al Qaeda - Saddam Connection

The proof is in the capture of a former-Iraqi officer who was and is a senior al Qaeda leader. Those of us who believed there was a connection between Saddam's Iraq and al Qaeda await even more evidence.

Why haven't we known of this connection or this capture before now? The guy has been providing information -- information which authorities wisely chose not to leak, obviously.

Credit: Perish the Thought

Message to Joe Lieberman:

What Gull said, Joe.

Switch to the Republican caucus and save the credibility of Congress, the Senate and the U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Please, Joe.

The troops need you.

Remembering the Victims

We are the Hokie Nation!

RIGHT ON!

Thanks for sharing, Gull --

Watch the video.

Yes, I'm going to DC on May 26.

The Romney Surge

It is more than his ability to raise funds. It is his unique style of confidence and intellect.

America needs Mitt Romney.

ht: Perish the Thought

Feingold-Reid Bill Anticipates Veto

Here come the pigs again .... Here come the pigs!!!


Why do these dems waste their time, the President's time and taxpayers' money trying to legislate the war against terror? They knew the President would veto their pork-laden bill to fund troops (with withdrawal deadlines).

So now we have the Feingold-Reid Troop Redeployment Bill:

(a) Transition of Mission - The President shall promptly transition the mission of United States forces in Iraq to the limited purposes set forth in subsection (d).
(b) Commencement of Safe, Phased Redeployment from Iraq - The President shall commence the safe, phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq that are not essential to the purposes set forth in subsection (d). Such redeployment shall begin not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Prohibition on Use of Funds - No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under any provision of law may be obligated or expended to continue the deployment in Iraq of members of the United States Armed Forces after March 31, 2008.
(d) Exception for Limited Purposes - The prohibition under subsection (c) shall not apply to the obligation or expenditure of funds for the limited purposes as follows:
(1) To conduct targeted operations, limited in duration and scope, against members of al Qaeda and other international terrorist organizations.
(2) To provide security for United States infrastructure and personnel.
(3) To train and equip Iraqi security services.

It's time for a caucus to defeat the defeatists. It's time for a VICTORY CAUCUS. Let your representatives know that there is only one Commander-in-Chief!

Pelosi's Spring Fling: Bling Blanket Bingo!

From Perish the Thought ......... indeed, Perish the Thought!

Most of us head to the beach on spring break. Not Nancy Pelosi and a delegation of congress-critters. They're off to the Middle East to engage in goodwill and fact-finding.

Oh, dear. Are we about to witness a Pelosi "deer in the headlights" scenario?

It will prove interesting to learn how she will balance (flip-flop?) her opinion(s) on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In prior times, Pelosi told the AIPAC: "There are those who contend that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all about Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza," Pelosi said as she rallied AIPAC loyalists. "This is absolute nonsense. In truth, the history of the conflict is not over occupation, and never has been: it is over the fundamental right of Israel to exist."

In that speech to the American-Israeli lobby group -- the second largest in Washington -- Pelosi declared: "The greatest threat to Israel's right to exist, with the prospect of devastating violence, now comes from Iran. For too long, leaders of both political parties in the United States have not done nearly enough to confront the Russians and the Chinese, who have supplied Iran as it has plowed ahead with its nuclear and missile technology."

Will Pelosi flip-flop her position on Israel's plight to accommodate a revised view of the Palestine issue?

It will be interesting to see ....

After all --- she (like many others) has changed her opinions on Iraq and Saddam:

"As a member of the House Intelligence Committee [December 1998], I am keenly aware that the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is an issue of grave importance to all nations. Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."

Today, however, she recants: "There was never anything in the intelligence that said Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States, never."

It's likely no coincidence that Pelosi will be speaking to the Israeli Parliament on April 1.

They do recognize April Fools Day in Israel, don't they?

Pelosi's Great Adventure

Will Pelosi's Ploy be a spring break bonanza for the moonbat brigade?

Give us a break, prancy-Nancy. Your tactics are a bit too obvious to the O-T-H oracles. Plus you're costing taxpayers millions in jet fuel.

If rumors are correct, Pelosi has her sights on reshaping U.S. foreign policy, including but not limited to peace in the Middle East! Wow. Finally. Going where no man has gone before.

And while you're at it, Madame Speakah, find a cure for jet-lag. You're going to need it!!!

credit: Perish the Thought

Senate Swine Slop Themselves

I'm already sick of them. The swine in the senate have slopped additional pork in with the war funding.

Harry Reid et al can make all the excuses they want, but the bleeding of our military will be on the hands of every Senator who votes for this bill.

Porky Pelosi Gets Her Wish ....BUT --

President Bush speaks about today's vote in the House:

"...The purpose of the emergency war spending bill I requested was to provide our troops with vital funding. Instead, Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater, voted to substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq. They set rigid restrictions that will require an army of lawyers to interpret. They set an arbitrary date for withdrawal without regard for conditions on the ground. And they tacked on billions for pet projects that have nothing to do with winning the war on terror. This bill has too much pork, too many conditions and an artificial timetable for withdrawal.
As I have made clear for weeks, I will veto it if it comes to my desk. And because the vote in the House was so close, it is clear that my veto would be sustained. Today's action in the House does only one thing: it delays the delivering of vital resources for our troops. A narrow majority has decided to take this course, just as General Petraeus and his troops are carrying out a new strategy to help the Iraqis secure their capital city...."

What "pork" was attached?

Check out these for starters:

$500 million for emergency wildfires suppression; the Forest Service currently has $831 million for this purpose;
$400 million for rural schools;
$283 million for the Milk Income Loss Contract program;
$120 million to compensate for the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the shrimp and menhaden fishing industries;
$100 million for citrus assistance;
$74 million for peanut storage costs;
$60.4 million for salmon fisheries in the Klamath River region in California and Oregon;
$50 million for asbestos mitigation at the U.S. Capitol Plant;
$48 million in salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency;
$35 million for NASA risk mitigation projects in Gulf Coast;
$25 million for spinach growers;
$25 million for livestock;
$20 million for Emergency Conservation Program for farmland damaged by freezing temperatures;
$16 million for security upgrades to House of Representatives office buildings;
$10 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission for the Rio Grande Flood Control System Rehabilitation project;
$6.4 million for House of Representative’s Salaries and Expenses Account for business continuity and disaster recovery expenses;
$5 million for losses suffered by aquaculture businesses including breeding, rearing, or transporting live fish as a result of viral hemorrhagic septicemia;
$4 million for the Office of Women’s Health at the Food and Drug Administration; and
A minimum wage increase, which is the subject of separate legislation.

In the Senate, these are the anticipated pork attachments:

$1.5 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers for recovery along the coast, including funding for Hawaii for an April 2006 flood;
$850 million for Department of Homeland Security grants ($625M for rail/transit grants, $190M for port security grants, and $35M for urban area security grants);
$660 million for the procurement of an explosives detection system for the Transportation Security Administration;
$640 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program;
$425 million for education grants for rural areas;
$388.9 million for a backlog of Department of Transportation projects;
$165.9 million (including $60.4 million for salmon fisheries in the Klamath Basin region) for fisheries disaster relief;
$75 million for salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency;
$48 million in disaster construction money for NASA;
$25 million for grants through the Safe and Drug Free Schools program;
$25 million for asbestos abatement at the Capitol Power Plant;
$24 million to sugar beet producers;
$22.8 million for geothermal research and development;
$20 million for reimbursements to Nevada for “insect damage;”
$12 million for Forest Service money requested by the president in the non-emergency FY2008 budget
$3.5 million for guided tours of the Capitol;
$3 million for sugar cane; and
Allows the transfer of funds from holiday ornament sales in the Senate gift shop.

Updates later .....

LONG OVER-DUE --

The Victory Caucus -- a consortium of bloggers working to defeat Congressional defeatists. Visit the site. Check it out. If you agree with the premises of the Victory Caucus --- join.


If we are to restore respect and support for our troops and their mission in Iraq -- as well as the war against terrorism, we must be willing to work together to replace the Defeatists in Congress.

The Eagles Have Landed

First Gull caws a live blog of the anti-war rally.


Then Reveller beefs up a look at the protest mooooooovement.


No matter how you slice it -- last weekend's protest organizers may soon be put out to pasture.


THANKS, EAGLES!!

Reving Up for Romney

Mitt Romney is moving up in polls and in endorsements --- Check out his progress at

Romney in the News

GATHERING OF EAGLES

Join a GATHERING OF EAGLES in Washington, DC on March 17, 2007 ..... Participants will be gathering at The Wall and other memorials to protect them from anti-war vandals.

MSM Tourniquet for the Slow Bleeding Dems

From the (gasp!) Washington Post:

Not the 'Real Vote'
Or so Rep. John Murtha says of the House's Iraq resolution.

Saturday, February 17, 2007; Page A30

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D-Pa.) has a message for anyone who spent the week following the House of Representatives' marathon debate on Iraq: You've been distracted by a sideshow. "We have to be careful that people don't think this is the vote," the 74-year-old congressman said of the House's 246-182 decision in favor of a resolution disapproving of President Bush's troop surge. "The real vote will come on the legislation we're putting together." That would be Mr. Murtha's plan to "stop the surge" and "force a redeployment" of U.S. forces from Iraq while ducking the responsibility that should come with such a radical step.

We'll return to Mr. Murtha's plan, but first it's worth considering the five days of debate that he so breezily dismissed. It's true that nonbinding resolutions won't stop the troop surge, which is already underway. But after years of minimal debate and oversight of the war, the House Democratic leadership was right to allow scores of representatives to speak at some length on Iraq. Some of the speeches were little more than partisan rhetoric, but there were also intelligent and heartfelt interventions, especially from veterans of Iraq and Vietnam.

The House vote does matter: It ought to increase the pressure on Mr. Bush and the Iraqi government to follow through on their pledges to accompany the military campaign with tangible steps toward political accords and economic reconstruction. Senate leaders would be wise to reach an agreement today allowing a similar debate. And both chambers should aggressively conduct oversight hearings aimed at holding the administration to its promise to link continued U.S. troop deployments to Iraqi performance.

Mr. Murtha has a different idea. He would stop the surge by crudely hamstringing the ability of military commanders to deploy troops. In an interview carried Thursday by the Web site MoveCongress.org, Mr. Murtha said he would attach language to a war funding bill that would prohibit the redeployment of units that have been at home for less than a year, stop the extension of tours beyond 12 months, and prohibit units from shipping out if they do not train with all of their equipment. His aim, he made clear, is not to improve readiness but to "stop the surge." So why not straightforwardly strip the money out of the appropriations bill -- an action Congress is clearly empowered to take -- rather than try to micromanage the Army in a way that may be unconstitutional? Because, Mr. Murtha said, it will deflect accusations that he is trying to do what he is trying to do. "What we are saying will be very hard to find fault with," he said.

Mr. Murtha's cynicism is matched by an alarming ignorance about conditions in Iraq. He continues to insist that Iraq "would be more stable with us out of there," in spite of the consensus of U.S. intelligence agencies that early withdrawal would produce "massive civilian casualties." He says he wants to force the administration to "bulldoze" the Abu Ghraib prison, even though it was emptied of prisoners and turned over to the Iraqi government last year. He wants to "get our troops out of the Green Zone" because "they are living in Saddam Hussein's palace"; could he be unaware that the zone's primary occupants are the Iraqi government and the U.S. Embassy?

It would be nice to believe that Mr. Murtha does not represent the mainstream of the Democratic Party or the thinking of its leadership. Yet when asked about Mr. Murtha's remarks Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered her support. Does Ms. Pelosi really believe that the debate she orchestrated this week was not "the real vote"? If the answer is yes, she is maneuvering her party in a way that can only do it harm.

Thank you, WP. It's about time MSM woke up and told the world what is REALLY happening.

Hillary's Health Care Plan

All we need. Socialized medicine. Quick fixes. Long lines. Just check out this secret plan in Hillary's universal health care package ...

1. Stare into the cat's eyes.


2. Now watch these puppies.



3. Take the elevator down to the medical assessment area, please.



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4. Come back in six months. Your cat scan and lab work will require FURRther assessment!






hee hee hee hee hee.

Beyond THE PLEDGE

I stand with Perish the Thought and our troops.

If democrats want to place politics and personal ambition above supporting our military mission in Iraq, let them be bound by their defeatist "un-binding" resolution.

I signed THE PLEDGE.

Happy Holidays!

Learning that Iraqi militia leaders are discussing the possibility of halting their assaults on one another may be the gift of a life-time for Iraqis, for the Middle East and for our troops in harm's way .... It is a long-overdue step in the right direction. Iraqis SHOULD soon be assuming responsibility for their own security, economic welfare and progress. While I'm not one to believe that our troops will ever literally be "brought home enmass," i.e., without some in-country support system to aid the Iraqis -- I pray that my positive feelings about the region are a sign of the future.

Moving to the middle, after all -- should be the goal of most societies and religions and politicians .... with respect for all .... May there be peace throughout the region of the birthplace of Christ ....

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and especially warm wishes for a more peaceful New Year!

Al-Qaeda Congratulates Democrats --

.... then reaffirms their intent to bomb the White House.

That sure caught everyone by surprise. I refer to the threat, of course. Here's what the AFP reports:

Another alpha-bet chief in Iraq threatened (in an audio message posted on the Internet) that the Al-Qaeda et al terror network will "blow up the White House" among other rants and warnings.

"We announce today the end of a phase of the jihad (holy war) and the start of a new one... to usher in the project of an Islamic caliphate and restore Islam's glory," Abu Hamza al-Muhajer said in the message.

"We swear we will not rest from our jihad... before blowing up the filthiest house, dubbed the White House," in the course of establishing the caliphate which began with the proclamation of an Islamic state in Iraq, he said.

"The location chosen by your mujahedeen brethren to set up their state... is but a stepping stone for the leap," Muhajer said, referring to the "Islamic state of Iraq" proclaimed last month.
An alliance of Sunni insurgents headed by the Iraq branch of Al-Qaeda announced the creation of an independent Islamic emirate in Iraq in a video posted on the Internet on October 15, after parliament in Baghdad approved a federal constitution for the war-ravaged country.

In Friday's message, Muhajer said he had mobilized 12,000 fighters for the Islamic state and was grooming 10,000 more.

"I tell the commander of the faithful, the honorable Sheikh Abu Omar al-Baghdadi: I have put 12,000 Al-Qaeda fighters at the disposal of the Islamic state of Iraq," Muhajer said, pledging allegiance to the state's emir.

The Al-Qaeda chief appealed to major Iraqi Sunni insurgent groups, notably the Army of Ansar al-Sunna, the Islamic Army of Iraq and the Mujahedeen's Army, to endorse the self-styled state and pledge allegiance to its emir.

Muhajer slammed US President George W. Bush, gloated over his Republican party's defeat in mid-term elections widely attributed to US involvement in Iraq, and said US forces occupying the country were preparing to cut and run.

"The enemy is now teetering under the blows of the mujahedeen... and preparing to pack up and flee," he said.

"I thank the most stupid and worst president America -- the country of slaves and drugs -- has ever had for giving us this great historic opportunity," said the voice.

"The American people have taken the first step on the right path in order to get out of their impasse and have started to realize the treachery of their president and his subordination to Israel, voting for a measure of reason in the latest elections," Muhajer said.

"I tell (Bush): don't hurry to flee like your defense minister (Donald Rumsfeld, who resigned Wednesday). We have still not quenched our thirst for your blood."

Muhajer also charged that Bush's policies had enabled Shiite Iran to spread its influence in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries.

Alphabet-man's rhetoric has a familiar ring ....... Many of his observations appear to have been lifted right out of recent campaign speeches .... You don't think ..... nahhhhhh .... no way.

No way.

Ya think?

Armistice (Post-Election) Time

With rumors that Allen will concede the VA election (though Burns is still holding out), what we need is to call for an election armistice and get back to the business of politics -- I mean, governing.

Saturday is the real Armistice Day, by the way. It's now called Veterans Day.

Here, let Garrison Keillor explain it for you. He's a liberal, but he at least surrounds himself with what appears to be a down-homesy staff that edits politics from his newsletter (can't say the same for his live shows).

November 11 was originally called Armistice Day because it was on this day in 1918 that the First World War came to an end. After four years of brutal trench fighting, 9 million soldiers had died and 21 million were wounded. It was called "The War to End All Wars," because it was the bloodiest war in history up to that point, and it made many people so sick of war that they hoped no war would ever break out again.

Many intellectuals and artists were disillusioned by the war. The philosopher Bertrand Russell said, "All this madness, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilization and our hopes, has been brought about because a set of official gentlemen, living luxurious lives, mostly stupid, and all without imagination or heart, have chosen that it should occur rather than that any one of them should suffer some infinitesimal rebuff to his country's pride."

Fly a flag on Saturday. If there is a Veterans parade or commemorative service in your area, take the kids ..... Appreciation, honor, respect, etc., begin at home.