Iraq: Five Years Later

ANO

Today, March 19th, 2008, marks the 5-year anniversary of the rekindling of the war with Iraq we should have finished in 1991.

Saddam Hussein, no kin to Barack Hussein Obama, ignored and or violated no less than 17 United Nations Resolutions. He didn't want to avoid war...he chose to continue the war by his very actions.

We have certain members of the American Democrat Party and their fellow sociopaths within the Republican Party and a spattering of those which call themselves Independents to thank for the prolonged War In Iraq. No thanks to those individuals that preferred to promote their political gains at the expense of brave American Heroes which gave of themselves - some the ultimate sacrifice - the war we should have finished in 1991 is now in its 5th year.

Thank you Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, John Murtha and many, many more. Thank you for prolonging this war that you sanctioned before you were against it to gain political power. Your non-dedication to the troops is all too obvious now and I pray that you cannot sleep at night and I really would like to know what you tell the demons as you try to rest when they sneak in unawares.

To the brave men and women fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere in the Global War On Terror, we salute you and we pray for your victory many times daily. Know this - we have your backs here at home. Feel free to ignore the idiots in DC as they prattle about telling the world how much they care about you...we all know the truth...they don't care about you. They only care about the next election cycle.

Sad isn't it?

As a reminder, here is the Iraq War Resolution that the Senate passed 77 to 23 and the House passed 296 to 133.

Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq

Whereas in 1990 in response to Iraq's war of aggression against and illegal occupation of Kuwait, the United States forged a coalition of nations to liberate Kuwait and its people in order to defend the national security of the United States and enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions relating to Iraq;

Whereas after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, Iraq entered into a United Nations sponsored cease-fire agreement pursuant to which Iraq unequivocally agreed, among other things, to eliminate its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programs and the means to deliver and develop them, and to end its support for international terrorism;

Whereas the efforts of international weapons inspectors, United States intelligence agencies, and Iraqi defectors led to the discovery that Iraq had large stockpiles of chemical weapons and a large scale biological weapons program, and that Iraq had an advanced nuclear weapons development program that was much closer to producing a nuclear weapon than intelligence reporting had previously indicated;

Whereas Iraq, in direct and flagrant violation of the cease-fire, attempted to thwart the efforts of weapons inspectors to identify and destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction stockpiles and development capabilities, which finally resulted in the withdrawal of inspectors from Iraq on October 31, 1998;

Whereas in 1998 Congress concluded that Iraq's continuing weapons of mass destruction programs threatened vital United States interests and international peace and security, declared Iraq to be in "material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations" and urged the President "to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into compliance with its international obligations" (Public Law 105-235);

Whereas Iraq both poses a continuing threat to the national security of the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf region and remains in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations by, among other things, continuing to possess and develop a significant chemical and biological weapons capability, actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability, and supporting and harboring terrorist organizations;

Whereas Iraq persists in violating resolutions of the United Nations Security Council by continuing to engage in brutal repression of its civilian population thereby threatening international peace and security in the region, by refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi citizens wrongfully detained by Iraq, including an American serviceman, and by failing to return property wrongfully seized by Iraq from Kuwait;

Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against other nations and its own people;

Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its continuing hostility toward, and willingness to attack, the United States, including by attempting in 1993 to assassinate former President Bush and by firing on many thousands of occasions on United States and Coalition Armed Forces engaged in enforcing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council;

Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq;

Whereas Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international terrorist organizations, including organizations that threaten the lives and safety of American citizens;

Whereas the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001 underscored the gravity of the threat posed by the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by international terrorist organizations;

Whereas Iraq's demonstrated capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction, the risk that the current Iraqi regime will either employ those weapons to launch a surprise attack against the United States or its Armed Forces or provide them to international terrorists who would do so, and the extreme magnitude of harm that would result to the United States and its citizens from such an attack, combine to justify action by the United States to defend itself;

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 authorizes the use of all necessary means to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 and subsequent relevant resolutions and to compel Iraq to cease certain activities that threaten international peace and security, including the development of weapons of mass destruction and refusal or obstruction of United Nations weapons inspections in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687, repression of its civilian population in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688, and threatening its neighbors or United Nations operations in Iraq in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 949;

Whereas Congress in the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1) has authorized the President "to use United States Armed Forces pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 (1990) in order to achieve implementation of Security Council Resolutions 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, and 677";

Whereas in December 1991, Congress expressed its sense that it "supports the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 as being consistent with the Authorization of Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1)," that Iraq's repression of its civilian population violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 and "constitutes a continuing threat to the peace, security, and stability of the Persian Gulf region," and that Congress, "supports the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688";

Whereas the Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338) expressed the sense of Congress that it should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove from power the current Iraqi regime and promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime;

Whereas on September 12, 2002, President Bush committed the United States to "work with the United Nations Security Council to meet our common challenge" posed by Iraq and to "work for the necessary resolutions," while also making clear that "the Security Council resolutions will be enforced, and the just demands of peace and security will be met, or action will be unavoidable";

Whereas the United States is determined to prosecute the war on terrorism and Iraq's ongoing support for international terrorist groups combined with its development of weapons of mass destruction in direct violation of its obligations under the 1991 cease-fire and other United Nations Security Council resolutions make clear that it is in the national security interests of the United States and in furtherance of the war on terrorism that all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions be enforced, including through the use of force if necessary;

Whereas Congress has taken steps to pursue vigorously the war on terrorism through the provision of authorities and funding requested by the President to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 or harbored such persons or organizations;

Whereas the President and Congress are determined to continue to take all appropriate actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations;

Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution to take action in order to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States, as Congress recognized in the joint resolution on Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40); and

Whereas it is in the national security of the United States to restore international peace and security to the Persian Gulf region;

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.

This joint resolution may be cited as the "Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq".

SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS

The Congress of the United States supports the efforts by the President to--

(a) strictly enforce through the United Nations Security Council all relevant Security Council resolutions applicable to Iraq and encourages him in those efforts; and

(b) obtain prompt and decisive action by the Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its strategy of delay, evasion and noncompliance and promptly and strictly complies with all relevant Security Council resolutions.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.

(a) AUTHORIZATION. The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to

(1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and

(2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq.

(b) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION.

In connection with the exercise of the authority granted in subsection (a) to use force the President shall, prior to such exercise or as soon there after as may be feasible, but no later than 48 hours after exercising such authority, make available to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate his determination that

(1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic or other peaceful means alone either (A) will not adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq or (B) is not likely to lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq, and

(2) acting pursuant to this resolution is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorists attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.

(c) WAR POWERS RESOLUTION REQUIREMENTS. --

(1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION. -- Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution.

(2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS. -- Nothing in this resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution.

SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS

(a) The President shall, at least once every 60 days, submit to the Congress a report on matters relevant to this joint resolution, including actions taken pursuant to the exercise of authority granted in section 2 and the status of planning for efforts that are expected to be required after such actions are completed, including those actions described in section 7 of Public Law 105-338 (the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998).

(b) To the extent that the submission of any report described in subsection (a) coincides with the submission of any other report on matters relevant to this joint resolution otherwise required to be submitted to Congress pursuant to the reporting requirements of Public Law 93-148 (the War Powers Resolution), all such reports may be submitted as a single consolidated report to the Congress.

(c) To the extent that the information required by section 3 of Public Law 102-1 is included in the report required by this section, such report shall be considered as meeting the requirements of section 3 of Public Law 102-1.

What part of victory do these fools not understand?

President's Remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, September 12, 2002

President Discusses the Future of Iraq, February 26, 2003

President Says Saddam Hussein Must Leave Iraq Within 48 Hours, March 17, 2003

Libtards and other such fools not withstanding, victory is at hand and if anyone says otherwise, they are not true Americans...not by a long shot and I question their motives as well as their patriotism. Yes, Attaturk, I am speaking to you...you pathetic ass.

For other coverage in the Moonbat Press:

MSLSD here...
NYSlimes here...
Washington Compost here...
Wall Street Journal here...
John Boehner blog here...

Dems, Rocks and Hard Places

Posted Dec 2, 2007 by mlh in Politics | 3 comments | 315 views

Once upon a time, in a place not very familiar to many Americans and, even obscured from view from most of the world, there is a place called the United States Senate. Close in proximity, is a place called the United States House of Representatives.

Both establishments have, in the past, performed the bidding of a now obscure band of citizens, referenced to in archaic documents as "We The People". Not any longer. Through the decades, a sickness from the morphing of Political Correctness, Multiculturalism and Identity Politics into the Political Farce of American Politics, orchestrated by emotionally unstable influences, has caused a condition that requires certain politicians to rely heavily on Weather Vane Decision Accountability and Authority.

This condition has so permeated itself into the framework of American Politics that if anything gets accomplished, it is only due to Blind Luck and not Reasoned Thought. Such shameful attributes are lauded as the status quo and the ins and outs can be blamed on weather vanes. This gives way to the condition of Microwave Mentality...if life and/or results of any undertaking doesn't happen within a prescribed or preconceived period of time, the effort is deemed as untenable from the beginning and is condemned to scrutiny stemming from the lethality of hindsight.

A long, long, long time ago, way back on October 11, 2002, the United States Senate, in a vote of 77 to 23, a vast majority of Senators, approved of an obscure document called the Iraq War Resolution. In a vote of 296 to 133, a vast majority of Representatives, the United States House of Representatives passed the Iraq War Resolution, giving the President of The United States authority to "wage war".

The wind direction of that time was blowing in a certain direction. As anyone knows or, should know, wind directions change from time to time. Also, it is also common knowledge, among those that know, that "war directions" also change from time to time - not as often as the direction of the wind - but it changes all the same.

On 91101, the United States was stunned, shocked, confused and angry. We were attacked on our home turf and I had an odd chuckle at that expression; home turf. Our Embassies across the globe ARE American Soil and they were also attacked and have been attacked since 1979. The age-old saying of "this could never happen to us" was eternally shattered. I suppose the difference was this; the events of 91101 took place on American Soil Proper. War was in the air. Someone was going to pay. The problem was, the people that attacked this country, died in the Act Of War against us. So, who was to pay? It was determined that Al Qaida, a terrorist cabal, was to pay.

On 91201, there was talk from all corners of the Nation of retaliation. The once Main Stream Media lauded that as well and Retaliation was in the air. The general perception was a Country United. For the most part, this was true. In actuality, however, this was not the case. Some seem to forget about the groups of people that believed before 91101, on 91101, and after 91101 that every woe on our globe we call Earth was and is a direct result of The United States of America. Such drivel came to the fore among the American Politik during the 2004 election cycle. The term "WMD" became The Issue.

Using defective and disingenuous reasoning, the Blame America For Everything Crowds have determined that since no WMDs were found in Iraq, they therefore never existed, therefore President Bush knew they did not exist, therefore, President Bush lied. That sort of reasoning is that of an intellectually void individual.

On March 19, 2003, after diplomatic channels were exhausted and Saddam Hussein would not comply with any United Nations Resolutions, military action was launched on Saddam's Iraq. I find the CRS Report for Congress has gone largely ignored by our politicians and have chosen an avenue destructive to their political aspirations. It has also most assuredly gone ignored by the alleged Peace Movements that are nothing of the sort. They are and always have been and always will be anti-Americanist groups, disclosed here and here.

[...] President Bush has repeatedly called for regime change in Iraq. In his speech before the U.N. General Assembly on September 12, 2002, the President emphasized the dangers posed by Iraq's programs to develop WMD and urged the United Nations to live up to its responsibilities by enforcing previous U.N. Security Council resolutions that Iraq has ignored. On October 10 and 11, respectively, the House and Senate passed H.J.Res. 114 (P.L. 107-243), which authorized the President to use the U.S. Armed Forces to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing Iraqi threat and enforce all relevant U.N. Security Council sanctions regarding Iraq. At the international level, on November 8, 2002, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1441, which imposed a revised and more stringent weapons inspection regime on Iraq, required Iraq to submit a comprehensive declaration of all its WMD programs within 30 days, and warned of "serious consequences" if Iraq failed to cooperate.1 On March 19, 2003 (March 20 Iraq time), President Bush announced that he had launched military operations (known as Operation Iraqi Freedom) "to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger." [...]

The above is a brief snippet of the document and all six pages should be read and studied by all. Carrying on with the mantra of "illegal war" and "United States Constitution violations" is disturbingly absurd, especially since those allegations are simply untrue and have no basis or merit - except perhaps from the emotionally unstable that don't have the capability of sound reasoning and/or fact checking before they begin to ramble. I question their motives and feigned patriotism.

I have written extensively on what I call The Why we went to war with Saddam's Iraq and I also find it curious that President Bush's words are skewed and distorted to such a degree that our politicians cannot return to the original intent(s) of The Why. However, there are three key speeches given by President Bush that are a must read and, they are as follows;

President's Remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, September 12, 2002

President Discusses the Future of Iraq, February 26, 2003

President Says Saddam Hussein Must Leave Iraq Within 48 Hours, March 17, 2003

The above will or, should or, perhaps can, put an end to the idiots decrying the ignorant "illegal war" and similar idiocy.

Another widely ignored report comes from DefenseLink. It is ignored for one reason and one reason only. Blind hatred of President George W Bush. There is no other explanation. Or is there? But first, what constitutes a Weapon of Mass Destruction? Is it a Nuclear Weapon? Is it a Biological Weapon? Is it a Chemical Weapon? Is it a Long-Range Missile?

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2006 - The 500 munitions discovered throughout Iraq since 2003 and discussed in a National Ground Intelligence Center report meet the criteria of weapons of mass destruction, the center's commander said here today. [...]

I already know the answer. Do you? This brings us to the title of this article.

The Democratic Party Leadership has boxed themselves into a sticky wicket. They have painted themselves into a corner that they cannot get out of without getting "dirty", as it were.

In 2004, the Democratic Party Leadership chose Sen Kerry to oust President Bush. He ran using the WMD issue and lost. He also ran on the credo that GWB "stole" the elections of 2000 and lost. The full onslaught of the Democratic Party Leadership did not fully take hold until the elections of 2006 utilizing their masters in the Leftinistra Press. They built a premise that we were losing the War In Iraq when nothing of the sort was true. The war was going poorly indeed, much in part to a defective ROE, developed and initialized by ignorance and diplomatic screed. We certainly were not losing...there. We were losing here, at home. The only thing similar to the War In Iraq and the Vietnam War were the politicians, the anti-Americanist groups and the American News Media.

The Good News flowing in from the results of the efforts by our troops under the leadership of General David Petraeus, unanimously anointed by the full Senate, is unmistakable and undeniable. Why else are there no more "woe is me" stories in the opening segments of the news hours and leading stories on the front pages? Why have the stories vanished from the alphabet news shows and removed to the back pages of the theoretical leading newspapers?

The Libocrats, both Democrat and Republican, were relying on a quick victory in Iraq much like the quick victory over the Taliban. They were not counting on the aftermath and some claim that there was no exit strategy, assuming this military action as a financial market. Exit strategy comments in regards to a war is indicative of a person and mindset that doesn't understand war and how it changes. Plan A quickly turns into Plan Z, running through the gauntlet of change.

Let us not forget the many now "anti-war" Democrats and Republicans that were once "pro-war" Democrats and Republicans. And, I find it purely disgusting that the politicians would actually invent the terms "anti-war" and "pro-war"...two terms that are so grossly disingenuous it causes my Warrior's Blood to boil. In these modern times, in this particular point in time, the only ones I know that are "pro-war" are the Jihadis. the proper terms are "anti-victory" and "pro-victory" and, this is why.

The Democratic Party Leadership in particular and the Fraud Republicans as a notice of recognition for what they are, have so invested in defeat in this war, a defeat would mean their victory in the American Political Arena. A victory in this war would be a defeat for them in the American Political Arena.

Victor Davis Hanson has an excellent article at NRO that I ran across several days ago. He runs through the ever changing political scene and a key point I shall never forget. The nuance will escape the average anti-Americanist:

[...] The second problem was the nature of the growing antiwar mood in the country that after the pullback from Fallujah in April 2004 became frenetic. Democrats rashly fanned this national wildfire. By 2006 the conflagration had finally led to their return to power in Congress.

Unfortunately, many Democrats saw the change-of-heart in the electorate as a blanket endorsement of their own alternate universe. But it wasn't necessarily so. The voters were not necessarily interested in new ties with terrorist Syria, restoring diplomacy with Iran, gay marriage, abortion, minority-identity politics, new spending programs, open borders, closing down Guantanamo, an end to wiretaps of suspected terrorists, or the repeal of the Patriot Act.

The people were mad at the war not because they felt it was amoral or unsound policy, or because they hated George Bush, or because they wished liberals instead to end it in defeat -- but simply because they felt frustrated that we either were not winning, or not winning at a cost in blood and treasure that was worth the effort.

That Pattonesque national mood ("America loves a winner, and will not tolerate a loser") is not quite entirely gone, and was entirely misunderstood by most Democrats. Somehow instead they saw their new popularity as connected to the appeal of their politics rather than their shared anger at the mismanagement of the war. [...]

Very powerful that is. And, in light of the recent developments in the War In Iraq, that sentiment marks their doom and they know it.

The Dems are between a rock and a hard place and cannot get out unscathed. They have embraced defeatist rhetoric in the hopes of political gain, self-destructive as it has become, and they have no way out and no way to recover. The elections of 2008 will be very interesting indeed.

Just a few days ago, Rep Murtha returned from Iraq and said (my paraphrase), "By golly gee! The Surge is working". This so infuriated SoH Pelosi that she put the kibosh on that almost immediately...too late it was in the coming. Murtha has some serious damage control in his own life to consider and may have been too eager to make points with the military. We may never know for sure.

Regardless, being stuck between their rocks and their hard places, they will be crushed and exposed for what they are; disingenuous cretins.

[...] Democrats have invested everything in losing the war in Iraq and blaming it on President Bush, and now they've been proved wrong. Murtha has admitted it; other Democrats, one by one, will follow.

How much faith can Americans place in a party so committed to a national failure - and now so discredited?

Exactly so. They just cannot get anything right on Iraq, can they?

Dems are on the wrong side of history and fading fast.

"But I felt kinda embarrassed telling the Iraqis they had to get their act together and pass legislation when we can't do it back here." - Democratic Congressman Norman Dicks.

The spin before was we cannot win, pull the troops out. The spin now is we won, pull the troops out.

Will Democrats ever change their course and head for victory? [...]

Only time will tell.

Vote it up at Digital Journal