Theodore's World

Herald Tribune
The former secretary of state Colin Powell said Sunday that badly overstretched U.S. forces in Iraq were losing the war there and that a temporary U.S. troop surge probably would not help.
“There really are no additional troops” to send, Powell said, adding that he agreed with those who say that the U.S. Army is “about broken.”
“We are losing — we haven’t lost — and this is the time, now, to start to put in place the kinds of strategies that will turn this situation around,” Powell said on CBS-TV.

Wild Thing’s comment….
Can’t these people just wait to see what Bush will decide to do and then rip it apart later? We know they will no matter what Bush decided. But for Powell to say our troops are ” losing in Iraq” makes me furious.
Our troops fought hard and got to Baghdad, they HAVE won and taken out many of the top officials, including the arrest of Saddam. That is not losing in Iraq in my opinion. Powell could have made his comments in a different way without saying U.S. Forces are losing in Iraq. It gives an entirely different connotation to what has actually happened, not only in Iraq but also in Afghanistan.

Iraqi translator for US forces Omar Satar Hussein opens the door of an armored US Humvee, west of the restive city of Baquba, northeast of Baghdad. Nicknamed “Lucky” by US soldiers for surviving many explosions of improvised explosive devices (IED), mortar attacks and gunfights, Hussein has been cast out by all of his family and friends who consider him a traitor and a collaborator because of his work with the US forces.(AFP/File/Patrick Fort)

‘Lucky’ Iraqi translator has America and little else
BAQUBA, Iraq (AFP) – Omar Satar Hussein — an Iraqi working as a translator for the US army — goes by the nickname “Lucky”, having survived, by his count, 37 shootings, 30 bombings and 11 mortar strikes.
He’s also lost everything he ever cared about in the world: his family, his fiancee and his friends.
“I didn’t choose my nickname. Everyone just started to call me that,” he said. “Yeah, I’m lucky with my job. I’ve survived many attacks, but I’m very unlucky with my private life.”
The life of an interpreter for the US army in Iraq is not an easy one. From social ostracism to death at the hands of insurgents, the job is fraught with risk.
“Everybody in Baquba knows my job — I work for the Americans,” said Lucky, who, alone among his translator colleagues, does not wear a mask to conceal his identity.
“I have no family anymore. My grandfather told me that I didn’t belong anymore, so America is all I have.”
Hailing from the restive city of Baquba in Iraq’s Diyala province, now the scene of vicious sectarian battles and confessional cleansing, Hussein first learned English in school, but mastered the language from old music cassettes.
Abba, Bryan Adams, Lionel Richie all helped him along his linguistic journey. To this day, his favorite song is the Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive”.

Iraqis dig the site of a mass grave discovered at an area 20 Km south of the holy city of Karbala, central Iraq.

The remains of bodies found buried in a mass grave in Kerbala

Wild Thing’s comment……
They are still finding these mass graves and all I can think of is how so many on the left have said we should have left Saddam in power.

A month from now the 6th season of “24” will start agan. It is an Emmy and Golden Globe award winning show and stars Kiefer Sutherland as Agent Jack Bauer, who heads a field operations unit of the Counter Terrorist Unit.
Each episode portrays one hour of that day, with one season comprising 24 episodes or a day in the life of Jack Bauer.
It is such a popular show that there is also a blogs for Bauer. I love it and it is such an excellent show. Many friends of ours have worked on the show so it is fun in that way too, to see them doing their stunts and acting.

Blopgs 4 Bauer has some fun examples of how to talk like Jack Bauer. hahahahaha Go check them out.

Good Enough to Die For
By Russ Vaughn
American Thinker
I have just read a mea culpa by Vietnam War protestor, novelist and poet, Pat Conroy, who possesses the literary skills to express what I am willing to bet many other older American males, his former brothers at the barricades, also feel, but lack the skills and the honesty to articulate. It is left to men like the politically born again David Horowitz and novelist Conroy to speak for these old troupers of the Left’s long-haired legions, to reveal their long hidden recognition that they were possibly misguided in their protesting but more often than most will ever admit, motivated more by fear of serving in combat than by any sense of moral/political rectitude.
For that reason this is an issue that reverberates only within the ranks of male protestors of that era. For the braless, hygiene and make-up challenged young women of the movement, there existed no threat of death or disfigurement in combat, so the purity of their motives is questionable only in the intellectual, not the moral sense. They may have been naïve fools but they weren’t hiding a blushing personal cowardice behind the skirts of world socialism. This then, is an issue of character only for these now old, greying men who, like Conroy, must eventually face the moral consequences of their actions in those turbulent days.
As someone who, like most of us, has experienced events in my life where I now wish that I had shown more moral and physical courage, more honesty, and most importantly, more unquestioning love and understanding of family, I know how those failures live with you long after the memories of trying to do so many things right have dimmed. Many of my lapses involved nothing more than minor events where I failed to speak up, or stand up and be counted, or even stand up and be knocked down; but regardless of their minor nature, it is these life events that forever remain active in my psyche. In my mid-sixties now, I have learned all too well that it’s not the fights you won or even the fights you lost that keep niggling away at the edges of your conscience: it’s the fights you failed to fight when you knew damned well that you should.
Deceased author John D. MacDonald, who wrote the wonderful Travis McGee mystery series, once explained through his fictional hero, McGee, the way to make correct moral decisions and it is a simple wisdom that has stayed in my brain, but not always exemplified by my behavior, through the remainder of my life. It is nothing more than this: do the hard thing. When faced with tough choices, look to that course of action which is the one you want least to follow because it appears to be the most difficult for you; it may hurt personally, but almost always, it is the right course for you to follow for the good of others.
My belief is that a lot of Vietnam War protestors were rightfully fearful of the physical perils of combat, as were all those of us who chose to serve there; but where we tamped down those fears and continued the mission, they wrongfully used a contrived moral outrage against the war as convenient cover to conceal their cowardice. To buttress that theory one simply has to look at how the huge, angry protests diminished, and ultimately disappeared in a remarkably short time once Congress ended the military draft. As young, draft-age men, all those angry protestors were able at the time to righteously rationalize away their true motivation until Congress stole their alibi, and only now, with the awareness and self-accounting that comes with age, are they, like Pat Conroy, facing the truth of their personal cowardice. Sadly, too late, they have come to realize the truth of Conroy’s most perceptive quote:
“America is good enough to die for even when she is wrong.”
I believe those are words worthy of being carved into every war memorial in America. And I am thankful that I and all my brothers and sisters at arms who served then, and those who serve now, possessed then and now, but even in our callow youth, the intrinsic wisdom to recognize that truth. All Americans must die, but those who understand this fundamental reality about this very unique nation will die with their chins held just a few degrees higher than those who didn’t realize it when they should have, but now do, like Conroy and his legions, and sadly, those young people of today who still do not.
SSGT Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

Also posted at:
* Old War Dogs

Incoming Chairmen Ready to Investigate
The Washington Post
Incoming Democratic committee chairmen say they will hold a series of hearings and investigations early next year to build the case for their call for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and for possible action against defense contractors found to have wasted billions in federal funds.
The emerging plans to grill administration officials on the conduct of the war are part of a pledge for more aggressive congressional oversight on issues such as prewar intelligence, prisoner treatment at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, and the government’s use of warrantless wiretaps.
Among the most eager incoming chairmen is Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), a lawyer with a professor’s demeanor and a prosecutor’s doggedness. As head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Levin, 72, will be his party’s point man on the Iraq war and on the Democrats’ call to begin withdrawing troops in the coming months.
In the House, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), another leading advocate of a phased withdrawal, has vowed to use his Appropriations subcommittee chairmanship to investigate the Iraq war, holding “two hearings a day for the first three or four months ….to find out exactly what happened and who’s been responsible for these mistakes.”
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said he will use his Judiciary Committee perch to conduct “real oversight” of the FBI and the Justice Department and to delve into “the abuse of billions of taxpayers’ dollars sent as development aid to Iraq.”
“I am not prepared to accept answers like ‘I can’t talk about it,’ ” Leahy said in a recent speech at Georgetown University’s law school.
Levin, a sharp critic of the administration’s use of prewar intelligence, will have new, substantial powers to press the White House for information and for a new direction in Iraq.
Having Levin replace John W. Warner (R-Va.) as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee will “hugely” change oversight, said Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), a longtime colleague. Rockefeller, incoming chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, also plans more aggressive hearings.

Wild Thing’s comment……
They haven’t even been sworn in yet and ALREADY the investigations are starting, or being talked about. hahahaha Amazing, just amazing! The can hardly wait!

Wreaths Across America honor’s America’s vets in over 230 state and national cemeteries, and veteran monuments.
Their mission:
Remember – Honor – and Teach
Remember the fallen
Honor those who serve
Teach our children the value of freedom.
2006 will mark the 15th anniversary of holiday wreaths being sent from the State of Maine to Arlington National Cemetery.
Each year the folks at Worcester Wreath Company make and decorate wreaths that will adorn over 5000 headstones of our Nation’s fallen heroes – in what has become an annual event coordinated with the Cemetery Administration and the Maine State Society.
Morrill and Karen Worcester, of Worcester Wreaths have donated wreaths for the last 15 years. They go to schools all over the country to let them know who gives us freedom, and to teach them to honor the troops..
Spurred by the tremendous outpouring of letters and interest, and to celebrate the 15 years of giving, Worcester Wreath Company solicited Civil Air Patrol and its members to help expand the reaches of the Arlington Wreath Project with Wreaths Across America – the placing of memorial wreaths during a special ceremony at each of the over 230 State and National Cemeteries, and Veterans Monuments across the country.
Morrill Worcester – President of Worcester Wreath Company explains his desire to develop the Wreaths Across America project:

“Our goal is to expand the recognition of those who serve our country, both past, present, and future, as well as their families who deserve our support. Without the sacrifices of our veterans, there would be no opportunity to enjoy the freedoms, the life we live today.”

Wild Thing’s comment…..
I think this is wonderful that they do this. America has so many very special citizens that truly love America and know who to thank, and to never forget why we live in the land of the free. Good people that want to thank our troops, their families, our Veterans that have lead the way.

Happy Hanukah to everyone. It’s meaning of the triumph of a desire for freedom speaks to all.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights or Festival of Rededication, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of Kislev, which may be in December, late November, or, while very rare in occasion, early January (as was the case for the Hannukkah of 2005–2006). The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival’s eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second night and so on.

US Marines gather together for a quick moment of motivation before heading out on a patrol near al-Karmah village, near the city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad

Cheerleaders from the New England Patriots sign autographs after their performance…Iraq.

The New England Patriots cheerleaders perform a routine for service members at Bagram Airfield.

U.S. Army Soldiers from Task Force Gauntlet, 10th Mountain Division and U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordinance
Division, dismount from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in the mountainous region of Landikheyl, Afghanistan. They were searching for weapons caches.
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Dexter D. Clouden
55th Combat Camera Company

Defying Bush, Specter Plans Syria Trip
Newsmax
Sen. Arlen Specter, a 26-year Senate Republican, said he will visit Syria despite loud objections by the Bush administration, contending the situation in Iraq is so dire that it is time Congress step up to the plate and see what it can do.
Specter, R-Pa., said in an interview late Friday that he is planning a trip to the Middle East that will include Israel and Syria. The senator said he and other Republicans are concerned that the administration’s policies in the Middle East are not working and that other GOP members may follow in his footsteps.

“I’ve talked to my Republican colleagues, and there is a disquiet here,” Specter said.

The visit, coming on the heels of a trip by Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, would be a direct affront to the White House. The United States has limited diplomatic ties with Syria because of its support for Hezbollah and Hamas, which the U.S. deems terrorist organizations. President Bush has expressed reluctance to seek help from Damascus on Iraq until the Syrians curb that support and reduce their influence in Lebanon.
The White House sharply criticized Nelson, a Democrat, for visiting Syria despite Nelson’s assertion that the meeting was helpful. Nelson said Syrian President Bashar Assad said he was willing to help control the Iraq-Syrian border, where foreign fighters cross into Iraq.

“We think it’s inappropriate,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said Thursday of the planned congressional trips to the region. In addition to Nelson and Specter, Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., were expected to visit Syria.

“The concern here, among other things, is that this does not strengthen the hand of democracy in the region … but instead allows the Syrians to dodge the real responsibilities they have,” Snow said.

White House spokesman Alex Conant said late Friday that Snow’s comments hold true for Specter as well.
The diplomatic push from Congress found revived inspiration from a bipartisan panel that recently recommended the U.S. engage Iran and Syria on the war in Iraq. Bush has remained cool to the proposal by the Iraq Study Group, which was led by former GOP Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind.
In recent days, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Specter in a telephone call not to go to Syria, the senator said. But Specter, who had acquiesced previously to similar requests, said time was up.

“I deferred to them a year ago, and I deferred to them last August,” Specter said. “And if there were any signs the administrative policy (in the Middle East) was working, I’d defer to them again.”

Specter said he wasn’t under the impression he would walk away with a diplomatic deal or believed he was stepping on anyone’s toes. But, he added, lawmakers could conduct fact-finding trips that could help inform discussions and still leave foreign policy negotiations up to the White House.

“I now believe that with the report of the independent study group and the administration policy, which is not working, there should be a fresh look at it by Congress,” said Specter, who chairs the Judiciary Committee and is a senior member of the Appropriations panel

.
Specter’s interest in Syria – and willingness to buck White House party line – is nothing new. The Republican has visited Syria 15 times since 1984 and even attended the funeral of Assad’s father. The senator visited with then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 1990 and has tried repeatedly to engage officials in Iran, although to no avail.
Specter has challenged the Bush administration’s position on other matters as well, including the White House policy toward terrorism suspects.

Wild Thing’s comment……
Good lord! Is something in the water they are all drinking? When is thistreason going to stop???!!! Perhaps for once in his not so illustrious career Specter will do what is best for the USA and stay in Syria. What an interloping, seditionist creep. Meglomania, thy name is RINO RAT.
Well this says it all about Specter:

Specter’s interest in Syria – and willingness to buck White House party line – is nothing new. The Republican has visited Syria 15 times since 1984 and even attended the funeral of Assad’s father. The senator visited with then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 1990 and has tried repeatedly to engage officials in Iran, although to no avail.