 a.m. (1500 GMT). Afterward, at about 11:40 a.m. (1640 GMT), Bush, along with Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders, will answer reporters’ questions.
Bush, will be appearing at the Williamsburg retreat one month after Democrats took control of the House and Senate. With less than two years remaining in Bush’s presidency, his policies, including his handling of the Iraq war, are being challenged by Democrats.

Wild Thing’s comment……
Maybe they plan to announce they are giving the United States to Mexico. Why don’t I have confidence in this! How telling is that fact that I don’t. Who the heck is giving Bush advice anyway. Carville?? augh!