Lefties Allergic To Learning

ANO, WP, TH

They live in the “now”. They learn not from the past. They rewrite the past to fit the “now”. The only “future” they envision is their power mongering. They have know forward thinking other than to remain in power and control. The lessons of the past go unheeded because htere is no past…only the here and now.

Bush Urges Vigilance in Seeing Iraq Succeed

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2007 – It’s time for the Iraqi government to step up and “do hard work,” but withdrawing U.S. troops too quickly would ultimately backfire, President Bush told an American Legion post in Fairfax, Va., today.

Bush said the decision to send more troops to Iraq to help stabilize the capital was tough but necessary. Military commanders he talked with support the plan as the only real option in light of escalating violence.

The president said the generals recognized that leaving Iraq before the Iraqis had enough trained troops to secure Baghdad would have left a dangerous void for terrorists and insurgents to take advantage of. “The lack of security would have created an opportunity for extremists to move in,” he said.

The long-term impact would have been devastating to the United States, Bush said. Terrorists would have been emboldened by America’s perceived weakness, better able to recruit more people to their cause and with a new safe haven for launching future attacks.

“What happens in the Middle East matters here in America,” the president said. “If we … were to retreat from Iraq, … the enemy would follow us here. And that’s why it’s important we succeed in Iraq.”

Bush said he vowed on Sept. 11, 2001, that the United States would go on the offense against its enemies overseas so it never again has to confront them at home. “We don’t have the luxury of hoping for the best, of sitting back and being passive in the face of this threat,” he said.

U.S. troops in Iraq are helping the Iraqis confront terrorists and extremists and showing “some encouraging signs” in bringing down the violence, Bush said. “The reinforcements are having an impact,” he said. “And as more reinforcements go in, it’ll have a greater impact.”

U.S. forces also are making headway in training and equipping Iraq’s security forces so they can eventually take over the mission themselves, the president said.

But despite these positive trends, Bush said, ultimate success in Iraq depends largely on the Iraqi government.

“Now it’s time for … the Iraqi government to stand up and start making some strong political moves,” he said. “And they’re beginning to.”

Bush said he speaks often with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and reminds him that the United States expects the Iraqis to do more of the heavy lifting. “We want to help, but we expect them to do some hard work,” Bush said.

The president said he’s confident that the Iraqis know what’s expected of them and want to “do the job.”

But as that happens, he said, it’s vital that the United States not lose its will and give up. History would look back and wonder, if that scenario was allowed to play out, how the country could have allowed the situation in Iraq to spin out of control and threaten the United States, the president said.

The biggest question, he said, would be, “How come they couldn’t remember the lesson of September the 11th?”

Related Sites:
Transcript

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Bush Urges Congress to Pass Emergency War-Spending Bill

Chapel Kits

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The Troops Appreciate It

KER KHOT CASTLE, Afghanistan, April 10, 2007 – Army Chaplain (Capt.) Andrew Shriver dedicated the first “expeditionary portable chapel kit” on Good Friday, April 6, during a ceremony at a small forward operating base in the southeastern region of Afghanistan.

Congress...DO YOUR JOBS!

ANO, TH

How about returning to CONgress and supporting our troops?

DO YOUR JOBS!!!

Bush Urges Congress to Pass Emergency War-Spending Bill By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 10, 2007 – President Bush today reiterated his call for Congress to pass an Iraq war supplemental appropriations bill and called for a meeting with congressional leaders from both parties to move the process ahead. Speaking to American Legion Post 177 in Fairfax, Va., the president called for a session next week to work toward a bill that’s not bogged down with pork-barrel projects and “arbitrary deadlines” for a withdrawal from Iraq. “We can discuss the way forward on … a clean bill … that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal and without handcuffing our generals on the ground,” he said. He urged Congress not to use the funding issue to make a political statement that ultimately hurts the troops. “I know we have our differences over the best course in Iraq,” he said. “These differences should not prevent us from getting our troops the funding they need without withdrawal and without giving our commanders flexibility,” he said. Bush said further delays in passing a bill he can sign will soon put the brakes on military training and equipping and could cause deployed troops to have their tours extended. “The clock is ticking for our troops in the field,” he said. Military leaders will be forced to notify Congress in the days ahead that they need to transfer $1.6 billion from other military accounts to cover the funding shortfall. “That means our military will have to take money from personnel accounts so they can continue to fund U.S. Army operations in Iraq and elsewhere,” Bush said. This transfer comes on the heels of another $1.7 billion transferred last month from money designated for weapons and communications systems and military personnel accounts. Bush said that money had to be redirected so the military could continue funding programs to protect troops from improvised explosive devices and send hundreds of mine-resistant vehicles to front-line troops. These actions are just the beginning of what’s to come if an emergency-spending bill isn’t passed soon, he said. “And the longer Congress delays,” he continued, “the worse the impact on the men and women of the armed forces will be.” Bush reminded the group that Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently testified that if Congress doesn’t pass a bill by mid-April, the Army will be forced to consider curtailing other major efforts. Among programs that could suffer: equipment repair and quality-of-life initiatives for Guard and reserve forces and stateside training for reserve-component units. “This would reduce their readiness and could delay their availability to mobilize for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the president said. “If Congress fails to pass a bill I can sign by mid-May, the problems grow even more acute,” he said. The Army will have to consider slowing or even freezing funds for its depots, delaying or curtailing active-force training, and putting the brakes on forming its new brigade combat teams. These measures would have serious consequences for the troops, Bush said. Forces now deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq might need to be extended because other units aren’t ready to take their places. “The bottom line is this:” Bush said, “Congress’ failure to fund our troops will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loves ones to return from the front lines. Others could see their loved ones headed back to war sooner than anticipated.” That’s unacceptable all around, he said, expressing hope that next week’s meeting with congressional leaders will break the logjam. “When it comes to funding our troops, we have no time to waste,” he said.

Related Sites: Transcript

Fire The Congress!

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What of the letter, Speaker pelosi? These aren’t our enemies? You can only speak to our enemies? Hello?

The 16-Star Letter

‘Sixteen-Star Letter’ Calls for Supplemental Passage By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 9, 2007 – In a “16-star letter” to Congress, the services’ uniformed leaders are urging a quick passage of the fiscal 2007 emergency supplemental request. The four service chiefs, all four-star generals, signed the letter. The request will fund operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa through the end of the fiscal year. The letter, signed by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael G. Mullen, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Marine Commandant Gen. James T. Conway, asks Congress to “expeditiously complete its work” on the supplemental. DoD requested $93.4 billion to fund operations in the combat zones. Both the Senate and House have passed bills that provide the funding but contain amendments that call for combat troops to be out of Iraq on a certain timetable. President Bush has vowed to veto any bill containing these provisions. The Senate has come back from recess, but the House will remain out through April 13. House and Senate negotiators must meet to reconcile the different portions of their respective bills. If the bill contains the withdrawal provision, it is “dead on arrival” at the president’s desk, White House officials said. Without approval of the supplemental funds in April, the armed services will be forced to take increasingly disruptive measures in order to sustain combat operations,” the four general and flag officers wrote in their letter. “The impacts on readiness and quality of life could be profound. We will have to implement spending restrictions and reprogram billions of dollars.” The uniformed leaders said such reprogramming is an inefficient solution that wastes money. The spending restrictions could also slow or halt training for follow-on units. With no supplemental by April 15, the Army will be forced to consider curtailing and suspending home-station training for Army Reserve and National Guard units, DoD officials said. The service would slow the training of units slated to deploy next to Iraq and Afghanistan and would cut funding for the upgrade or renovation of barracks and other facilities that support quality of life for troops and their families. Leaders also would stop the repair of equipment necessary to support pre-deployment training, officials said. If the supplemental funding is not passed by May 15, the Army would consider reducing depot repair work. The service also would delay or curtail the deployment of brigade combat teams for training rotations. This may force the service to extend units in Iraq or Afghanistan, officials said. No supplemental funding would also delay forming new brigade combat teams, force the service to implement a civilian hiring freeze and prohibit new contracts and service orders, officials said.

Biographies: Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, USA Adm. Michael G. Mullen, USN Gen. T. Michael Moseley, USAF Gen. James T. Conway, USMC

War News

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New Graduates From Iraqi Cop School

Progress: Neighborhood Watch Initiated In Iraq?

Civil Affairs In Tanzania?

Many Success Stories In Baghdad

They Never Got Medical Attention Like This

I post this in its entirety but here is the link anyway.

Paratroopers Take Down Adhamiyah Terrorists By U.S. Army Sgt. Mike Pryor Special to American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 7, 2007 – On the surface, the market seems perfectly ordinary. Men outside the shops gather to play dominoes, smoke, and drink tea. On hot afternoons, an ice cream stand does a brisk business. But in the dark back rooms of some of the shops, murderous plans are hatched. Army Pfc. Josh Lovejoy, a medic with Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, handles security outside while his platoon raids the house of a suspected gun-runner in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district March 31. Photo by Sgt. Mike Pryor, USA (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. It’s called the Fish Market, a seemingly benign marketplace in the Graya’at area of Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district. But according to 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers responsible for security in the area, it’s also the nexus for Adhamiyah’s criminal-terrorist underground. Since paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment began conducting security operations in Adhamiyah two months ago, residents have consistently pointed them back to the Fish Market as the source of much of the region’s criminal activity. Over time, the paratroopers narrowed in on a handful of individuals based at the market who they believed were responsible for some of the worst crimes. They even gave them a nickname: “The Fish Market Five.” Now it’s the “Fish Market Three.” In simultaneous, early-morning raids Mar. 31, paratroopers from Battery B, 2-319th AFAR captured two members of the Fish Market Five and detained three other suspects for questioning. One of the detainees was a suspected lieutenant in a murder, torture and kidnapping cell. The other was allegedly one of the leaders of a group responsible for sniper and bomb attacks on U.S. forces. Three other suspects were also taken into custody during the raids. The raids took place within minutes of each other shortly after one in the morning.1st Lt. Josh Rowan, of College Station, Texas, whose platoon led the assault on one of the homes, said the point of conducting the raids simultaneously was to catch the targets off guard. “Our intent was to go out and capture these guys at the same time, so that one guy didn’t have a chance to warn the other guy,” Rowan said. The kidnapper was taken into custody first, when paratroopers shotgun-blasted his door open and hauled him out of bed in his underwear. Two other unidentified males staying in the house were also detained. In addition to kidnapping and murder, Rowan said the target of the raid had a hand in numerous other criminal activities, including p**ping and gun-running. “He’s like a renaissance man of terrorism,” said Rowan. A few blocks down the street from where Rowan’s platoon was conducting their raid, 2nd Lt. Larry Pitts and his platoon were about to hit the bomb-maker’s house. Emerging from the cover of a palm grove thicket, they crept through the streets until they found the house they were looking for. Pitts quietly unlatched the front gate and they moved inside the courtyard. When they were set, the breach man blew the front door open with a shotgun blast and the assault squad rushed in. The suspect went quietly, and it was all over in minutes. As he was supervising the search of the kidnapper’s house, Rowan got the call over his radio that the other platoon had got their man. “Nice. Two for two,” he said. The raids were the return on months of investigative work. It took countless hours spent meetings with residents, cultivating sources, and painstakingly piecing together information before it finally paid off, said Sgt. Billy Davison, a team leader with Battery B from Texarkana, Texas. But Davison said the final results made it all worthwhile. “It was all worth it in the end,” he said. (U.S. Army Sgt. Mike Pryor is assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs)

Army Staff Sgt. Jeramie Schader, a squad leader with Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, guards female occupants during a search of the house of a suspected gun-runner in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district March 31. Photo by Sgt. Mike Pryor, USA Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution (From left) Army Pvt. Sam Feldman, Army Sgt. Eric Meinhardt and Army Spc. Martin Garza, paratroopers with Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, prepare to raid the house of a suspected p**p and gun-runner in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district March 31. Photo by Sgt. Mike Pryor, USA Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution

The Leftinistra do not understand this mindset. That is because they are cowards. Simple as that.

Purple Heart Recipient Heading Home

…Bacani was a cavalry scout assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division’s 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment , from of Fort Hood, Texas, when he was wounded March 20 during a sniper attack while conducting an IED reconnaissance mission in southwest Baghdad.

“I was shot in the tailbone and it came out of my pelvis,” said Bacani, who now sits in a wheelchair. Doctors are optimistic Bacani will be fully mobile again, he said.

Bacani said courage he displayed during combat and his subsequent recovery, came from “being around his brothers.”

“The courage is contagious,” he said. “If somebody is being strong it will spread throughout the whole platoon.

“We trained for Iraq together for a whole year,” he said. “Once we arrived in Iraq, we struggled through multiple (improvised explosive devices) and losses of the lives of our friends,” Bacani told American Forces Press Service. “There’s no word to explain how strong that bond is.”…”

Some of this is reported by the Lame Stream Media but it is selective in nature. The Lame Stream Media will only print that which makes the United States look like the bad guy which, it is not. Defeatists are by nature bad for any country.

Iraq PRTs to Double in Number by Year’s End (a PRT is a provincial reconstruction team)

Four Guard Brigades Alerted For Deployment

Peaceful Demonstrations Take Place In Iraq (couldn’t do that under Saddam, could they?)

We are a nation at war. Good and bad things happen in war. War is a bad thing but war, from time to time, happens and is a necessity, as unfortunate as that is. In a time of war, it is best, in the long run, to support our armed forces so their morale does not waver and the job is done sooner. The sooner the job is done, the sooner our troops come home. Why the Leftinistra will not grasp this is still a mystery.

Joint Operations Root Out Terrorists In Ad Dawr

Al Anbar Security Conference

Coalition Aircraft Engages Insurgents Firing On Convoy

Terrorists Detonate Car Bomb Near Mahmudiyah

War News

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More items of interest that the Moonbats HATE!!! Their fellow Jihadists are getting killed and captured and taken out of play on a regular basis. Too bad for them, eh?

Enemy Combatants Rounded Up

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2007 – Coalition forces captured 39 suspected terrorists during operations over the past two days throughout Iraq, officials report. During an operation in Southwest Baghdad, coalition forces captured a suspected vehicle-bomb cell leader and supplier of roadside bomb components. Officials said the suspect is believed to have been recently involved in attacks against coalition forces. Forces discovered a weapons cache while searching the suspect’s vehicle. The vehicle and weapons caches were destroyed on site to prevent further use by terrorists. Elsewhere in Iraq today, six suspects were captured with alleged ties to al Qaeda in Iraq and the facilitation of foreign fighters. Another seven were captured, including a suspected weapons dealer reportedly involved in the sale and purchase of sniper rifles, automatic weapons, ammunition and bomb casings. In operations yesterday, forces raided two known foreign fighter safe houses and captured four suspects with ties to foreign fighter facilitation and the movement of weapons into Iraq during operations north of Mosul. Coalition forces also detained three more suspected foreign fighter facilitators in Habbaniyah, while two suspected terrorists with alleged ties to al Qaeda were captured southwest of Karmah. “Foreign fighters and the facilitators that bring them in are a detriment to the stability of a peaceful Iraq,” Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a spokesperson for Multinational Force Iraq, said. “Coalition forces will continue to target them and the networks that illegally bring them in to Iraq.” (Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

War News

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Please join those of us that TRULY support our troops in this celebration.

Thanks.

Well Done, Sir!!

Marine Receives Distinguished Flying Cross at Buckingham Palace From DefenseLink
Marine Maj. William Chesarek displays the Distinguished Flying Cross he received from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, March 21. Photo by Sgt. Mick Howard	LONDON, March 23, 2007 – A U.S. Marine appeared before Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace March 21 to receive the United Kingdom’s Distinguished Flying Cross for saving lives and in recognition for his bravery during combat operations in Iraq. Marine Maj. William D. Chesarek Jr., is the first U.S. servicemember to be so honored since World War II. Assigned as an exchange officer with the Royal Air Force’s 847th Naval Air Squadron, Commando Helicopter Force, based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset, England, the U.S. Marine flew the RAF’s Lynx Mk7 helicopter — the aircraft he used to dodge insurgent’s bullets and rocket-propelled grenades. Through flight school training at Pensacola, Fla., and Corpus Christi, Texas, he mastered the Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter — a two-seater armed with Hellfire, Sidewinder and Sidearm missiles. When he joined the RAF squadron in 2005, he traded in the Super Cobra for the Lynx. “It’s a very agile aircraft,” said Chesareck, whose call sign is “Punchy.” “Its maneuverability is significantly enhanced, compared to a Cobra. It’s like comparing a Mustang to a Porsche. They’re both great, but different.”
Flying the evening of June 10, 2006, Chesarek was providing radio communication relay for British ground troops conducting a company-sized search operation near Amarah, Iraq. Listening to radio transmissions, he overheard that a vehicle involved in the operation had became disabled and a crowd of insurgents was firing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades at the company. According to his award citation, “Chesarek elected to fly low over the area in an attempt to distract the crowd and if possible, to engage the insurgents.” Because the crowd was so close to the ground troops, instead of engaging his machine gun, he “opted instead to provide bold, harassing, very low level flight over the area in an attempt to disperse the crowd.” However, radio traffic from the ground told Chesarek he was now the target and was drawing small-arms fire, and that a rocket-propelled grenade had just passed the rear of his aircraft. This was not his first time in combat. He and his wife, Christine, a U.S. Navy nurse, had served simultaneously in Operation Iraqi Freedom during the initial stages. But now in a different aircraft, with a different purpose, things were different. Last month, Chesarek’s RAF commander and his crew had been shot down flying in the same type of aircraft. “I had been in a couple of situations with troops in contact before,” the 32-year-old Chesarek said. “I had a good idea of the kind of potential danger involved, but now I was listening to the individual commander on the ground. Someone was injured; what can we do?” Using his view from above, Chesarek applied his training as an airborne forward air controller to coordinate, designate and control fixed-wing assets in conducting close air support, resulting in the dispersing the insurgents. Chesarek made the unconventional move – what’s considered an “implied mission” in military parlance — to conduct a medical evacuation with the Lynx to help a British soldier with a life-threatening head injury. As the only aircraft available to assist, he landed the Lynx near the company in distress as his door gunner and another crew member jumped out. “My door gunner jumped out and picked up the injured soldier and put him in the helicopter,” Chesarek said. “My other crew member had to stay, or we would have been overweight to fly.” Now, nine months later, Chesarek’s name echoed throughout the ballroom of Buckingham Palace as he was called before the queen to be recognized and credited for “having a pivotal role in ensuring the rapid evacuation of (a) badly injured soldier and the safe extraction of the Company.” Wearing his ceremonial uniform, Chesarek stood before the queen and hundreds in attendance, including his parents, his wife and their 2-year-old son, William. After Chesarek bowed, the custom when in front of the queen, the British monarch placed her kingdom’s level-three award for gallantry in the air while on active operation against the enemy on his chest. Chesarek reflected on his lost comrades and brothers in arms. “I am greatly honored and would like to accept this prestigious award for 847 NAS in memory of Lt. Cmdr. Darren Chapman (Royal Navy), Capt. David Dobson (Army Air Corps), and Marine Paul Collins (Royal Marines), who were killed in action over Basrah in May 2006,” Chesarek said. “The awarded actions were only possible due to the combined effort of my combat crew; Lt. David Williams (Royal Navy) and Lance Cpl. Max Carter (Royal Marines). My greatest sense of achievement that day is in knowing the ground troops all made it home.”

War News

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I ask myself many times a day why the Leftinistra oppose success in the GWOT and I come up with the same amswer…they HATE all things Traditional America.

Early Successes

Baghdad ‘Surge’ Produces Early Successes, Official Says

By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2007 – Murders and kidnappings, the hallmarks of sectarian violence, have decreased in Baghdad since reinforcements of U.S. and Iraqi security forces began to flow into the city in mid-February as part of Operation Fahrd al-Qanoon, a senior U.S. military official said in Baghdad today. “A clear reduction in the number of kidnappings and execution-style murders” has taken place across Baghdad since Fahrd al-Qanoon, or “Enforce the Law,” was launched to secure and tamp down violence in Baghdad and western Iraq, Navy Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox, spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, said to representatives of U.S.-based veterans groups during a telephone conference call. There are “some preliminary good signs” that security measures are taking hold in Baghdad, Fox said, as U.S. and Iraqi forces continue to make their presence felt as they operate from 31 joint security stations established across the city. “Our troops now are living and operating in the districts of Baghdad,” Fox said. However, it is too early to say if the reduction in violence is permanent, Fox said, noting there have been an increase in the numbers of car-bombings and other spectacular attacks in Baghdad. The political commitment of the Iraqi government to confront and defeat the insurgents and the joint embedding of U.S. and Iraqi troops at specific sites inside Baghdad’s neighborhoods represent a departure from past anti-terrorist offensives, Fox noted. For example, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “has been very clear and unambiguous about the even-handed application of the law,” Fox said. No Baghdad neighborhoods are off-limits to being patrolled at any time of the day or night by U.S. and Iraqi troops. Also, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, Multinational Force Iraq commander since Feb. 10, has instituted “a much higher level of counterinsurgency tactics, in which we understand that the people of Baghdad and the people of Iraq are at the center of gravity of this fight,” Fox said. Baghdad’s residents gain confidence at seeing Iraqi security forces patrolling their neighbors, Fox noted, which in turn leads to more citizen-provided tips and cooperation that is used to break up insurgent groups and stem the violence. About 28,000 additional U.S. troops, including 21,500 combat and 7,000 support forces, have been committed to participate in Operation Fahrd al-Qanoon, which, in addition to Baghdad, encompasses an area of operations that includes Anbar province in western Iraq. Three of the five U.S. Army combat brigades committed to the security operation are now in Baghdad, Fox reported. The two other brigades are slated to arrive in Baghdad during April and May, he noted, with all U.S. units in place by early June. Although buoyed by the early successes, Fox acknowledged “it’s going to take months,” perhaps not until the fall, until the results and effectiveness of Operation Fahrd al-Qanoon can be fully assessed. The increase of Baghdad car bombings indicates the insurgents “are doing everything they can to create terror,” Fox pointed out, as they kill even innocent children to further their aims. America’s military forces are serving in Iraq “to protect the people of Iraq, to protect the people of Baghdad and to create a breathing space (and) enough of a window of opportunity for the Iraqi government to get its feet under itself,” Fox said.

War News

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And it isn’t what the Leftinistra want…

It All Depends On Your Point Of View

Bush: Troops’ Hard Work in Iraq Will Impact the World

By Linda D. Kozaryn American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2007 – The hard work U.S. troops are doing in Iraq is “laying the foundations of peace for generations to come,” President Bush told soldiers and family members today at Fort Irwin, Calif. “The work that you have volunteered to do will have a lasting impact on the world in which we live,” the president told the troops. By helping Iraq become a country that can sustain, defend and govern itself — and become an ally in the war on terror — the U.S. military will have delivered a significant blow to those who want to harm the American people, he said. “The amazing thing about our United States military is that thousands and thousands of you have signed up knowing full well that we’re a nation at war,” he said. “You decided to put your country ahead of self in many ways.” Bush said he’s proud to be the commander-in-chief of such decent, honorable and noble people. He noted that it gives him great confidence to know that “standing with the president of the United States is a fantastic military, well-trained, courageous and dedicated to protecting this country.” He also thanked the families and said he understands the troop rotations are difficult and deployments create anxiety. “You are an integral part of making sure this volunteer army is as successful as it is today,” he told the family members. The president said the troops are facing a “tough war” and the American people are weary of it. But in his judgment, leaving before the job was done would make the United States at risk to further attack. Bush noted that his new plan for military operations in Iraq involves sending in more troops and naming a new commander, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, an expert on counter-insurgency. Bush said about half of the reinforcements expected to go to Baghdad have arrived, and the security situation is improving. American and Iraqi troops are on the move, Bush said, rounding up both Sunni and Shiite extremists and going after Al Qaeda. They’re destroying car bomb factories, killing and capturing hundreds of insurgents, and reclaiming neighborhoods. “There is progress,” he said, “but the enemy sees that progress and they’re responding in a brutal way,” For example, Bush said extremists used two children to drive into a crowded area, and then they got out and blew up the car with the children inside. “It only hardens my resolve to help free Iraq from a society in which people can do that to children, and it makes me realize the nature of the enemy that we face, which hardens my resolve to protect the American people,” Bush said. What’s happening in Iraq is not a civil war, he stressed, “It is pure evil and I believe we have an obligation to protect ourselves from that evil.” The president said the Iraqi government is doing its part and is meeting its obligations. They’ve committed additional troops to Baghdad, named a Baghdad commander, and manned checkpoints. They’ve also committed $10 billion for reconstruction. While the United States wants the Iraqi government to succeed, the president said he warned Iraqi officials that U.S. patience is not unlimited. “It’s in the interest of the United States that this young democracy succeed,” Bush said. “It’s in our interest that we gain a new ally in the war on terror in the midst of a part of the world that produced 19 kids that came and killed 3,000 of our citizens.” Bush noted that Congress has passed legislation that would impose an artificial deadline from Iraq. He said Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker have warned that delaying the funds past mid-April will have significant consequences for the armed forces. When Congress returns from spring break, Bush said he will “urge Congress to work on legislation to fund the troops, but that does not tell the military how to conduct war and sets an artificial timetable for withdrawal.” “The enemy does not measure the conflict in Iraq in terms of timetables,” he said. “They plan to fight us and we’ve got to fight them alongside the Iraqis. A strategy that encourages its enemies to wait us out is dangerous. It’s dangerous for our troops. It’s dangerous for our country’s security, and it’s not going to become the law.” Acknowledging the Congress members’ patriotism, Bush said he understands people have passionate points of views about this war. “Yet we cannot allow honest differences in Washington to harm our troops in battle or their families here at home,” he said. “Members of Congress have sent their message now they need to send me a war spending measure that I can sign into law so we can provide our troops and their families with the funds and support that they deserve and they need,” he concluded.

War News

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And it spells “bad news” for the Leftinistra.

Since When Is Good News Bad News?

Gates: Still ‘So Far, So Good’ in Iraq

By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2007 – Security in Baghdad has improved even though only part of the planned increase of U.S. troops is in place, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today on a nationally syndicated radio program. “So far, so good,” Gates said on the Laura Ingraham Show, noting it is too early to draw conclusions. Al Qaeda continues to launch dramatic terror attacks against population centers, but Gates said some of these attacks are in reaction to the progress being made. “It’s been part of their strategy since last year to foment sectarian violence,” Gates said. “I think some of these large car bombs are to counteract some of the positive things that have been happening as a result of even the two brigades going into Baghdad along with a significant number of Iraqi forces.” A third U.S. brigade is in Baghdad, but hasn’t fully joined operations. The last two U.S. brigades into the Iraqi capital will be there by late May or early June, Defense Department officials said. Gates said he is pleased with the commitment and cooperation from the Iraqi government. The Iraqis have delivered the additional troops they promised, and Iraqi commanders in Baghdad are directing operations. The Iraqi government is allowing Iraqi security forces and coalition forces into any neighborhood. The Iraqi government also is maintaining its commitment to no political interference in operations, Gates said. And the changes have been noticed, Gates told Ingraham and her listeners. “What’s interesting to me is just in the last few days, looking at the news media, … there have actually been some pretty positive stories coming out of Baghdad – children returning to playgrounds, markets reopening, and so on,” the secretary said. Illegal militia in Baghdad have stood down, though activity continues in some parts of Iraq. Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr remains in Iran, and there are “some signs that his prolonged absence is leading to some fractures in (his militia’s) organization,” Gates said. Gates also discussed the military’s need for funding to finance the war effort. He said he is concerned about delays in enacting an emergency supplemental bill. Each house of Congress has passed a version of the bill, and both versions contain a timeline for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. President Bush has vowed to veto any bill containing the withdrawal language. Gates said each of the armed services will be affected by a delay, with the Army being the worst off. The service may be forced to suspend training for deploying forces, repairing equipment and putting in place a civilian hiring freeze. The secretary said a threatened complete cut-off of war “would be dramatic.” Most Americans across most parts of the political spectrum agree that the only way Iraq can emerge as a country that can govern, defend and sustain itself is if there is a political reconciliation among the different parties in Iraq, the secretary said. U.S. officials recognized late last fall that with the level of violence was so high in Baghdad that prospects for reconciliation were almost nonexistent. “The whole idea of the surge is to help buy the Iraqis time to pursue political reconciliation,” he said. “And there seems to be some progress in that regard.” Gates said there should be a dialogue with Syria, “but talking for the sake of talking really doesn’t accomplish very much unless you have some sort of a goal out of it.” He said any U.S. officials going to Damascus should ask the Syrians to stop allowing suicide bombers to cross their borders into Iraq. They should ask about the flow of weapons out of Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon, he added. “I think these are the kind of issues that if there is going to be a dialogue there has to be some substance to it,” Gates said.

Terrorist Confesses to 91101

What In the Hell is WRONG with CONgress??
What In the Hell is WRONG with CONgress??
ANO

Al Qaeda Operative Admits to Masterminding 9/11 AttacksBy Fred W. Baker IIIAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2007 – Suspected al Qaeda operative Khalid Sheikh Muhammad has admitted masterminding the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as well as the World Trade Center bombing in 1993.

“I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z,” an interpreter read from Muhammad’s statement to the Combatant Status Review Tribunal on March 10 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The tribunal was an administrative trial to determine only whether Muhammad could be designated as an enemy combatant. Muhammad used the opportunity to submit, through an interpreter, a two-part personal statement with 38 terrorism-related admissions.

He led the list by pledging his jihad allegiance to Osama bin Laden and finished with an admission to trying to destroy the American oil company in Indonesia owned by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Muhammad claimed responsibility for the 2001 attempted shoe bombing of American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris.

He offered a chilling confession to “managing and following up on the Cell for the Production of Biological Weapons, such as anthrax and others, and following up on Dirty Bomb Operations on American soil.”

He also named four other skyscrapers that were supposed to be destroyed in a “second wave” of attacks after 9/11. They were the Library Tower in Los Angeles, the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Plaza Bank in Seattle and the Empire State Building in New York City.

“I shared responsibility for the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II while he was visiting the Philippines,” Muhammad also admitted.

Muhammad’s lengthy closing oral statement began with a pledge to Allah in Arabic followed by a refusal to take an oath as part of the tribunal. He explained that he was not lying, but that his religious beliefs prevented him taking the oath and thereby accepting, at least in part, American law and its constitution.

Muhammad went on to say that he was not trying to make himself out to be a hero, but an enemy of America.

He drew a comparison between bin Laden and George Washington, both fighting for independence, and said that the term terrorist is “deceiving.” He said that during the Revolutionary War, Washington would have been considered a terrorist by the British.

Muhammad said he did not like to kill people, especially children.

“I don’t like to kill people. I feel very sorry they been killed kids in 9/11,” Muhammad said in broken English. But, he said, their deaths are part of the “language” of war.

He closed by stating that war is part of life and that it will never stop.

Unclassified transcripts of the tribunal are online at: DefenseLink at the bottom of the page.

Muhammad’s tribunal was one of three for the 14 high-value detainees who were transferred Sept. 6 to Guantanamo Bay from CIA custody.

Proceedings were March 9 for Abu Faraj al-Libi, an alleged senior member of al Qaeda, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who is said to have helped Muhammad plan the Sept. 11 attacks.

Shibh also elected to not participate in the tribunal. His personal representative said that Shibh was “uncooperative and unresponsive.”

Evidence submitted by the U.S. government against Shibh included a diary recovered in a 2004 raid detailing his involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. He was also identified on a videotape of potential suicide operatives, the evidence cited. Shibh attempted to obtain a U.S. visa four times in 2000 for the purpose of attending flight school here, the evidence states. All applications were rejected.

Many other connections to pre-9/11 terrorist activities were cited in the evidence, including wiring money to the actual terrorist hijackers.

Libi elected to not participate in the tribunal, citing through his personal representative that his freedom “far too important to be decided by an administrative process” and that he is awaiting legal proceedings.

Evidence submitted against Libi included sources who stated that Libi was the supervisor of an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. Computer and other documentation were seized during his capture that contained manuals for explosives, detonators, chemicals, military tactics, missiles and tanks.

CSRTs are a one-time administrative process used to determine whether detainees at Guantanamo Bay can be designated as enemy combatants. No decisions have been made about the detainees’ status.

Not all of the three detainees chose to participate in the CSRT proceedings. It was not released which detainees did or did not participate. The detainees have a right to personal representation and to receive an unclassified summary of evidence in advance of the hearing.

The CSRTs for the detainees were not open to media because of national security concerns.

The U.S. government established the CSRT process at Guantanamo Bay as a result of a June 2004 Supreme Court decision in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver for bin Laden who challenged his detention at Guantanamo Bay. Between July 2004 and March 2005, DoD held 558 CSRTs at Guantanamo Bay. At the time, 38 detainees were determined to no longer meet the definition of enemy combatant, and 520 detainees were found to be enemy combatants.

War News

Encouraging News…
Encouraging News…
ANO

…that the Leftinistra are trying desperately to IGNORE!!! Shame, shame, shame…

Things are looking good so far:

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2007 – The Baghdad security plan has only been under way for a short time, but the Iraqis are meeting their commitments and early signs are pointing toward success, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.

The most important measure of success in the new security plan is whether the Iraqis are meeting their commitments, such as appointing commanders for Baghdad, providing extra troops, and removing political restrictions from troops in the area, Gates said in an interview with the Pentagon Channel.

“We can measure those things, and those are the areas where the Iraqis have pretty well fulfilled the commitments that they have made,” Gates said.

The Iraqis have appointed a commander and two sub-commanders for Baghdad, and while the initial Iraqi battalions were showing up light on personnel, they are now consistently more than 90 percent manned, Gates said. The long-term success of the plan, such as the rebuilding of Iraqi society, remains to be seen, he said.

Improvised explosive devices and the more lethal explosively formed penetrators are still a major problem in Iraq, Gates noted. He asserted that materials for these bombs are coming out of Iran, although it is not clear if the Iranian government knows about these activities.

Roadside bombs remain the primary form of attack on coalition and Iraqi troops, Gates said. Many of the foreign fighters who come into Iraq are suicide bombers who target Iraqi civilians, he said.

“One of the messages that perhaps we haven’t adequately gotten out is that these foreign fighters are coming into Iraq principally to kill Iraqis, not to kill coalition forces,” he said. “There are clearly some that do, but by and large, they’re killing Iraqis.”

While the conflict in Iraq is the Defense Department’s highest priority, the military remains committed to success in Afghanistan and is prepared to deal with any potential future conflicts, Gates said. Several NATO countries have stepped up their commitments to Afghanistan in the past few weeks, he noted, and the U.S. is working to establish a new combatant command for Africa that will establish important relationships in the fight against terrorism.

The United States has more than two million people in the armed forces, of which 200,000 are deployed to the Middle East, and while DoD faces some equipment shortages, it remains ready to defend against potential adversaries, Gates said.

“No one should … have any misconception that the United States is not fully prepared to take on any adversary anywhere,” he said.