Theodore's World

Iran said it could defeat any American military action over its controversial nuclear drive, in one of the Islamic regime’s boldest challenges yet to the United States.



Breitbart.com

“You can start a war but it won’t be you who finishes it,” said General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards and among the regime’s most powerful figures.

“The Americans know better than anyone that their troops in the region and in Iraq are vulnerable. I would advise them not to commit such a strategic error,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a pro-Palestinian conference in Tehran.

The United States accuses Iran of using an atomic energy drive as a mask for weapons development. Last weekend US news reports said President George W. Bush’s administration was refining plans for preventive strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“I would advise them to first get out of their quagmire in Iraq before getting into an even bigger one,” General Safavi said with a grin.

“We have American forces in the region under total surveillance. For the past two years, we have been ready for any scenario, whether sanctions or an attack.”

Iran announced this week it had successfully enriched uranium to make nuclear fuel, despite a UN Security Council demand for the sensitive work to be halted by April 28.
The Islamic regime says it only wants to generate atomic energy, but enrichment can be extended to make the fissile core of a nuclear warhead — something the United States is convinced that “axis of evil” member Iran wants to acquire.
At a Friday prayer sermon in Tehran, senior cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Janati simply branded the US as a “decaying power” lacking the “stamina” to block Iran’s ambitions.
And hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told AFP that a US push for tough United Nations sanctions was of “no importance.”

“She is free to say whatever she wants,” the president replied when asked to respond to comments by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice highlighting part of the UN charter that provides for sanctions backed up by the threat of military action.

“We give no importance to her comments,” he said with a broad smile.

On Thursday, Rice said that faced with Iran’s intransigence, the United States “will look at the full range of options available to the United Nations.”
“There is no doubt that Iran continues to defy the will of the international community,” Rice said, after Iran also dismissed a personal appeal from the UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief must give a report at the end of April on Iranian compliance with the Security Council demand. In Tehran he said that after three years of investigations Iran’s activities were “still hazy and not very clear.”
Although the United States has been prodding the council to take a tough stand against the Islamic republic, including possible sanctions, it has run into opposition from veto-wielding members Russia and China.
Representatives of the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany are to meet in Moscow Tuesday to discuss the crisis.
In seeking to deter international action, Iran has been playing up its oil wealth, its military might in strategic Gulf waters and its influence across the region — such as in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
At the Tehran conference, Iran continued to thumb its nose at the United States and Israel.

“The Zionist regime is an injustice and by its very nature a permanent threat,” Ahmadinejad told the gathering of regime officials, visiting Palestinian militant leaders and foreign sympathizers.

“Whether you like it or not, the Zionist regime is on the road to being eliminated,” said Ahmadinejad, whose regime does not recognise Israel and who drew international condemnation last year when he said Israel should be “wiped off the map.”

Unfazed by his critics, the hardliner went on to repeat his controversial stance on the Holocaust.
“If there is serious doubt over the Holocaust, there is no doubt over the catastrophe and Holocaust being faced by the Palestinians,” said the president, who had previously dismissed as a “myth” the killing of an estimated six million Jews by the Nazis and their allies during World War II.

“I tell the governments who support Zionism to … let the migrants (Jews) return to their countries of origin. If you think you owe them something, give them some of your land,” he said.

Iran’s turbaned supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also accused the United States of seeking to place the entire region under Israeli control.

“The plots by the American government against Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon aimed at governing the Middle East with the control of the Zionist regime will not succeed,” Khamenei said.

There was no immediate reaction from Washington, but French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy severely condemned Ahmadinejad for his latest remarks on Israel.
“As I have had occasion to do before, when the Iranian president made similar statements, I condemn these inacceptable remarks in the strongest possible terms,” Douste-Blazy said in a statement.
“Israel’s right to exist and the reality of the Holocaust should not be disputed,” he added.

Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Schindler stands beside the “Bandit Skull,” the unit crest for 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armor Division. The grinning skull is the subject of “The Bandit Song,” the unit’s official rock anthem.
Stars and Stripes
Mideast Edition
by Monte Morin
SINJAR, Iraq — Maybe there’s something in the clank of steel caterpillar treads or the roar of turbine engines that turn a tanker’s mind to musical composition.
That might explain why the U.S. Army’s most decorated tank battalion once owned rock ’n’ roll star Elvis Presley and now may well be the only unit of its kind to write and record its own alternative-rock anthem.
“The Bandit Song,” as it’s known, is the official unit song of the 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division. It’s a raucous ode to the “Bandit” battalion’s distinctive death’s head crest and its World War II legacy.
The lyrics describe the Bandits’ banner as “just a fearsome skull and brazen ivory smile,” and they promise that “If tyrants test our freedom, then the tanks that roll to meet ’em, will wear the broad black smile of the Bandit skull.”
While the lines are the stuff of centuries-old battle hymns, it’s the song’s edgy, contemporary treatment that gets them bobbing their heads in rhythm.
“You hate to like it,” said Sgt. Jonathan Thompson, 21, of Beaverton, Ore. “It’s addictive.”
More than just a musical novelty, the song is one of a growing body of works written and recorded by Bandit soldiers attempting to capture the pain and earthy humor of life in Iraq — their own combat rock.
Unit commanders have encouraged the musical forays, saying they help soldiers cope with stress and boost their spirits. There are even plans to build a recording studio at this Spartan base, which stands at the foot of the Sinjar Mountains in Iraq’s lush northwest.

The song was originally penned by Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, who sang it at a welcome home tribute to his tank crews following their first deployment to Iraq. While Dempsey performed it as an Irish drinking song, Bandit soldiers recast it.
The tune may not win a Grammy anytime soon, but it certainly tops the charts at the Bandits’ tactical operations center at Camp Nimur. The song blasts over radios before each day’s battle update and kicks off all battalion functions.
“I love it,” said Lt. Col. V.J. Tedesco, commander of the Friedberg, Germany-based unit. “Music is important for soldiers and for people in stressful situations in general. Most of us go to sleep listening to our iPods or CD players because it’s therapeutic. … It also helps rally the unit, it gives them an identity.”
The song was performed by Company C 1st Sgt. and lead guitarist Aaron Jagger, Headquarters and Headquarters Company Pvt. and lead singer Joshua Revak, and Company A Spc. and drummer Soli De La Cruz. The song’s gritty quality is due, in part, to the fact that Revak practiced singing it so much that he had grown hoarse and nearly voiceless before it was recorded.
Written under extreme emotional duress, within hours or days of their friends’ deaths, the songs were as much for relatives back home as they were for the grieving battalion.
“It was really hard to play at those memorials,” Revak said. “Our main purpose though was to help the soldiers mourn. We wanted to help the guys who had to roll out of the gates in soft-skinned Humvees right after the memorial. I think it helped.”
Thank you Troops!

There are a number of people who have seen both wars — men who served in Vietnam and now work in Iraq. In just a few weeks, I found more than 80 of these veterans working throughout Iraq. From 1964 to 1971 they served in the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy from the Gulf of Tonkin to the DMZ. Their present ages range from 51 to 70.
Their tours of duty in Iraq range from six months to more than 18.

In 1967, Buddy Algood was a second lieutenant with E Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry of the 199th Infantry Brigade near Binh Chan. Following the loss of his lower right calf and foot and recuperation from his injuries, he was the first amputee to graduate from the Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. A month later he returned to Vietnam.
Thirty-eight years later, as a civilian, Algood came to Iraq with the Project and Contracting Office (PCO). He explained that, in Iraq, part of his early work was “identifying reconstruction projects in 10 strategic cities that would put Iraqis to work and make an immediate improvement in their quality of life.”

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Lt. Col. James Zucarelli is a member of the 42nd Infantry Division serving as liaison officer with the PCO. He was a Marine lieutenant in Vietnam 1968-69, and will leave Iraq at the age of 59.
“There are former Iraqi soldiers who will accept $25 dollars to take a potshot at a passing patrol, plant an IED by the road, or shoot a mortar from their backyard at night.”

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Henry Bunting, lead acquisition analyst in the Joint Contracting Command – Iraq/Afghanistan, was a staff sergeant in Vietnam with Company A, 75th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized).

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Chief Warrant Officer 5 Gregory McManus, a test pilot with the 135th Aviation Regiment in Iraq, has 39 years of flying with the Army under his belt. The Springfield, Mo., pilot flew helicopters in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, during which he was shot down six times, he said. (Jeff Schogol / S&S)
CAMP ANACONDA, Iraq — His navigation systems had failed. Visibility was limited. And he could be heading toward the Iranian border.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Gregory McManus, a test pilot with the 135th Aviation Regiment, said he wondered if he was about to end his 39-year career flying with the Army as the first American pilot shot down in Iran.
“For a few seconds, you kind of wondered, ‘I could have been retired,’ ” said McManus, 57.
The Springfield, Mo., man was a full-time pilot again after several years in the Missouri National Guard and one tour in Vietnam on active duty.
McManus said he feels “blessed by God” to be able to keep flying at his age.
“There’s not many pilots my age not in a state of decrepitude that can continue doing what I do,” he said. “I’m afraid if I stop, maybe I will become decrepit. My brain won’t work.”
McManus is modest about how he was able to land his plane without navigation systems.
“I just climbed up until somebody saw me on radar and told me where I was. I told them where I wanted to go and they gave me a direction and I flew that way until I got to where I think we were and landed uneventfully,” he said.
But his battalion commander gives him more credit for being able to get the stricken plane on the ground safely.
McManus was able to navigate the plane to safety using only a map, clock and compass, a method known as “dead-reckoning,” said Lt. Col. Mark McLemore, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment.
McManus joined the Army in 1967 and flew helicopters in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, during which he was shot down six times, he said.
“First week I was there we got shot down … just took a hole in the oil line and just landed on the other side of the trees as soon as we knew we couldn’t fly. So a few of them were like that. A couple of them were more spectacular,” he said.
McManus said he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after his gunship came upon an enemy regiment on the Cambodian border.
His helicopter took fire from all directions, but he and his crew used every weapon they had until they ran out of ammunition, he said.
“We ran out of rockets and machine-gun [bullets] first, and then the door gunners ran out of their ammo. I shot all my pistols and dumped everything else, threw all the grenades overboard at them. If there was anything on the aircraft, I would have thrown boxes of crud on them but I didn’t have anything else,” he said.

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BAGHDAD, Iraq — Guerrilla warfare then: In the deep undergrowth of a jungle path, it was a trip-wire attached to a grenade.
Guerilla warfare now: In an Iraqi city, it’s an improvised explosive device (IED) planted beside a busy highway and detonated by cell phone from a nearby roof.
Brutality now: Three construction workers enroute to work were stopped and pulled from their vehicle. Two were shot in the head, the third was beheaded.
Surprise attack then: In Saigon, a smoke-spewing motorbike wove through heavy traffic and the rider threw a grenade into an open jeep before darting away.
Surprise attack now: A new BMW with a trunk full of explosives rams a convoy of up-armored HMMWVs.
And some things never change: A midnight mortar or rocket attack sounded the same at a forward operating base in Phu Bai in 1967 as it does in North Babil in 2006. An AK-47 or rocket-propelled grenade does the same damage whether the gunner is Viet Cong or Iraqi.

The snipers are playing an ever-increasing role in security operations

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CNN reporter, while interviewing a Marine sniper asked, “What do you feel when you shoot a terrorist.”

The Marine shrugged and replied, “Recoil.”

John Kerry Roughing it with Butler
Responding to criticism that he had a laundry list of demands when he stayed in luxury hotels on the campaign trail, Sen. John Kerry said yesterday that he recently took a trip where he slept every night in his truck – accompanied only by his motorcycle, a friend and his butler, “Marvin.”
Asked about the trip by radio host Don Imus, Kerry explained:

“Marvin and Teddy and myself . . . We had the best damned time, I’ll tell you.”
“It was wonderful,” the top Democrat declared. “We didn’t stay anywhere. We actually drove all night. We slept in the truck. We cruised through, you know, a couple of little pit stops early in the morning. It couldn’t have been nicer.”

Kerry insisted that he and his butler were really roughing it, painting a picture right out of the hippie rebel movie, “Easy Rider.”

“We didn’t have any pillows. I’ll tell ya, man. It was really funny cause I blew into some little gas station around midnight or two in the morning, whenever it was, and some guy would do a double take and look at ya. They just couldn’t figure out what I was doing there at that hour of the morning.”
“I couldn’t figure it out either,” the born-to-be-wild senator added.

Kerry didn’t explain who “Teddy” was – or why, if he wanted to rough it, he brought his manservant, Marvin Nicholson, along for the ride.
In 2004, Mr. Nicholson detailed some of his responsibilities to the New York Times, which began its report by noting: “Mr. Kerry is comfortable being catered to.”
“When he wants that peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I’m ready,” Marvin explained.
Among the items Nicholson carries at all times for the rough and ready Democrat: Swedish hand cream, Scope mouthwash, Handiwipes, two packs of Band-Aids, Tylenol, Advil, Advil Liquid Gels, Advil Sinus pills, a sewing kit, a can of diet milkshake ,Kerry prefers strawberry, a tube of Blistex and a myriad of other accouterments.
The Times noted that Kerry, husband of billionairess Teresa Heinz, pays his trusty manservant a mere $45,000 annually.
Wild Thing’s comment……….
LMAO ….. whew, ok my side has stopped hurting from laughing so hard. First we had Gore getting input on how to be macho and he got the training from a woman of all things. Sorry but I have never in my life met a guy that had to learn how to be macho. hahahahaha Thank you God!
Now we hear how Kerry, attempts to rough it. Not without his butler though, and then slept in a truck at night. Roughing it? Oh dear me!

I am sure it is for security purposes, but as of right now there are no photos available of Operation Mountain Lion. As you all know I am extremely careful about what I post about our troops. To be supportive is what Theodore’s World is about and I will continue to be careful as always when it comes to information and photos that are placed on here.
So I am going to put one here from 2002 of the area where Operation Mountain Lion is going on. It will give you an idea of the landscape and what our awesome troops are dealing with. – Wild Thing

Afghanistan operation targets insurgents near Asadabad
Friday, April 14, 2006
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition
Afghan and American troops have killed at least six suspected insurgents in an offensive near Asadabad, Afghanistan, dubbed Operation Mountain Lion, U.S. military officials said.
The operation targets insurgents’ “sanctuary and … their ability to resupply” in the Marawara District of Kunar province, according to a news release. The operation includes more than 2,500 Afghan and coalition troops, including members of the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, and the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
Afghan troops include members of the 3rd Brigade of the Afghan National Army’s 203rd Corps, American officials said.
The U.S. troops are part of Task Force Spartan, which launched the “predawn air-and-ground assaults Wednesday in the Pech River Valley, an area notorious for terrorist activity,” according to the news release.

“However long it takes to rid this area of extremist activity, we’ll be there,” Command Sgt. Maj. James Redmore, the Task Force Spartan top enlisted soldier, was quoted in the release as saying.

According to Air Force officials, the service is providing 24-hour close air support for ground troops in Mountain Lion.

“This operation is helping the government of Afghanistan set the security conditions so democratic processes can take root,” Maj. Gen. Allen Peck, deputy Combined Forces Air Component commander, said in an Air Force news release. “Our job is to bring airpower to bear on the anti-Afghan forces and support the coalition troops on the ground.”

U.S. Air Force F-15s, A-10s and B-52s are being used in the operations, along with Royal Air Force GR-7s.
Global Hawk and Predator drones also are providing intelligence and reconnaissance, with KC-135 and KC-10 aircraft providing refueling support, Air Force officials said.

And this as well……………
“Operation Mountain Lion” To Hit “Terrorist’s Backyard” In Afghanistan

Kabul, Afghanistan (AHN) – Over 2,500 Coalition and Afghan forces have launched “Operation Mountain Lion” to enhance the security of new government with a round predawn of air strikes.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Allen Peck, deputy air component commander for Combined Forces Command Afghanistan, says, “This operation is helping the government of Afghanistan set the security conditions so democratic processes can take root.”
However, Peck is quick to add that this effort does not constitute a return to major combat operations for American troops in Afghanistan, saying, “Our job is to bring airpower to bear on the anti-Afghan forces and support the coalition troops on the ground.”
Peck adds, “Our objective is to assist the coalition forces and Afghan national security forces in defeating the Taliban and al Qaeda.”
“The coalition employs airpower every day to support Afghanistan’s democratically elected government in establishing regional stability and long-term economic and political development.”
Officials add that the mission will help establish security, deter the re-emergence of terrorism, and enhance the sovereignty of Afghanistan, and that this is only a part of the ongoing series of offensives that aim to disrupt insurgent activities, deny them sanctuary and prevent their ability to restock.
U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. James Redmore of Task Force Spartan, says, “We’re taking the fight to the terrorists in their own backyard.”
“They gave their victims no sanctuary. They’ll receive none from us.”
Combat operations included predawn air-and-ground assaults in the Pech River Valley, an area notorious for terrorist activity.
Officials confirm soldiers from 3rd Brigade of the Afghan National Army’s 203rd Corps are fighting alongside servicemembers from the coalition’s Task Force Spartan, made up of soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division and 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment Marines from Task Force Lava.

From Army Mil.
Coalition launches ‘Operation Mountain Lion’ in Afghanistan

Coalition forces, in cooperation with the Afghan National Army, began “Operation Mountain Lion” yesterday to establish security, deter the re-emergence of terrorism and enhance the sovereignty of Afghanistan, military officials reported today.
Afghan and coalition forces killed six insurgents today while conducting offensive operations in the Marawara district of Afghanistan’s Kunar province.
Military officials in Afghanistan said Operation Mountain Lion is part of the coalition’s ongoing series of offensives that aim to disrupt insurgent activities, deny them sanctuary and prevent their ability to restock.

“This operation is helping the government of Afghanistan set the security conditions so democratic processes can take root,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Allen Peck, deputy air component commander for Combined Forces Command Afghanistan. “Our job is to bring airpower to bear on the anti-Afghan forces and support the coalition troops on the ground.”

Operations today began with predawn air-and-ground assaults in the Pech River Valley, an area notorious for terrorist activity, Combined Force Command Afghanistan officials said.
Soldiers from 3rd Brigade of the Afghan National Army’s 203rd Corps are fighting alongside servicemembers from the coalition’s Task Force Spartan, made up of soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division and 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment Marines from Task Force Lava.
More than 2,500 Afghan National Army and coalition forces are involved in the operation.

“We’re taking the fight to the terrorists in their own backyard,” said Army Command Sgt. Maj. James Redmore of Task Force Spartan. “They gave their victims no sanctuary. They’ll receive none from us.”

Coalition leaders described the operation as a comprehensive effort to kill, incapacitate or capture terrorists operating in the region. It will continue as long as necessary, they said.

“Together, with our ANA brothers-in-arms, we’re eliminating the enemy’s remaining sanctuaries in Kunar province,” added Army Col. John Nicholson, Task Force Spartan’s commander.

U.S. Air Force F-15s, A-10s and B-52s are providing close-air support to troops on the ground engaged in rooting out insurgent sanctuaries and support networks. Royal Air Force GR-7s also are providing close-air support to coalition troops in contact with enemy forces. U.S. Air Force Global Hawk and Predator aircraft are providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, while KC-135 and KC-10 aircraft are providing refueling support.

“Our objective is to assist the coalition forces and Afghan national security forces in defeating the Taliban and al Qaeda,” Peck said. “The coalition employs airpower every day to support Afghanistan’s democratically elected government in establishing regional stability and long-term economic and political development.”

Anti-terror efforts like this will extend the reach of the Afghan government, allowing legitimate governance to perform valuable work on behalf of the people in this region, Nicholson said. Stability and security will, in turn, permit nongovernmental aid and reconstruction organizations to work more efficiently.
(Information provided by the Armed Forces Press Service. Compiled from Combined Forces Command Afghanistan and U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward news releases.)

Wild Thing’s comment…….
I will share a part of an email from a soldier in the 10th Mtn.Division………..
….”from the Konar Province. I’ll share a bit. . . The road is good but the officers feel it is a little too bumpy. I guess I need to go faster to smooth out those bumps. All is well here except the MRE’s are all starting to taste the same. Home made ice cream sure does sound good.”
To all those in Operation Mountain Lion this is for you as you ……just CLICK HERE…..go after the terrorists in Afghanistan. God bless our soldiers and America. My heart is so thankful for the men and women in our awesome military.
“Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list,
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist,
And the Eagle will fly and it’s gonna be hell,
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringin’ her bell,
and it will feel like the whole wide world’s rainin’ down on you,
All brought to you Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue!”

Please note….Everyone of of these complaints is coming from a Democrat!
Retired Generals Band Together in Criticizing Rumsfeld on Iraq War

WASHINGTON – The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for Donald Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top military commanders who have criticized harshly the secretary of defense’s authoritarian style for making the military’s job more difficult.
“I think we need a fresh start” at the top of the Pentagon, retired Army Major General John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-05, said in an interview. “We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork.”

Here are some of Rummy’s quotes. I love how he stands up to the press.
Tah dah!
I don’t do quagmires.”
“I don’t do diplomacy.”
“I don’t do foreign policy.”
“I don’t do predictions.”
“Now, settle down, settle down. Hell, I’m an old man, it’s early in the morning and I’m gathering my thoughts here.”
“If I know the answer I’ll tell you the answer, and if I don’t, I’ll just respond, cleverly.”
“Secretary Powell and I agree on every single issue that has ever been before this administration except for those instances where Colin’s still learning (laughter)”
“Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal.”
“Cluster bombs are being used on frontline al Qaeda and Taliban troops to try to kill them is why we’re using them, to be perfectly blunt.”
“We aren’t running out of targets; Afghanistan is.”
“The only way to defend against terrorists is to go after the terrorists.”
Q: “Sir, there’s a widespread perception in this town that when it comes to the Iraqis and the Palestinians, you are a hard-liner. Are you comfortable with that? (Laughter.) And –”
A: “Look at me! I’m sweet and lovable.”
Q: “Secretary Rumsfeld, do you want to catch (Bin Laden) dead or alive or either way?”
A: “Well, the president’s policy is dead or alive. And, you know, I have my preference…”
Q: “Secretary Rumsfeld, can you give us — or maybe even General Pace — can you give us any idea of what’s happening…”
A: “What do you mean ‘even General Pace’? (Laughter.) (To the general) You don’t have to take that from him!”
Q: Mr. Secretary, at the White House last night, a senior White House official after the president spoke said that the decision to make the strike was made some time between 6:30 and 7:00 Eastern time. It’s apparent that that decision to strike was not in line with what we have been led to believe about the war plan. Was the intelligence you got fragile enough where you felt you had to go at that moment and not start with, say, shock and awe or some other phase of the war?
A: “Well, Dick, calibrate me, but the first thing I’d say is I don’t believe you have the war plan — (laughter) — a fact which does not make me unhappy. (Laughter)”
Keep your sense of humor. As General Joe Stillwell said, “The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind.”
Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was – by a taxpayer.
With the press there is no “off the record.”
Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.
“I can’t think of anything funnier than a handful of congressmen walking around (Iraq). They’d have to be there for the next 50 years trying to find something. It’s a joke.”
Press Briefing by the Secretary of Defense March 30,2003
One day soon Americans will say, “We came, we saw, we kicked Iraq’s least hungry non-civilian elite all over that dust-filled patchwork toilet of a European colonialist abortion!”
We have not been surprised by the simple psychological fact that ill-informed and abused people instinctively defend their homes from invading hordes. But once the mobile Taco Bell kiosks arrive, the Iraqi populace shall doubtless transform into a Western-style pasture of grazing, glassy-eyed moo-cows. Not the pretty polka-dot Holsteins of course – the other ones – the ugly brown ones.
Continue referring to “suicide bombers” as “homicide bombers.” Remember that these acts of desperate war are war crimes. War itself, if we are waging it, is not a crime.
When reporting about anti-war protestors, refer to them as “the same old protestors” or “pro-terrorist GI Joe-haters” or “hippy asshole mobs.”
Send a memo to all your affiliates to stay true to the five rules of journalism: Who, what, when, why, how. Who: America, the infallibly righteous. What: Saddam Hussein, who sprung fully-formed and evil, from the anus of Lucifer himself. When: We will finish punishing the Iraqasaurs when we’re damn ready to finish and not a decade before. Why: Everyone but us is evil. How: With the might of the American military, and with the blood of common citizen soldiers whom I would normally avoid like the plague in public.
And that’s a wrap. No questions. I’m late for brunch.

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Wild Thing’s comment……
Rumsfeld does not suffer fools gladly at DOD. Period – and why should he – peoples’ lives are at stake, in the country and among the troops.
With so many complaints about Rumsfeld by ex-generals appointed by the Impeached Rapist! I actually find that quite refreshing. It tells me he’s getting the job done!
These people are orchestrated. The Dem strategy this year is an unending drumbeat leading to November. They don’t care about any of this.
These generals are all Clinton groomed people who were told when promoted that they would have a role post retirement. To their chagrin, Bush was elected twice and they are out in the cold — and will stay there unless Dems return to power. that when one demands results and is hard charging in the process …one is going to ruffle some feathers and hurt some feelings.
That is all that has happened here with some of these ex-Gen’s….it speaks volumes about them. Not the SecDef.
The difference between the Dem Generals and GOP Generals is pretty simple. Numbers. There are a handful of them who the DNC has orchestrated and ensured would get press coverage. There are hundreds of conservative retired generals who actually have jobs and are busy in their lives and don’t spend those lives in front of a camera.
The media wants Rummy to have:
S pecial
H igh
I ntensity
T raiing
Uh oh. They’re saying the Secretary is – gasp! – arrogant! And that one must be prepared when meeting with im. For gosh sakes, he’s the Secretary of Defense! Here’s another report on Secretary Rumsfeld:
Source for letter posted belo.:
My brother, a captain in the National Guard, recently returned from Iraq. His unit, which provided security for convoys originating in Kuwait and traveling to any and all parts of Iraq, had one casualty — a soldier who lost an arm to an IED.
While at Walter Reed, the injured soldier was having a conversation with a general and mentioned — somewhat in jest — that he wanted Rumsfeld to deliver his Purple Heart.
Well, the next day, who shows up in his hospital room — without security or photogs — but Rumsfeld? Rummy sat and talked with the soldier and his mother, who happened to be there, for about 45 minutes.
My brother says that the vast majority of the soldiers would crawl through broken glass for either Bush or Rumsfeld. What Rumsfeld did for that soldier — that simple act of kindness — was heartfelt. It cannot make up for the loss of a limb, but it says something about the secretary of defense and how he thinks about the men who serve under him.

OK I can promise you I do not walk around the house using the “F” word. BUT there are times it is called for. And when it comes to the terroriosts there is NO other word that can be said IMO along with the word terrorists. So FUCK Terrorists! FUCK Islam!
Your damn Allah was nothing more then a moon god, fuck him too, and your Mohammed was a pathetic excuse for a man. He started the cult of pedophilia, murder and theft! He was an immoral, criminal, and violent! Mohammed was a thief, liar, assassin, mass murderer, terrorist, warmonger, and an unrestrained sexual pervert engaged in pedophilia, incest, and rape. He authorized deception, assassinations, torture, slavery, and genocide.
Islam is a death cult and you can try to flower it up all you want but it is what it is. The preaching of death, suicide, killing to anyone that is a NON muslim, to anyone that is a Christian or a Jew. Hate mongering is what the Islamic so called religion is about so get real and face up to the fact of what it truly is about. Mohammed is not God only a wanna be and there is only one true God and it certainly is not mohammed.
You want to know what a REAL man is? Take a gander at the REAL MEN that comment on my blog. Read their comments and know this……….every one of them has served our country! Every one of them has made it possible for me to live in the land of the free!
Look over at my sidebar on the left and scroll down to the names of blogs listed under They Cover Our Six and the Support The Troops list. You will see name after name of those that have served in the past or are serving right now! Take that you EU fucks!
My Terrorists page at my website.
And you, yeah you, EU, you want to shun the term Islamic terrorism? So let’s see, it is OK to call US The Great Satan, huh! No problem with that apparently. And then you go oln and make up some BS about what Jihad means!
Why am I so angry? Found HERE ,,,,I have put the entire artilce below.

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EU lexicon to shun term “Islamic terrorism”
By Mark Trevelyan, Security Correspondent

BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Union, tiptoeing through a minefield of religious and cultural sensitivities, is discreetly reviewing the language it uses to describe terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam.
EU officials are working on what they call a “lexicon” for public communication on terrorism and Islam, designed to make clear that there is nothing in the religion to justify outrages like the September 11 attacks or the bombings of Madrid and London.
The lexicon would set down guidelines for EU officials and politicians.

“Certainly ‘Islamic terrorism’ is something we will not use … we talk about ‘terrorists who abusively invoke Islam’,” an EU official told Reuters.

Other terms being considered by the review include “Islamist”, “fundamentalist” and “jihad”. The latter, for example, is often used by al Qaeda and some other groups to mean warfare against infidels, but for most Muslims indicates a spiritual struggle.
“Jihad means something for you and me, it means something else for a Muslim. Jihad is a perfectly positive concept of trying to fight evil within yourself,” said the official, speaking anonymously because the review is an internal one that is not expected to be made public.
EU counter-terrorism chief Gijs de Vries told Reuters that terrorism was not inherent to any religion, and praised moderate Muslims for opposing attempts to hijack Islam.
“They have been increasingly active in isolating the radicals who abuse Islam for political purposes, and they deserve everyone’s support. And that includes the choice of language that makes clear that we are talking about a murderous fringe that is abusing a religion and does not represent it.”
CARTOONS ROW
The language used in the West when discussing Muslims and terrorism, and especially the charge by critics of Islam that it is an inherently violent religion, are highly sensitive and topical issues in Europe.
Danish newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad, including one showing him with a bomb in his turban, provoked violent protests earlier this year in a number of Muslim countries where people saw them as blasphemous. At least 50 people were killed.
Figures like Muslim-born Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali argued during the uproar over the cartoons that within Islam exists a hardline, intolerant movement that rejects free speech and democracy and deserves to be exposed and criticised.
The EU official familiar with the “lexicon” review said the point of using careful language was not to “fall into the trap” of offending and alienating citizens.
“You don’t want to use terminology which would aggravate the problem,” he said. “This is an attempt … to be aware of the sensitivities implied by the use of certain language.”
An initial paper on the issue is expected to be adopted in June. “It is to help us understand what we are saying and try to avoid making mistakes. It’s for the self-guidance of EU institutions and member states,” the official said.
Omar Faruk, a Muslim British barrister who has advised the government on community issues, said there was a strong need for a “new sort of political dialogue and terminology”.
Asked about the phrase “Islamic terrorism”, he said: “Those words cannot sit side by side. Islam is actually very much against any form of terrorism … Islam in itself means peace.”
The widespread use of the expression “just creates a culture where terrorism actually is identified with Islam. That causes me a lot of stress,” Faruk added.

* Something…..and Half of Something

I am asking everyone to please help with your prayers, and by sending a card or letter to show your support to SGT Kevin Downs. He is a discouraged hero right now and just as he served our country he needs us now more then ever to show him we are grateful and that we care. Thank you.
Wild Thing

On 13 August 2005, near the city of Tuz in northeastern Iraq, the Humvee that Sgt. James K. (Kevin) Downs and three others were traveling in was struck by four explosive devices. The four men were members of a National Guard unit, the 278th Regimental Combat Team, a Knoxville-based unit of 3,200 soldiers deployed to Iraq in late 2004. The three other National Guardsmen in the Humvee were killed in the attack. They were 22-year- old Sgt. Gary Lee Reese of Ashland City, 35-year-old Staff Sgt. Asbury F. Hawn Jr. of Lebanon, and 30-year-old Sgt. Shannon D. Taylor of Smithville. Sgt. Downs was blown into the air by the blast.
The young soldier (a 23 year old Tennessee National Guardsman) named Sgt. Kevin Downs needs our support. He was blown out of his tank and left with no feet, two broken legs, a broken arm and pelvis, and second- and third-degree burns over 60% of his body, including burns to his eyes, throat and lungs.
He was first evacuated to a hospital in Germany, then transferred to a burn unit at a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, where he is now recuperating at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston.
He is a Tennessee boy. Everyone else in the tank was killed. His condition is not good. A surgery to improve the use of fingers on one hand inadvertently caused previous skin grafts to break down, and the grafts on his legs are cracking as well and may require beginning over at square one. Kevin is tired and low in spirits. He needs our prayers and support through cards. Would you please send him a note or card to let him know you are thinking about him? Remember him in your prayers as well.
His address is:
Sgt. Kevin Downs
Brooke Army Medical Center
3851 Roger Brooke Drive
Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234

In spite of all the progress we have made and the good things that are happening in Iraq the bad guys are still out there and occasionally they get lucky. We lost three soldiers on the night of August 13 to an IED. As has been the pattern, we received rocket fire from near the village of Zagalbania a few of miles west of the FOB. We dispatched the quick reaction force (QRF) to locate the launch point and possibly intercept the perpetrators in the wadi system they use for cover. The QRF hit the IED on a dirt road about two miles from the front gate. It was triggered by homemade pressure switch made from a garden hose. As the HMMWV drove over the hose the pressure closed the switch detonating the IED under the vehicle.
SSG Asbury Hawn, SGT Shannon Taylor, and SPC Gary Reese, were killed in the blast.
Fortunately, SGT Kevin Downs was blown from the gunner’s hatch and survived. He received a broken arm, badly traumatized legs, and burns over most of his body. CPT Don Spradlin, the PA on the ambulance that responded, and the medics did a heroic job just to save SGT Downs. In the dark amid explosions from grenades and rounds cooking-off in the burning HMMWV they were able to find SGT Downs lying in a ditch where he had been blown and stabilize him.
CPT Spradlin repeatedly braved the explosions to go up and assess and then recover the other three soldiers lying near the burning vehicle.
Because of the excellent work of our doctors and medics SGT Downs will make it despite the devastating injuries that he received. I have enclosed an update on his recovery sent out by our family support groups. I believe it will show you what great people we have serving in Iraq.
I hope that you draw some inspiration from Kevin’s struggle and remember him as works towards recovery. This young man is particularly memorable to me because I carried him off of the ambulance and into the aid station that terrible night. Despite his extensive burns and injuries he was upbeat. As I helped pull his stretcher off of the ambulance he reminded me to unhook his IV bag from the stand in the back of the vehicle. In the urgency and chaos of the situation he remained calm enough to check the details that we were forgetting. He smiled through his burned and cracked skin as we carried him into the medic bunker and said in a jovial voice “Hi, what brings you guys here?”
His ability to deal with the horrific events of that night made me extremely proud and humble.
It also made me understand that we too must deal with the horrors that the insurgents try to inflict on us and not abandon the great work we are doing in Iraq. Like SGT Downs we have a long, difficult task yet ahead of us. However, the vast majority of Iraqis are with us and even leading the way now.
Please remember SGT Downs and perhaps send a card or letter.
He is a great young man that could probably use a little encouragement right now. Take care and I hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Miles C. Smith
LTC, Cavalry
Executive Officer

9 October 18, 2005
Enclosure
All:
I spoke with Mr. JD Downs yesterday for approx 30 minutes. He and Catherine are doing OK but are wearing
down as we can imagine. Their confidence and faith in Kevin’s recovery is enormous. Here are the highlights of
our conversation:
Kevin is doing pretty good but has developed traces of pneumonia and the doctors are keeping a very close eye
on this. The doctors have completed his temporary prosthetic devices and his stumps are completely closed.
Last Friday the nurses placed him on a “tilt table” so he can start to improve his equilibrium.
His arms are still wrapped in a soft cast and the dressing is changed daily. He has begun exercising his right arm and the wound in his left arm is closing slowly but surely – the hole is shrunk to the size of a straw. His trach hole has completely closed and he is talking, but with great difficulty. Because he has to be on his back all of the time he
has lots of pain and hurt on his back and bottom.
The other day the nurses placed him in a wheelchair and he cried and screamed out the pain was too much to take so as you would imagine his spirits and morale were down. He is still taking his meds and quite often receives double doses because the meds take too long to take effect. JD said the right side of Kevin’s face is healing fairly good and said it now looks like a real bad sun burn but the left side looked somewhat raw. He did lose a portion of his left upper ear but the docs said that was not a concern – they would build him a new ear if they had to. His hands are improving as his fingers have begun to get some color in them. They are still in wound bags and the pins are still in his fingers but the docs are more optimistic than ever. JD said in the next few weeks he may be required to use his right hand more but he still can not feed himself.
Kevin is still in ICU but JD described it as a “step down” from the typical ICU. Prior to this he had one nurse
monitoring him 24/7 but in his new room one nurse monitors 2 to 3 patients. It is still a sterile environment so
they wear suits and masks before going in and anything taken in the room must remain in the room. He is still
behind locked doors and a nurse has to let them in to visit. JD said the doctors want to try and let him come
home for a visit during Christmas.
The hospital will give the mail to JD and Catherine. In closing JD asked that each of us keep Kevin and all of the
service members in our prayers.
Mike Goodrich

On April 12, “The Hill” newspaper ran an article about a priority government telecommunications program called “Government Emergency Telecommunications Service” or “GETS”. GETS is designed to allow key government personnel access to telecommunications services in times of heavy use, such as during a national emergency.
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/041206/gets.html
The article goes on to point out that several non-government groups have requested a GETS card to allow them the same access to priority communications as granted to government personnel.
One of the groups requesting the GETS card was the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR, which calls itself the largest American Muslim organization in the United States, said it was “a major point of contact with the American Muslim community after the 2001 terrorist attacks.”
CAIR, which has proven ties to Islamic terrorism and has had Muslim terrorists as members, requested a priority “calling card” because they were a “major point of contact” following the 9-11 attacks?
This raises some questions:
1. Who would CAIR be calling?
2. Why would they be calling?
3. What would CAIR contribute to a post-attack scenario?
Why is CAIR requesting the card in the first place.has not CAIR claimed that every single Muslim terrorist attack world-wide (with few exceptions) is un-Islamic? So why would CAIR feel the need to get involved in something that, by their own words, does not involve Islam?
CAIR’s request for the GETS card was denied in less than three hours by the government contractor overseeing the program.
The reason? According to the contractor:

“.the group does not qualify for priority over lifesaving, law enforcement, the military, the National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other members of the national-security emergency-preparedness community.”

Wild Thing’s comment……
Thank you GETS for making a wise decision! CAIR is NOT America friendly at ALL! CAIR is an enemy of America.