I DID see the original quote, and it was as it was highlighted in yellow. Undermining the President's policy is probably an unfortunate choice of words - but it's what was there. And last I checked, that wasn't on the list of things you should do on your summer vacation... unless you're Benedict Arnold.
Yeah, I know - it's harsh and unfair, Murtha's a vet, a hero, worth more than me, yada yada yada... but in his own words he intends to undermine the President.
Screw that. One more example of why I've learned to distrust anyone with a D after their name - except for Miller and Lieberman.
Written by N.Z.
Wednesday, 14 February 2007 |
Just in case there was any doubt about the true intentions of the defeatists in Congress, check out the following, which was sent out via email and can be seen (until they smarten up and decide to edit it) here : Coming Tomorrow!! CHAIRMAN JACK MURTHA TO OUTLINE COMMITTEE STRATEGY ON BUSH’S IRAQ FUNDING REQUEST THURSDAY MORNING AT 11:00 AM EST ON MOVECONGRESS.ORG Join Us! Join us tomorrow at 11:00 AM EST when Congressman Jack Murtha will outline new details of a strategy to use his Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense to oppose the Bush war in Iraq. Congressman Jim Moran, another Committee member, predicts the Committee action will be the “bite” that follows this week’s Congressional “bark” – the three-day debate on a non-binding Congressional resolution.
The Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense has begun consideration of the president’s $93 billion supplemental appropriations request for Iraq. Action on the request will be the first opportunity for the new Congress to exercise its “power-of-the-purse” over the Iraq war.
Chairman Murtha will describe his strategy for not only limiting the deployment of troops to Iraq but undermining other aspects of the president’s foreign and national security policy. Chairman Murtha discusses these steps in a videotaped conversation with former Congressman Tom Andrews (D-ME), the National Director of the Win Without War coalition, sponsor of MoveCongress.org.
Join us here tomorrow for this exclusive interview.
(highlighting and emphasis on the key sentence mine.) Update 8:11pm EST: And as predicted, MoveCongress.org has sanitized their page and removed the offending sentence above. Sorry kids: multi-hour response time just doesn't cut it here in the big leagues. Gotta be faster than that !
They DID catch on after a while, probably due to the increased traffic as people went "I don't BELIEVE they'd put that up on-line" - but as I said I saw it also. Wish I'd had the chance to do a screen-shot of it, but I wasn't at a system where I could do so.
Of course, it probably was just some overzealous e-mail writer.
Probably.
Trust in the Dems. They know what's best for the country, for the people. Hopefully, they'll also supply large tubs of vaseline, 'cause otherwise it's gonna hurt like hell when they get into power.
J.
That's why they're trying so hard to block it. After all, war is a Bad Thing, the Worst Thing Of All, and you shouldn't fight one, ever. ESPECIALLY when it looks like you could win. Official: Al-Qaida in Iraq leader wounded - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was wounded and an aide was killed in a clash Thursday with Iraqi forces north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said.
The clash occurred near Balad, a major U.S. base about 50 miles north of the capital, Brig. Gen Abdul-Karim Khalaf said.
Khalaf said al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri was wounded and his aide, identified as Abu Abdullah al-Majemaai, was killed. It'll just make the insurgents mad, and put more of our forces in harm's way.
We ought to just release him, turn around and walk away from Iraq - right? Let things take their course, and in thirty years or so we can open trade relations with whatever is left.
Just like we did with Viet Nam.
Of course, it'll be kind of rough on the folks we leave, probably be a couple of million deaths before it all settles out - but hey, it's not like they can VOTE for the Democrats or anything... They're just not important at all.
J.
Maybe a little war ain't a bad thing. Iraq: The Battle for Baghdad Begins
If you've been following the action long enough, you can pick out the accurate stories. And the talk on the street and in the shops is also pretty dependable. That said, most people believe al Qaeda in Iraq is finished. After boasting last Fall that they would establish a safe zone in western Iraq, and failing to do anything close to that, the Islamic terrorists lost whatever credibility they had left. Most of the terrorist bombings these days are the work of Iraqi Sunni Arab organizations, who still believe that if you make the Iraqi Shia Arabs mad enough, they will get so nasty that neighboring Sunni Arab nations will feel compelled to invade. This plan has split the Sunni Arab nationalists, mainly because the invasion shows no sign of happening, and the brighter terrorists point out that the Saudi army is unlikely to win against the Americans. In a trend that began two years ago, Sunni Arab factions are continuing to battle each other. U.S. troops stand aside when they encounter "Red-on-Red" fighting, then deal with the winner.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi Shia Arab militias, especially the Sadr forces (the Mahdi Army), have lost whatever unity and discipline they once had. Factionalism has taken over as several of Sadr's lieutenants compete for popularity and territory by driving Sunni Arabs out of Baghdad neighborhoods. Most of Iraq's Sunni Arabs have been chased from their homes since 2003, and that process has accelerated in the last year. The Iraqi Sunni Arabs are quite wealthy compared to Iraqi Shia, and the Shia gangs have been fighting each other over the loot, and the power. Gang war, literally, because many of the militiamen moonlight as gangsters (or vice versa).
While the number of terror bombings has been declining in the past year, the crime rate has not, and most people in central Iraq are looking forward to the "Battle for Baghdad." Brigades of troops are arriving from the Kurdish north and Shia south, and more American troops can be seen on the streets. There are more raids in Baghdad. But all the average Iraqi wants is safer streets, fewer kidnappings and a little peace and quiet. Realizing that that kind of paradise is not likely to be found in the Middle East, Baghdad has been suffering a major brain drain in the past year, with the most educated fleeing for foreign countries. Europe and North America are preferred destinations, but any place with a lower crime rate will do.
We're not in the end-game yet, but maybe we're getting toward the end of the third quarter? Just wish there were a clear scoreboard we could look at... though I think Saddam's death and Mookie's departure certainly boosted the numbers for our side...
J.
Take a look at what's not deemed important... Pajamas Media: [Paris Blues] Underreported, underattended, overrated, and underplayed Well, bad things do go away because they're not reported - and then they come back and tear great chunks out of your cultural hide later.
J.
Yahoo! News Photo
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) smiles during a news conference following a House of Representatives vote on the Iraq resolution, on Capitol Hill in Washington February 16, 2007. (Jason Reed/Reuters) The fools can't see the forest for the trees. They're so hot to do anything they can to damage Bush they don't give a damn about long-term effects.
As long as they can get into power, it doesn't matter what happens with the WoT, it doesn't matter what happens in Iraq, it doesn't matter what happens in Europe or the ME. Power is everything - and it doesn't matter in the long run what the aftereffects are of what they do to get that power.
What a damn joke on us.
J.
But it sure seems like the problems don't!
YouTube - Introducing the book
Enjoy!
J.
AEI - Short Publication
In brief, it outlines the purpose and thinking behind what's going on. The last sentence is the kicker. Failure in Iraq today will require far greater sacrifices tomorrow in far more desperate circumstances.
Committing to victory now will demonstrate America’s strength to our friends and enemies around the world. So... think about what the Dems are showing when they commit to failure in Iraq. Because that's what they're doing, for all their talk about 'supporting the troops' - they want to lose, not win. To win would mean Bush was right, and that can't be tolerated at all.
J.
(That's nothing new, right?)
I'm looking at this non-binding resolution against the surge crap that the Dems have tried to pull, and it really makes no sense to me. But then, I tend to work more in the realm of reality than political fantasy, and that's about all I can see that the Dems have been doing - indulging in political fantasies.
A non-binding resolution is essentially not worth the paper it's printed on. Yet these folks are acting like it's the most important piece of legislation to come down the pike since, oh, the Repeal of Prohibition. That's an awful lot of effort and political good will spent to... do what? Send Bush a message? Send the soldiers a message? Send the enemy a message? Or is it simply for the pleasure of political masturbation, and they aren't thinking about what's going to happen after they get their rocks off? Or an appeal to the nutroots side for more support?
Because Bush will still be in office. The soldiers will still be there. The surge (which by many accounts is actually going well) will still happen. The folks who want to destabilize/destroy Iraq will still be trying to destabilize/destroy Iraq. Iran's not going to stop developing nuclear weapons, and neither will NK.
So precisely what, aside from a momentary warm feeling and a sticky mess, did it accomplish?
I wonder if the Dems figure that in 2009, if they get the Presidency and both Houses, they'll go "Okay, got THAT out of the way. NOW we'll deal with the WoT!" Of course, that they're years late won't matter - and they can always blame Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons on Bush - but that excuse is going to wear pretty thin, pretty fast.
Failing in Iraq will mean hundreds of thousands dead, if not millions. Iran getting nuclear weapons very possibly means an attack on a major city - and it could be either in Israel or the US, whichever is easier. The Dems don't take the war seriously, except to evaluate it in terms of short-term political advantage, and at this point any attempt to start taking it seriously would be (to my mind) questionable at best.
Do I think the Dems have any clue what they're doing in the long run? No. I see no indication of that. It would appear they think they can ignore anything that's happening overseas with impunity.
Do I think the Dems, if they got full control, would have a clue? No. There will be plenty of 'feel-good' stuff passed and they're going to be pretty ham-handed with the economy and the military, but the effects (like the results of the minimum wage hike and the luxury tax) will not be what they expect. But they'll be able to blame Bush, for a year or so, and handwave off doing something constructive/appropriate on the WoT (also blaming Bush) but eventually their constituency will want them to actually DO something....
And I don't think they've got a clue about what to do with that any more.
J.
With the craven political cowardice and opportunism of the current crap of Democrats.
No, that's not much of a typo above - I'm REALLY disgusted with the loudmouthed anti-surge, anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-victory, anti-troop bastards that inhabit that poisoned ground inside the Beltway. All I can say is, it must be the water.
On a brighter note - another bit that indicates that maybe something's working in Iraq... bizzare as THAT may sound.
IraqPundit: A Baghdad Homecoming
Here’s a quick snapshot of the Baghdad security crackdown, from my own family’s point of view. My story involves only a single household, but – so far – it has a happy ending. I don’t pretend that this one household’s story is a counterweight to all the misery and murder that the crackdown is intended to address, but it’s my profound hope that this story is – or soon will be --representative of many other such individual tales that will be told by many other Iraqi families.
One aspect of the security crackdown that has received little attention involves Baghdadis who have been driven from their homes as a result of sectarian conflict. According to a story in the Iraqi newspaper, Alsabaah [Arabic], the security plan will allow hundreds (and ultimately many more) of these families to return to their own houses. One such successful return involves my own relatives. Good luck to them!
J.
My old Motorola cell phone (almost two years old!) has pretty well worn out the battery. Swung by TMobile to see about getting a new battery - and walked out with two new phones. (One for me, and one for She Who Occasionally Needs A Phone who's been using my hand-me-down Nokia.) After figuring out what was REALLY needed, (like connectivity, comfort in the hand, and a reasonable battery life) I ended up choosing the Samsung t209. No Bluetooth, no camera, few bells - but it'll do the job, and is nice and loud.
And it was 'free' - actually, it cost two more years tied to the TMobile leash. But that's not that bad - there's connectivity wherever I'm likely to need it, even out in ABQ (not that it's an issue any more).
Still, I could wish that consumer electronics like the below were available. Why is U.S. always last in line for new phones? - The Practical Futurist - MSNBC.com
What are we missing? Just one example in Barcelona this week was the Samsung Ultra Smart F700, a sleek elegant black phone with a high-resolution color touchscreen, slide-out keyboard, a five megabyte auto-focus camera, all operating on an ultra-high-speed wireless network that will download a 4 megabyte MP3 song in four seconds. The Ultra Smart F700 looks as cool as Apple’s upcoming iPhone — and actually does more. But we’re not going to see it in the U.S. for a long time to come: for starters, we don’t even have a network it will run on. Sigh. It's rough being a gadget junkie on a budget...
J.
Might want to look at it quick, before they decide to 'hide' it a bit deeper. Getty Images NewsMaker - Detail View
Dusseldorf, GERMANY: A carnival float showing two identical men with long beards and armed with explosives and a gun, takes part in the "Rose Monday" carnival procession in Duesseldorf, western Germany, 19 February 2007. One man is marked with the word ?Reality? and the other with ?Cliche?. Many floats with political messages can be seen at the traditional "Rose Monday" carnival street parade where party-goers fill the streets in fancy dress and beer consumption soars. AFP PHOTO DDP/VOLKER HARTMANN GERMANY OUT. (Photo credit should read VOLKER HARTMANN/AFP/Getty Images) After all, we must not offend those adherents of "The Religion Of Peace" who might take offense and start to kill people.
More info on the parade here.
I'm thinking that people are starting to realize that threats and beheadings aren't indications that a religion is peaceful.
You know, I really kind of miss those days when I could delude myself that Islam wasn't a threat. And I know that it's a small portion of Islam that's a threat - but that intolerant minorty certainly paints the majority in a bad light. The tolerant majority had better get a handle on how to deal with the intolerant ones PDQ, or there's going to be even more hell to pay.
J.
There's just SO much time to make mistakes in the Presidential race. foxcarolina.com - News, Weather, Video - Greenville, Spartanburg, Asheville, Anderson | Edwards: Israel NOT a threat to world peace
WASHINGTON John Edwards' presidential campaign wants to make it clear that he doesn't consider Israel a threat to world peace.
A spokesman for the 2008 Democratic candidate issued a statement today denying such a report on Variety.com.
Columnist Peter Bart reports that Edwards told a Hollywood fundraiser last month that the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities is perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace. Remember - the Democrats count on the gullibility of their constituency. Faced with a transcript, what are you going to believe?
Yes - it's possible to mis-speak. But after a while, you've got to wonder if it's really a misstatement at all.
J.
But remember, the insurgents are the good guys here, battling against the eEvile Iraqi Gubbiment. My Way News - Iraqi Insurgents Use 2nd 'Dirty' Bomb
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Insurgents exploded a truck carrying chlorine gas canisters Wednesday - the second such "dirty" chemical attack in two days - while a U.S. official said ground fire apparently forced the downing of a Black Hawk helicopter. All nine aboard the aircraft were rescued.
The attacks offer a sweeping narrative on evolving tactics by Sunni insurgents who have proved remarkably adaptable.
Military officials worry extremists may have recently gained more access to firepower such as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft rockets and heavy machine guns - and more expertise to use them. The Black Hawk would be at least the eighth U.S. helicopter to crash or be taken down by hostile fire in the past month.
The gas cloud in Baghdad, meanwhile, suggests possible new and coordinated strategies by bombers trying to unleash toxic - and potentially deadly - materials. "Terrorists are using dirty means," said Brig. Gen. Qassim Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman. Well, when what you're doing isn't working (winning the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis through market bombings) you have to try something else. It would also make sense, in a rather disgusting sort of way, to try to boost the 'bang for the buck' of each suicide bomber expended. And putting gas/chlorine canisters in the vehicle would do that...
Something I'm wondering - just how limited is the pool of suicide bombers? Yeah, I know that there's a fair supply of them, but I find it hard to believe that the sectarian animosity inside Iraq would suffice to provide a whole lot of splody-dopes. They're like any munition inside a weapons-system, with the unfortunate drawback that it literally takes years to produce, indoctrinate, and train a self-guided protoplasmic bomb-carrier.
What will happen when/if they run out?
J.
AJacksonian made an interesting observation in Rusted Sky: Chem Warfare in Iraq - he pointed to an article in RIA Novosti, pointing out that Iraq isn't Viet Nam. (To emphasize the point, they say it's much worse than Viet Nam ever was. Oh, well. You've got to expect that...) If THEY can see the differences, why can't our Democrats? (Oh, never mind. I know - it's not in their political interests.)
Time will tell one way or the other in Iraq. I tend to think it can be stabilized, but our political hacks prepping for a bugout make me think that when we demonstrate a lack of the will to win, there's no way we CAN win and all the bastards that want to turn Iraq into a hellhole have to do is wait a couple more years until our political winds change.
And it makes me wonder how many of those bastards are in our Congress.
J.
About time SOMEONE decided to take a chance. Cosmic Log : Bigelow shoots for the moon
Even as Bigelow Aerospace gears up for launching its second prototype space station into orbit, the company has set its sights on something much, much bigger: a project to assemble full-blown space villages at a work site between Earth and the moon, then drop them to the lunar surface, ready for immediate move-in.
In an exclusive interview this week, Las Vegas billionaire Robert Bigelow confirmed that his company has been talking about the concept with NASA – and that the first earthly tests of the techniques involved would take place later this year. The scenario he sketched out would essentially make Bigelow a general contractor for the final frontier. NASA's become pretty risk-adverse, willing to spend years testing to avoid even a possibility of something not working. The Space Station is a marvelous case in point there - how many different design studies were done before they started bending metal to actually see if something worked? Perfection was the standard, and it takes a long time and is very expensive.
Bigelow seems to be going "Let's put something up, and see if it works. If it doesn't, we'll learn something from the failure and not make the same mistake again."
Of the two methods, that's the faster and cheaper. When it comes to man-rated spacecraft, that's another matter - but you can still learn a lot from sending up prototypes to test out the systems, instead of designing it to death and watching the budget balloon.
J.
into the tent, and pretty soon, you'll find yourself out in the cold and the camel filling the tent. |
