Military Leaders Have had it With Teddy

Military brass hit Kennedy for saying war is 'quagmire'-The Washington Times
I am glad to see the Military leaders letting it be known they are not taking these comments by democratic leaders lying down -- it says something when the military leaders actually have to step up and talk back to our political leaders when historically they have quietly allowed politics to be politics... Just a polite way of telling Teddy to "put a sock in it".

Army Gen. George Casey then injected himself into the debate.
'As the commander in Iraq, I would like to put myself on the record, Senator Kennedy, as saying that I also agree with the secretary that to represent the situation in Iraq as a quagmire is a misrepresentation of the facts,' Gen. Casey said. 'Senator, that is not a quagmire.'

Interesting Story Not Covered in MSM

WorldNetDaily: Allstate terminates manager over homosexuality column
Read the below information and preferably the entire article linked above. Do a Google News search for Matt Barber and see how much of this is covered in the MSM (Mainstream Media). Now suppose the rolls were reversed and a homosexual was fired for writing something on their personal time against Christians -- just use your imagination -- don't want to hurt my job efforts.

'I explained to Allstate that the article was a reflection of my personal Christian beliefs, and that I had every right to both write it and to have it published,' Barber told WND. 'I further explained that I had written the article while at home on my own time, that I never mentioned Allstate's name and that I neither directly nor indirectly suggested that Allstate shared my Christian beliefs or my views on same-sex marriage.'
Three days later, on Feb. 3, Barber, who had worked for Allstate for five years, says he got a call informing him he was fired 'for writing the article,' he said. Now, with the help of the Christian Law Association and David Gibbs III, who represented Terri Schiavo's family in the final weeks of her life, Barber is challenging Allstate in federal court.
[...]
Said the agency's report: "The claimant was discharged from Allstate Insurance Company because an outside organization had complained about an article he had written while on his own time."

The state agency also ruled Barber did not engage in misconduct, saying, "The term misconduct means the deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable rule or policy of the employer. … In this case, the claimant's action which resulted in his discharge was not deliberate and willful."

Shocker - Game Continues

North Korea Refuses to Make a Commitment on Talks
If this was not so serious it would be funny. I keep pointing out the North Korean shuffle because I have followed this for decades and the game being played about the "on again, off again" talks is nothing new -- but it is a much more serious game now -- not that I believe nuclear options are just now available to North Korea but their (North Korea) willingness to boldly claim intent and our military resources being stretch makes this a more serious matter... Just keep in mind the North Korean government simply wants to keep the option of "blaming the US" open when it again refuses to attended bilateral talks.

SEOUL - A high-level North Korean delegation headed home today after rejecting South Korean pleas for a commitment to return to international nuclear disarmament talks.
Despite the nuclear impasse, the two Koreas agreed during two days of high-level reconciliation talks to restart reunions of families separated by their border, and to hold meetings in coming months to boost economic and military cooperation.
But at the same time, the communist North dealt another setback to disarmament efforts, lashing out at President Bush for meeting with a prominent defector.

Gitmo - Rummy's Response

Policies already transparent on Yahoo! News
I have been "off blogging" for awhile now, but wanted to go back to last Friday and comment on this letter... Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld has answered the criticism of Gitmo in this short and sweet message. He accurately points out that no "military detention facility" has ever been as open to the public, a fact (opened to media) I have always had issues with for the exact reasons we are discussing now. Further, he points out the declassification of documents and the distribution to appease this need for information. Lastly he defines the reason for a detention facility -- it is not a prison for criminals, a fact that misses many liberals...

Arguably, no detention facility in the history of warfare has been more transparent and received more scrutiny than Guantanamo. There have been numerous visits from members of the news media, congressional representatives and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Last year, the Department of Defense declassified highly sensitive memorandums on interrogation techniques. Unfortunately, they were documents that are useful to terrorist operatives, but we posted them on the Internet specifically to set the record straight about U.S. policies and practices.
[...]
It is important to remember that the purpose of detaining these enemy combatants is not to punish them for committing a crime, but to gain intelligence about terrorist operations and to prevent them from attacking again. We have gained intelligence at Guantanamo that have stopped terror attacks and saved American lives.

Sorry For No Blogging

I have not feel good for awhile and therefore did not blog -- I am getting better and plan to start the routine up again tonight... Thanks for the loyalty.

There it is!

Well when I posted about Senator Dubins comments, This is Deplorable, I predicted, "Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin, will come out next and say how much supports the military" -- well here it is.

Our soldiers around the world and their families at home deserve our respect, admiration and total support. (source)

He and democratic supporters are attempting to spin his comparison of US Military Personal to Nazis with the "that is not what I meant" defense -- that is what you said -- "which make no mistake has been done since the Military is in charge of these camps".

Durbin had said Thursday that he had never brought U.S. soldiers into the comparison in the first place, and that he was criticizing the approved interrogation methods

Senator in your lust and your parties lust to "get President Bush" you have disregarded all caution, disregard what harm comments made in you "lust to get Bush" could cause to this nation or our military, OR you are just stupid -- either way you have no right being a US Senator and should resign immediately.

If anyone is still unclear of what Mr. Durbin said -- "If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis" - Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat. You can read it in the congressional record here.

What Will be Criticized

US claims success in Iraq raids
Oh no -- success, rebels [terrorist for those that aren't liberal or a member of the press] killed or captured, and no losses of civilian [possibly ten] or military... What will the democrats criticize about this and what can the US media possibly harp on, nothing bad happened, wait I know they will go to their 'ole standby' -- Gitmo.

Some 50 rebels have been killed and another 100 captured since the start of a joint US-Iraqi offensive in western Iraq, the US military says.
It reported no military or civilian losses since Operation Spear began on Friday, but Iraqi doctors spoke of at least 10 civilian deaths.
The operation - involving some 1,000 troops - aims to root out rebels and foreign fighters on the Syrian border.

The Durbin Method

(via Cox & Forkum)

US House Demands UN Reform

VOA News - US House Demands Funding Cuts, if UN Fails to Reform
Well I personally like this -- "money talks and ...." I have mentioned and agreed with this approach before (here). What do you think?

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation by a vote of 221 to 184 proposing wide-ranging reforms of the United Nations. The bill, which was opposed in its current form by the Bush administration, calls for mandatory reductions of up to 50 percent in U.S. contributions to the United Nations.

This is Interesting -- Besides for Obvious Reason

Army says GI killed 2 officers - Chicago Tribune
I found this interesting -- yes the story is interesting and it will be interesting to follow... Also interesting is the highlighted paragraph -- read with the paragraph then without the paragraph. Why is the paragraph there -- I think the media wishes to keep their liberal readers happy keeping the body tally in the forefront. By the way, for good measure the five marines and sailor or mentioned in closing also.

TIKRIT, Iraq -- A 37-year-old staff sergeant will face charges in the deaths of two superior officers, the military announced Thursday in the first case in which a U.S. soldier is accused of intentionally killing comrades in Iraq.
The announcement came amid persisting violence in Iraq against U.S. and Iraqi security forces. Eight Iraqi police officers were killed in a car bombing on Airport Road in Baghdad, and the U.S. military reported the deaths of five Marines and a sailor in violence in western Iraq.
Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez of the 42nd Infantry Division was charged Wednesday with two counts of premeditated murder in the June 7 attack that killed Capt. Phillip Esposito, 30, and 1st Lt. Louis Allen, 34.
Martinez, a National Guardsman from Troy, N.Y., was a supply specialist in the division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company. Esposito and Allen were that unit's top two commanders.

Wasn't This the Stated That Started the Discussion

A New Challenge to Same-Sex Marriages - New York Times
Just found this interesting since Massachusetts brought the issue to the forefront.

'My view is that marriage should be defined as a relationship between a man and a woman,' Mr. Romney said at a news conference, adding, 'I hope that this amendment will ultimately be the one which the citizens have an opportunity to vote on.'

Now Back to The War

U.S. forces storm Iraq rebel stronghold
Well if we can break from the "military atrocities" and the "loving concern for terrorist" that the liberals wish to discuss -- let us get back to the war!

RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. aircraft and ground troops launched heavy attacks on Iraqi insurgents on Friday near the city of Qaim, near the Syrian border, local residents and the U.S. military said.
'Operation Spear ... began in the early morning hours with the objectives of rooting out insurgents and foreign fighters and disrupting insurgent support systems in and around Karabila,' Captain Jeffrey Pool of the U.S. Marines said in a statement from Ramadi, capital of the surrounding Anbar region.

This is Deplorable

Gitmo called death camp - washingtontimes.com
Comparing the United States Military to Nazis, which make no mistake has been done since the Military is in charge of these camps, is inexcusable... Liberals/Democrats care little about dragging our military through the mud or our country to make President Bush look bad -- watch, Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin, will come out next and say how much supports the military... Hey right -- he needs something "whipped".

The Senate's No. 2 Democrat has compared the U.S. military's treatment of a suspected al Qaeda terrorist at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay with the regimes of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Pol Pot, three of history's most heinous dictators, whose regimes killed millions.

The Good Fight Continues

Afghans say joint operation with US kills 7 Taliban
With all the rhetoric over Gitmo, the Koran, and of course Iraq -- I am afraid we are forgetting those honorably "fighting the good fight" in Afghanistan.

KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. and Afghan forces killed seven Taliban insurgents and detained 10 in an operation in southern Afghanistan aimed at containing rising guerrilla violence, a senior Afghan army officer said on Wednesday.
The militants were killed on Tuesday in a joint operation in Mian Nishin district of Kandahar province, said General Muslim Amid, the senior Afghan army officer in the southern region.

Spain Arrests Terrorists

Spain arrests 16 suspected terrorists - Terrorism & Security - MSNBC.com
Where is Amnesty International -- this is possible abuse isn't it?
Of course, I am kidding! I am glad to see Spain taking an active role by capturing terrorist even though they wavered when threatened.

MADRID, Spain - Spanish police arrested 11 people linked to the Islamic terror network run by Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, and another five suspects in the Madrid train bombings of last year, police said Wednesday.

Shucks -- No Bad News for Liberals!

Iraq 'military operation' frees Australia hostage - Iraq's New Chapter - MSNBC.com
To bad for liberals, but this hostage situation turned out for the best and with the HELP, got that HELP, of military members -- amazing what can be accomplished when you enlist the help or at a minimum notify the US military.

"Mr. Wood was recovered a short while ago in Baghdad in a military operation that I am told was conducted by Iraqi forces in cooperation in a general way with force elements of the United States," Howard said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp."

Annan -- It's (Oil-for-food) Back

CNN.com - Oil-for-food memo raises questions for Annan
Well thank goodness this "Oil-for-Food scam" is not going away -- and I believe Annan is knee deep in it. He at a minimum knew what "sonny boy" was upto... I cannot help but remember this is the organization (The UN) and man that liberals wanted us to cater to and wait for their approval before moving forward with the "War on Terror" -- by the way, have they (The UN) agreed on the definition of terrorist yet?.

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Investigators probing the United Nations' oil-for-food program said Tuesday they are reviewing an e-mail that suggests a communication between Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the company that won a lucrative contract and employed his son.

Fred Phelps Christian? - Not My Definition

Kansas Preacher Announces Plans To Protest Idaho Soldier's Funeral
This is what hurts conservative Christians -- I grantee this will be a rally cry for many liberals and I will be lumped in with this ______, I don't like that one bit!

(BOISE - AP) - The Kansas preacher who tried to erect an anti-gay monument in a Boise city park says he's coming to Idaho this week to picket the funeral of a fallen soldier.
Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, says God killed Idaho National Guard Corporal Carrie French with an improvised explosive device. Phelps says God is retaliating against America for a bombing of his church six years ago.
[...]
Phelps says there is no reason he is targeting French specifically. He says his church will protest any public funeral of soldiers killed in Iraq.

(Hat tip: Mudville Gazette)

More Pressure

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Pressure to close Guantanamo grows
I think Senator Chuck Hagel needs to place some of the blame, if not all, on the media -- reporting every single incident as a negative even before any investigation is STARTED... Amazing the same people that "say"(?) they care so much about world opinion, the left, are the same ones that drag the US military and the country through the mud just to "get President Bush" (yet another example of the ends justifying the means in their minds and hate-filled hearts).

But Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. said the situation in Guantanamo is one reason why the United States is 'losing the image war around the world,' and suggested closing the prison could help.
'It's identifiable with, for right or wrong, a part of America that people in the world believe is a power, an empire that pushes people around; we do it our way, we don't live up to our commitments to multilateral institutions,' Hagel told CNN's 'Late Edition.'

Just drive my point home -- 32 successive New York Times front page articles on Abu Ghraib since May 1st, unbelievable. (Hat tip: Little green footballs)

Good - Not Caving to Pressure

No plan to close Guantanamo prison: Cheney - Sify.com
Like I said last week, here, "I am fine if Guantanamo is closed because it has run it's due course and we have found other means. However, to cave to pressures...." -- I am they/we are not caving.

Washington: The US government has no plans to close its prison at Guantanamo Bay, Vice President Dick Cheney said in an interview airing Monday, as controversy about the 'war on terror' detention camp flared anew over the latest revelation of detainee treatment.
'At present, there's no plan to close Gitmo. The president says we review all of our options on a continuous basis,' Cheney told Fox News, using a slang term for the site.