Uuuummm, Goldberg and Steyn 2006 Predictions

Re(1): 'NRO’s 2006 Crystal Ball', http://www.nationalreview.com, Editors and Writers thereof

Dear God, Noooooooooooooooo...

Jonah Goldberg

• Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame will enter talks to launch their own talk/reality show. Even after a sweeps week episode in which Wilson eats 6 pounds of yellow cake from in-between Plame's cleavage with his hands tied behind his back, he will take great offense at anyone who suggests he's a publicity hound.
  
• Abu Zarqawi will be caught alive. But he will hang himself in his cell when Reuters reports that Iraqi authorities found the director's cut of Brokeback Mountain in his portable DVD player.

Mark Steyn

• Hollywood will have another bad year following the failure of its latest critically-acclaimed masterpiece. In Broke Bank Mountin', the entire movie industry is flying in a jet to New York when a terrorist stewardess announces she's crushing their dissent by crashing the plane into the Empire State Building. Fortunately, an unemployed giant gorilla from Animal Equity is rampaging around at the top of the tower after his film career tanked when he agreed to take a challenging role in which he played the world's first gay giant gorilla and answers a personal ad in the Village Voice from a plus-sized bear. The enraged ape reaches into the sky and picks up the plane, sending the terrorist stewardess tumbling to the back of coach, where her wig falls off and she's revealed to be Dick Cheney. Industry insiders will be taken aback by the $300-million multi-Oscar-nominated flop but have high hopes for the new Spielberg movie Cycle Of Violence starring Nicole Kidman and Kate Winslet as Israeli and Palestinian unicyclists who elope after the Cirque du Soleil opening ceremony at the Italian Olympics.

2006 New Year's Predictions!!!

Re(1): 'Predictions for 2006', www.politicalfred.blogspot.com , Political Fred
Re(2): 'The Net Never Forgets', www.BoghieOnYourSix.BlogSpot.com, Me

I was going to blather about predictions for 2006 when I started surfing though my blog roll... Alas, Political Fred's synopses fired before any of my caffeine induced nodes awoke...

Predictions are fun. For example, in June 2004 I got into a tussle with someone named Julius on the 'Command Post' regarding the direction Iraq would subsequently take. So, naturally someone as cocky as I would have to review the wager at a later date in 'The Net Never Forgets'. Check out the original Command Post discussion - quite wide ranging...

So here are some aditional projections to think about:

1. Iran gets sanctioned - effectively (look at map)
2. Iraq will no longer be the major combat theater in the GWOT
3. Afghanistan will move farther away from active combat in the GWOT
4. Pakistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt will become combat zones in the GWOT (1)
5. The Hard Left will drag the Center Left into political oblivion in America
   Senate: 58 Republicans, 42 Democrats
   House: ~235, Republicans, ~200 Democrats
   Media: Krugman and Scheer scale lifestyle downward (2)

Predictions can be dangerous - will the above post land in my 'My Flameouts' (currently empty) blogroll of shame!!!

(1) I think, however, that only Syria and possibly Pakistan will require American forces. Saudi Arabia and Egypt seem to be moving smartly forward using their 'police' forces.

(2) And there will be another huge media scandal prompted by bias and topic ignorance. How long are we going to trust the ignorant to report on the complicated - especially when their biases taint their view?

Why They Don’t Fight…

The Left does not fight because they are not at war…

It was not New York City that was attacked. It was not Washington D.C. that was attacked. It was not the Capital Building that was targeted. It was an icon of global trade and capitalism that was attacked. It was an icon of military power and leadership that was attacked. It was an icon of world political power and dominance that was attacked.

Fundamentally, we know why al Qaeda struck those targets. All Americans know. Deep in our hearts and minds. Al Qaeda struck those targets because they were icons of Western Civilization.

But they are not the respected icons of the Left’s Western Civilization. Thus, to the Left, 9/11 is an egregious crime that must be prosecuted – but not something that challenges their stilted version of our civilization.

So we get the ‘nuanced’ Munich and Syriana. We get peace marches. We get the Lefty media railing that our espionage efforts infringes on privacy rights – without any examples of such espionage infringing on our citizens rights.

Now for something completely different!!! Something unnecessary in any war since at least the birth of the twentieth century. The American public is TELLING you not to denigrate our culture by ignoring the targeted terror of certain sectors of it. We are TELLING you that there is no sophomoric equivalence between the Mossad and the PLO. We are TELLING you that we do not fight for oil, but we will fight for our ideals. We are TELLING you to respect us. Just check out the ratings of Air America and the box office returns on Syriana and Munich ( www.radioandrecords.com, www.boxofficemojo.com ). And, that is why I wrote ‘our espionage efforts’ in the preceding paragraph – something certain to cause lefties to grind their teeth. YOU have to understand that WE have to win this war.

However, if you are an Idiotarian Lefty, please understand that the next targets are yours:

• CNN
• Paris
• Toronto
• Hollywood
• Amsterdam
• San Francisco
• United Nations
• Gay Pride Parades

Radical Islamists hate the corrupting influence of soft western power as well. The best of them (al Qaeda) target not just people, but icons of our civilization. Thank God, on this Christmas Eve, that al Qaeda targeted the part of America that fights back rather than cowers down!

'The Democratic Way of War' - A Mental Image...

Re(1): 'Nelson's Medals and Decorations', www.twogreens.com

I was looking for a vibrant graphic to illustrate a mental image representing ‘The Democratic Way of War’… A way of war which pits a self-blinded and mutilated man in a life and death struggle with barbaric and inhuman enemies.

No hits… None… Nada...

You would think that the party of Vietnam, the Iran Hostage Rescue, and Mogadishu would have a cultural icon representing their war fighting prowess.

I thought I could search for it using '+"self-blinded" +"self-mutilated" +war +hero +Democratic +Party'.

That should do it!!!

Then again, I think that the Moonbat Left doesn’t think we are at war – so maybe we have to wait till there is an obvious enemy… I can only assume that 3000 murders on 9/11 were acceptable casualties in the effort to incarcerate World Court fugitives.

Looks like some enterprising artist is going to have to create the logo from scratch...

Addendum:

However, if one seeks a real blind, one-armed warrior look no farther than:

Somehow, I don’t think Admiral Horatio Nelson comes to mind as the icon of the Modern Democratic Party. Senators Kerry, Boxer, Kennedy, Durbin, and Congresscritters Pelosi, and Murtha probably don't know who Horatio Nelson was. The smarter of the Idiotarians probably think he was an oppressed, physically challenged, non-smoker who died at the hands of violent gun toting militarists…

Oh well…

Red/Blue in the Middle East!!!

Re(1): 'Daly Thoughts', Gerry Daly
Re(2): 'ECB Classic', Gerry Daly

Seeking a concise graphic demonstrating the political mood of the Middle East, I belatedly remembered Gerry Daly’s fine electoral maps leading up to the United States Presidential election.

To that end, I surmise that the Middle East ‘electoral college’ map at the end of the Clinton Legacy must have looked much like the following *:

Islamic Terror had a complete 'Crescent of Terror' stretching from Iran through Iraq to Syria/Lebanon. A financial and logistics ally was to be found within Wahabist Saudi Arabia. Egypt provided manpower, material, and moral support to the good cause. Pakistan and Afghanistan overtly trained Jihadists on a training schedule reminiscent of Marine Corps Boot Camp. Sunni al Qaeda and Shiite Hezbollah and 'secular' Bathists got along well enough for government work.








Recent polling (Iraqi parliamentary vote for a permanent government, Lebanon election, and anti-terrorist actions in Saudi Arabia) illustrate a structural shift in the Middle East ‘electoral college’.


Iraq has steadily progressed toward becoming a viable member of the civilized world. Additionally, it now has over 290,000 American trained troops which, in concert with the large coalition contingent, acts as a very strong regional blocking force countering state sponsored Islamic Terror. No longer is the 'Crescent of Terror' unbroken. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan are all fighting Islamic Terror for their own reasons - but at least they are not overt and proud sponsors of terror. Syria has been pushed out of Lebanon - which subsequently voted reasonable leadership into office. Iran is now surrounded - and very susceptible to blockade, covert operations, and overt military strike.





Please visit often to get updates. The next scheduled polling will occur in 2009 when the next Iraqi parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place. Of course, if special elections are scheduled in any of the regional nation states you can expect contemporaneous analysis on these pages.

Readers may cringe at the use of the familiar Red/Blue color coding. Some (Dean/Kerry/Pelosi/Kennedy/Kucinich/etc.) note that the overtly American cultural influence may not be sensitive to all the ‘voters’ or the region. That seeing the world in Red and Blue is simplistic and does not incorporate all the shades of grey in the region. However, I contend that you are ‘with us, or with the terrorists’. That you take the 'Cut and Run' approach to dealing with the ‘root causes’ of Islamic Terror, or you take the ‘Total Victory’ approach. All implications of this statement are known to the author!!!

* State run polls by autocratic totalitarian regimes are as notoriously useless as presidential polls by John Zogby.

None for you…

To the Hard Left,
When November 2006 rolls around please understand you will get no credit for:

• Victory in Iraq
• Democracy in Iraq
• Birth of Freedom for millions
• A Democratic Ally in the Middle East
• A Growing GDP
• Full Employment
• A Shrinking Deficit

You have painted yourselves, and the decrepit Democratic Party, into a corner where predictions of doom and gloom die an inglorious and embarrassing death. The internet, with its ability to store the written word, the telling sound byte, and the irrefutable video clip will not reflect well on your ignorant and silly clique. You will be forgiven, but not forgotten. The web will destroy any attempt by any future Nostradamus diviners in the media to recreate your legacy. Their interpretation of Dean/Kerry/Kennedy/Pelosi/Murtha quatrains will fail miserably in comparison with contemporary discussion by the likes of Fernandez, Roggio, and Mixed Humor…

I now give you nothing, ever…

You ARE a waste of time and space...

You get NO credit for the birth of freedom in the Middle East; and the integration of those millions into the community of civilized nations.

Enjoy your decades in the wilderness…

I know this entry is forever, as are this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this…

Those are mine; see ‘My Favorite Posts’ for a small set of fine projections from primary sources…

Mighty Chinese Armada spotted rounding South Korean peninsula!!!

Re(1): 'The ten-foot tall midget', BelmontClub, Wretchard TC

A vast armada of Chinese coastal patrol boats and freighters was spotted rounding the South Korean peninsula - heading into the open ocean. Satellite surveillance photos show thousands or millions or billions of armed Chinese Army soldiers on the decks of the freighter armada. This is, apparently, a strong and unbeatable military response to America’s very aggressive condemnation of the recent Guangdong Province Windmill massacre.

Sources fear that this fleet is a vanguard attack force expected to strike the beaches of California. The Chinese Armada was moving at the rather brisk pace of six knots when last seen. South Korean, Japanese, and American Air Force assets in the region are warily watching its progress – but are reluctant to attack a motley collection of slow moving freighters. At this pace the potential strike force will require three weeks to reach the west coast of the United States.

As a precaution, the United States is vectoring three Nimitz class carriers and battle groups into the convoy's path. These carrier battle fleets will be in position within three days. Military officials are calling this Operation Red Dawn Overwatch. Sources inside the Pentagon are rather incredulous about this overt military action by the Chinese government. Privately, they express concern that aggressive American action against this force would result in international condemnation and nationwide peace marches. Army sources fear that it will be too late to do anything if the soldiers aboard the freighters off load in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and/or Seattle. International ANSWER rallies are being organized in each of these ports.

In response, Democrats are generating a cohesive plan in opposition to the Administration. Representative Murtha recommends ‘strategically redeploying our ground forces to Iraq to avoid unnecessary casualties’. Deeply emotional, he lamented the potential loss of American lives if a plane or ship crashes into a Chinese freighter. His strongest concern is that the war will last weeks and weeks. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi came out swinging in strong support for Murtha’s strategy. During a speech at the Cindy Sheehan Peace House, Former Presidential candidate Senator Kerry brazenly challenged the Administration, demanding UN meetings and international conferences. Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean commented that:

this war cannot be won, in fact we have already lost it. We always lose
wars. There are billions of Chinese in this word, and they all seem real mad at
us. This Administration can’t solve everything through military
action.

Many Democrats privately worry that a defeatist attitude regarding defending American cities and soil might further emphasize a perception that Democrats are ‘weak on defense’. They hearken back to President Carter who boycotted the Moscow Olympics as the strong response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Senator Harkin strongly supports boycotting the Chinese Olympics in a strong show of American resolve.

Diplomatic efforts are being made to determine the military intent of this incursion.

Three Conjectures – Revisited…

Re(1): 'Donald Rumsfeld on Iraq', BelmontClub, Wretchard TC
Re(2): ‘Three Conjectures’, BelmontClub, Wretchard TC
Re(3): ‘Carnage and Culture’, http://www.amazon.com/, Book Reviews
Re(4): ‘The Pentagon’s New Map’, Thomas Barnett
Re(5): ‘The Blitz Comes to London’, BelmontClub, Wretchard TC
Re(6): 'Tribes', EjectEjectEject, William Whittle
Re(7): 'National Strategy for Victory in Iraq', http://www.whitehouse.gov
Re(8): 'Strategic overview', http://denbeste.nu, Den Beste
Re(9): 'The Rise, Peak, Decline and Defeat of Iraq's Insurgency', SecurityWatchTower, Mixed Humor
Re(10): 'Winning the War on Terror', BoghieOnYourSix, Me

In ‘Three Conjectures’ Wretchard postulates that a repeatable WMD strike by Islamic Terror would result in the complete destruction of Islam…

To summarize:

Conjecture 1: Terrorism has lowered the nuclear threshold.

the nuclear threshold against a terrorism may be crossed once they get the capability to attack with weapons of mass destruction. Unlike the old early warning systems, designed to gauge Soviet intent, the intelligence systems of the War on Terror are meant to measure capability. The relevant Cold War question was 'do they intend to use the Bomb?'. In the War on Terror, the relevant question is simply 'do they have the Bomb?' This puts the nuclear threshold very low.

Conjecture 2: Attaining WMDs will destroy Islam

The so-called strengths of Islamic terrorism: fanatical intent; lack of a centralized leadership; absence of a final authority and cellular structure guarantee uncontrollable escalation once the nuclear threshold is crossed. Therefore the 'rational' American response to the initiation of terrorist WMD attack would be all out retaliation from the outset.

Conjecture 3: The War on Terror is the 'Golden Hour' -- the final chance

It is supremely ironic that the survival of the Islamic world should hinge on an American victory in the War on Terror, the last chance to prevent that terrible day in which all the decisions will have already been made for us.

An element Wretchard does not point out in this prescient discussion revolves around ‘the Western Way of War’. In ‘Carnage and Culture’ (published August 14, 2001) , Victor Davis Hanson convincingly postulates a number of conjectures as well:

Conjecture 1: The West can, and does, fight on the enemies turf.

While Eastern modeled autocracies can, and do, strike in the heart of western polities their ability to export war is not sustainable and not conclusive. Easterns autocracies fundamentally fight a raiding style of battle emphasizing face and honor. Conversely, the technologically and economically and socially advanced West shoves the war to the heart of the enemy and seeks to tear that life sustaining organ out of the vanquished – permanently.

Conjecture 2: Once aroused, Democracies Fight Total War

an approach to battle that has been evolving since the time of the ancient Greeks, and that now involves applying maximum discipline and violence at the point of engagement in order to annihilate, not merely defeat, an opponent. William Holmes, Amazon book review of ‘Carnage and Culture’

and...

the direct action model of warfare creates a ruthlessness, a directness, and a constant search for the decisive battle, which Hanson argues, is peculiarly western. Thus in the second world war Marshall argued for the direct frontal assault on German occupied Europe as the correct search for the decisive battle. Newt Gingrich, Amazon book review of ‘Carnage and Culture’

Conjecture 3: The West can, and does, export its values.

Democracies rarely fight with one another. Looking in the crystal ball it is difficult to envision a conflict with democratic Germany, Italy, or Japan. Likewise, there does not seem to be intercene conflict with Australia, Canada, and France. Pax Americana is predicated on the belief that America can, and does, export its values via soft and hard power. Hard power is visible in the military component in the Global War on Terror. Soft power is visible in the growing democratic realities of Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebenon, Jordan, and the Middle East – not to mention the expansion of ideas through mediums that cannot be controlled by the worlds autocracies (Internet, FAXs, cell phones, etc.).

Thus, the west is expanding the core and shrinking the gap. If the idiotic Left and moronic paleocons can be marginalized and/or ignored for a few short months or years the wheel of progress will have rotated beyond the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. As Wretchard states in ‘The Blitz Comes to London’:

Insular Britain, which fought a long terrorist war against the IRA is one of the hardest targets in the Western world. There is no reason, in principle, why similar attacks cannot happen on a larger or deadlier scale in some American or Australian city, less prepared than London -- or indeed anyplace in the world -- such as Thailand, India or the Philippines -- where they have happened already. As long as Islamic fundamentalist terror exists danger will exist. Liberals may believe that accommodation, appeasement or flattery can change this correspondence. But terrorism will remind the world as often as it needs reminding that there isn't room enough on the planet for Islamic terror and civilization.

Faster. Please.

Solutions can be gleaned within the valuable discussions taking place in these references - and many others. Basically, they fall into two categories:

Wretchard's 3rd Conjecture, as summarized in:

1. 'National Strategy for Victory in Iraq', Bush Administration
2. 'Strategic overview', Den Beste
3. 'The Rise, Peak, Decline and Defeat of Iraq's Insurgency', Mixed Humor
4. 'Winning the War on Terror', Me

or, regretfully, Wretchard's Second Conjecture - which I postulate does not, in actuality, require a repeatable WMD attack capability by Islamic Terror. Prior even to the possession of WMD; weak, indecisive, dithering, and/or corrupt leadership by the West rolls the wheel in this regrettable direction.

Faster, Please...

The Party of Nothing…

Our nation’s polity depends on an adversarial two party system.

We are now a one party state. The only party is the Republican Party. The Democratic Party is all over but the crying. There is no debate from a viable Left. There is no viable Left.

Can one imagine a Howard Dean, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, or John Murtha as the leader of a great nation at war? I am not even whining about their current wailing. I cannot envision these leaders of a pathetic clique ever convincing this great nation that anything at all is worth fighting for. Nothing is worth fighting for.

Can one envision Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, or Charles Schumer as leaders of a great nation requiring clear, strong, and decisive leadership? For years now they seem evasive, opportunistic, and conflicted. Nothing they say is believable. Nothing is worth standing for.

Will Americans vote for people they cannot trust, for people who stand for nothing, for people so conflicted they defend nothing? I think not, and increasingly so.

A New Favorite

Re(1): 'The Rise, Peak, Decline and Defeat of Iraq's Insurgency', SecurityWatchTower.com, Mixed Humor

Mixed Humor tracks four distinct phases of Iraq's insurgency.

To tempt the six or so folks who actually seem to have this blog in their favorites:

Ultimately 2006 is poised to be a transitional year with more achievements and successes, and more work remains. Certainly there will be violence in Iraq for a long period of time, but the tide has tipped on an insurgency that offers no political alternatives, is experiencing inner divisions between the different groups, has suffered tremendous losses of key leadership and other personnel, and is increasingly seeing their areas of operations challenged.

Tremendous consolidation of coalition/insurgent/civilian statistics...

This article obviously belongs in the 'My Favorite Posts'...

Very Nice Summary...

Recommended Reading List:

'The End of the Beginning', BelmontClub, Wretchard TC
'The Battle for Mosul IV', MichaelYon, Michael Yon
'Oh Bla Di, Oh Bla Da', BoghieOnYourSix, Me

Enjoy...

NewsSplats!!!

Re(1): 'Two al Qaeda leaders killed in seperate incidents', SecurityWatchTower, Mixed Humor
Re(2): 'The Unstoppable IED', BelmontClub, Wretchard TC
Re(3): 'The Marines in Fallujah', HughHewitt, Hugh Hewitt

1. Americans Bombing Insurgents in Pakistan, Civilian Casualties…

‘Human Rights Watch’ is seeking donations of computers and word processors from pacifists the world over. Modern equipment is needed to publicly decry President Bush’s use of assassination in the war on terror… Additionally, America is once again not respecting the sovereign borders of a sovereign nation. As we all know, al Qaeda is in Afghanistan, not Pakistan. Scores, I mean tens, actually ones, of civilian young Arab jihadi innocents die in attack. Other conflicted, but certain, Leftists honorably change their 2001 written opinions that President Bush should have sent assassination squads into Afghanistan to kill Osama bin Laden - and only Osama bin Laden. It is now believed that targeted assassination is just as wrong as an illegal and immoral war. Find another way, but not in our name.

2. Insurgent Collapses Building on Self after Russians Scare Him

“Abu Omar Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Saif, a Saudi al Qaeda commander in Chechnya” committed ritual, heroic, some would say Hannibalistic, suicide by exploding a piece of random ordinance he was carrying with him (for whatever reason). A Chechen doctor carrying a Kalashnikov rifle factually stated that the building was an orphanage in which a wedding party taking place. Thousands of women and children and Abu himself died in the conflagration.

3. Americans Victims of Super Weapons, Have NO Answer…

A roadside bomb kills ten Marines, wounds eleven. A coerced informant tip results in a strike from out of the blue - without giving the jihadis a chance to defend themselves. Thousands of innocent insurgents and acquaintances die every month as a result of the cowardly use of missiles, artillery, and other advanced weaponry. To combat American hegemony, France is seeking UN support in outlawing the use of missiles, rockets, advanced radios, aircraft, aircraft carriers, helicopters, armored vehicles, and military spending in excess of 1% of GDP. If even the French can’t compete in high tech warfare, what are we to say about our insurgent competitors?

Everyday, remind yourself that your nation, country, and civilization are at war...

Must Reads...

The most interesting reads of the day...

1. Wretchard at the Belmont Club discusses the concept of NetWar... This is a bit of sarcasm:

If technology has undermined the bureaucratic state, then the intellectual heirs of Westphalia, with their visions of supranational institutions will have truly confused the problem for the solution. In the face of increasing attacks by networks of criminals and terrorists, their answer will be bigger, more international bureaucracies. The United Nations will become the smallest unit capable of fighting modern terrorism. And some would call that good.

The Left, fighting swarms of plankton with leviathans...


2. And, to make optimal use of your soft power folks have to show up and be persuaded...

For years the United Nations presented itself as a saintly organization bent on saving the whales when it wasn't preserving world peace. Reality fell somewhat short of this ideal, and the process of disillusionment is always painful to watch. In a way, even those who didn't believe in the fake labels can feel a sense of loss at watching the hope, and then the belief fade from the faces of those who have been suckered. The truth will set you free; but first it will make you miserable.

Where is John Clese when you need him...

Oh, that's right, I saw him writing the lyrics of 'Brave Sir Murtha' on a napkin - while Cindy Sheehan clopped coconuts together to a lively toon...

Winning the War on Terror...

Re(1): 'The Three Conjectures', BelmontClub, Wretchard TC
Re(2): 'Strategic Overview', USS Clueless, Steven den Beste
Re(3): 'Strategic overview: Annotating and updating Den Beste ', TigerHawk, TigerHawk
Re(4): 'Who's on First', BelmontClub, Wretchard TC

I have asked the question regarding Iraq…

What will winning look like?

So, here is the beginning of an answer:

1. First of all we must accept that Iraq is a focal point in the region. The eyes of modern Islam turn to Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iran for guidance. Prior to 2003 there was an axis of Sunni militancy consisting of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Syria that fermented terror to expand their variant of Islam on the edge of the proverbial sword. Iran competed aggressively to promote their own variant. Please review a map to see the geographical significance of Iraq. Please note the annual pilgrimages to Najaf as a demonstration of the religious significance of Iraq. Please study your texts on Babylon, Asyria, and the Abbasid Caliphate centered in Baghdad as examples of historical significance.

2. Therefore, to compete in this war of ideas we have to either destroy the culture of militant Islam or promote an alternative idea. In this there is no grey area. The opposition fired the starting gun decades ago, gave us a punch we could not ignore, and goaded us into the field in a manner they thought they could control. A sad mistake on their part.

3. Now a guess… Is there anyone out there that doesn’t think the American government didn’t develop a plan to deal with Islamic Terrorism when/if it hit us hard? These plans were probably initiated under Nixon, goobered up under the Carter foolishness, reinitiated in the Reagan era, structured under Bush I, conflated and conflicted during the brilliant Clinton foreign affairs administration, and were in the process of being regenerated under W.

Therefore:

Maybe, just maybe, these administrations wanted to avoid a massively destructive and culturally caustic Total War. They, and all of us, wanted to resolve this conflict in a way that does not kill hundreds of millions (mostly Arab civilians) and destroy our open society. Thus Iraq…

• We needed to break the Crescent of Terror
• We want to give Iraq the chance to Reform Islam
• And provide a Shining City on the Hill for the rest of the Region

We will know when we are winning, or have won, when Iraq starts pulling other regional entities out of the 7th Century and into the 20th Century. When those entities can no longer bitch and whine about Israel and the Great Satan. When those ‘citizens’ form consensual governments and end their subjugation under regional ‘strong men’. When the regions economies are expanding rather than contracting. When those basic constructs are visible we will know we have moved forward in this conflict.

My contention is that this reformation is occurring now. My contention is that W struck as Churchill would have struck – before the cancer spread to the point where the patient had to be killed and the doctor wounded. To the Left, are you proud of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Dresden, Stalin’s gulags, and the Iron Curtain? Dithering in the 1930s resulted in invasive surgery in the 1940s. Back then it was the Paleolithic Right, now it is the Conflicted Left. Do you want your generation to be remembered as we remember Charles Lindberg, and Henry Ford, and even grand pappa Bush. I hope not...

Note: Iraq is merely a theater in the Global War on Militant Islam. Winning in Iraq or Afghanistan or Indonesia does not imply total and complete victory. Our goal is, and should remain, Total Victory.

Mawkish Murtha Quits Again...

Did the 'defense hawk' Congressman Murtha promote the inglorious, and with 20/20 hindsight, exceedingly dangerous retreat from Somalia in 1993...

I can hear the 'Brave Sir Robin' songs being scratched onto napkins - preening about the exploits of Mawkish Sir Murtha.

The Left in this country is in trouble when a Monty Python skit comes to mind when they trot out their war heroes and 'defense hawks' in a time of conflict...

Update (2005/11/24 0746):
Another thought. 'Mawkish Sir Murtha' can be sung to the Democrats favorite marshall music - 'Brave Sir Robin' by Monty Python. The video could portray one of our ignorant, uneducated, low skilled, poverty stricken louts that are coerced into our ‘volunteer’ military as the war horse (the chap with the coconut shells).

Visiting and Re-Visiting the Wayback Machine...

Re(1): 'Strategic Overview', USS Clueless, Steven den Beste
Re(2): 'Strategic overview: Annotating and updating Den Beste ', TigerHawk, TigerHawk

The above resources are critical to understanding our times...

There is NO War in France…

Re(1): 'Once in France', The Belmont Club, Wretchard TC
Re(1): 'Do You Hear the People Sing?', The Belmont Club, Wretchard TC

Right Now!!!???

Smart people are using hyperbole to describe the conflict in France.

To the annoyance of both Francophiles and Leftist acolytes of the Fifth Republic, the actions in France at most still seem to be a battle of opportunity for the local disaffected. We do not know if it has been initiated, or is in the process of being assumed, by Islamist forces. It is a misuse of the word ‘war’ to ascribe it as such. Since the Global War on Terror has been ongoing for 20 - 40 years, and since the conflict is truly global, and since Europe has previously been a front in the conflict, we must watch for an opportunistic attempt to make France a Front or a Theater of the War. France is the Sickest Man in Europe - but she is by far not the only ill patient in the region. The problem for France is that the assumption by Islamists can occur quickly - and that the French have dithered in normal Leftist indecisiveness. Islamist forces can now capitalize on the power vacuum opening up in large swaths of France and Europe.

European appeasement in the GWOT may, in fact, lead to the war being fought here (as in Europe) rather than there (as in the Middle East). Europe may come to regret their inability to project force, but she may be saved by a stronger internal police than exists in America. The frightening thing about this rioting is that France's 'Fifth Republic' may fall in something as small as a regional battle. It may not take a theater campaign to collapse the surrender monkeys. That fact is as sad as it is frightening - and it harkens to a point behind Wretchard's point, that France fell to Nazism as well as to the German army.

If France falls, the pecking order will be Spain, then Italy, then Germany. To date, however, we have no proof that militant Islam has the ability to use this uprising. The Anglosphere may have destroyed this capability. Thus, America may once again save French bacon in a war between good and evil.

We shall soon see how organized militant Islam is...

We may soon see how militaristic the West is...

This is what President Bush strove to avoid...

Saddam in a Box???

Re(1): 'The Third Airplane', Belmont Club, TC Wretchard
Re(2): 'UNSCOM: Chronology of Main Events', www.un.org, UNSCOM report

A response to a poster named AK at the BelmontClub:

AK,

Your first post stated: “Why was his nuclear program apparently shelved in 1994?”

Here is the United Nations official documentation regarding UNSCOM…

After your date of compliance:

8 Aug 1995: Iraq withdraws its third biological Full, Final and Complete Disclosure and admits a far more extensive biological warfare programme than previously admitted, including weaponization. Iraq also admits having achieved greater progress in its efforts to indigenously produce long-range missiles than had previously been declared. Iraq provides UNSCOM and the IAEA with large amounts of documentation, hidden on a chicken farm ostensibly by Hussein Kamel, related to its prohibited weapons programmes which subsequently leads to further disclosures by Iraq concerning the production of the nerve agent VX and Iraq's development of a nuclear weapon.

Sep 1997: Iraq provides fifth Full, Final and Complete Disclosure for its prohibited biological weapons programme. An international panel of experts is convened in New York to discuss Iraq’s declaration. The panel unanimously finds Iraq’s declaration to be incomplete, inadequate and technically flawed.

Oct 1997: UNSCOM completes the destruction of additional, large quantities of chemical weapons related equipment and precursors chemicals. Iraq had previously denied that part of the equipment had been used for CW production. Only in May 1997, on the basis of UNSCOM's investigations, did Iraq admit that some of the equipment had indeed been used in the production of VX.

8 Apr 1998: The report of the biological weapons TEM is transmitted to the Council (S/1998/308). As with the other TEMs, the experts unanimously conclude that Iraq’s declaration on its biological weapons programme is incomplete and inadequate.

9 Sep 1998: Security Council resolution 1194 (1998) unanimously condemns Iraq’s decision to suspend cooperation with UNSCOM, terming Iraq’s actions a totally unacceptable contravention of Iraq’s obligations; demands Iraq rescind its decision and decides not to conduct the 60-day sanctions reviews until Iraq does so and the Commission reports to the Council that it is satisfied that it has been able to exercise its full range of activities, including inspections.

31 Oct 1998: Iraq announces that it will cease all forms of interaction with UNSCOM and its Chairman and to halt all UNSCOM’s activities inside Iraq, including monitoring. The Security Council, in a statement to the press, unanimously condemn Iraq’s decision to cease all cooperation with UNSCOM.

4 Nov 1998: The Executive Chairman informs the Council (S/1998/1032) that, as a result of Iraq’s actions, the Commission is not in a position to provide the Council with any level of assurance of Iraq’s compliance with its obligations not to retain and not to reestablish proscribed activities.

16 Dec 1998: The Special Commission withdraws its staff from Iraq.

When you talk about ‘Containing Iraq’ and ‘Keeping Saddam in a Box’ (not your quotes – but your concept) I would recommend that you review the official United Nations webpage chronology regarding the topic on which you place so much confidence. Try using the find feature to look for such phases as: ‘denies access’, ‘Final and Complete Disclosure’, and ‘nuclear’. In it’s 7 ½ years of existence we had five ‘Final and Complete Disclosures’ of biological weapons, three ‘Final and Complete Disclosures’ of chemical weapons, and three ‘Final and Complete Disclosures’ of illegal missile development. All those ‘Final and Complete Disclosures’ were deemed false. We found a rather robust – if temporarily hidden and dormant – nuclear program. And finally, with the Oil-For-Food revelations noted in Wretchard’s post we have both a bypass of the Saddam in a Box strategy and an aggressive bribing of security council members to drop those sanctions on which your concept rests. Look back in the large newspapers even as late as early 2003 to review the positions of France, Russia, and Germany regarding the sanctions that both apparently (not really) kept Saddam contained and starved the children of Iraq.

I, personally, was not confident in those measures then, and I would be very distrustful of a Saddam popped out of the box now…

A New word gets admitted into the Oxford English Dictionary...

Re(1): 'Why are we Borking Harriet Miers', BoghieOnYourSix, Boghie

Borking...

The Oxford English Dictionary has nominated the verb 'Borking' as a potential new English word in the 2006 edition of the dictionary. This was a close decision, but the fact that both major American political parties have now behaved in a way that defines the term 'to Bork' swayed the committee.

The committee would like to express appreciation to the blogs (another recent addition to the Oxford English Dictionary!!!) NationalReviewOnline.com and ConfirmThem.com. Without their expressive dialog the term 'to Bork' would have remained unviable as an entry into the Oxford English Dictionary!

Thank You

Believe it or not...

Re(1): 'Iraq: Terrorist Training Ground, Killing Field, or Both?', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio

But I think there is nothing for me to say...

Unlike the chattering media class, I do not have to bloviate about something I know nothing about just to take space on either dead trees or underutilized air space...

To me, the only thing worth writing about is something I am having trouble describing. Look at this link regarding the make-up of our foreign terrorist adversaries who have been dispatched to their 72 raisins: http://billroggio.com/archives/2005/10/iraq_terrorist.php

Of interest is a pattern that seems to imply that al Qaeda is trying to cycle their foreign fighters. That is, they may be attempting to recruit and transport personnel from discrete regions. From the data, it looks as if much of this process has been destroyed. Many of the formerly successful recruiting regions seem to be drying up.

Have to put much more thought to this...

Wrechard warming up his Gregorian Chant!!

Again, I will not paraphrase the perfect:

Richard Fernandez: 'The End of the Beginning'

Barbarians Defeated...

It will be interesting to trace the path of the bin Ladens and Zarqawis over the next few months and years…

Hannibal committed suicide in Syria after the Romans doggedly tracked him from one barbarian kingdom to another – conquering barbarian lands, coercing barbarian kings, and always on the heels of their quarry…

Hannibal died in the most graceful way available to him – an ignominious and lonely death by his own hand…

Hannibal’s death was ignoble and forgotten to history.

In Mosul, we have a Gregorian Chant!

I will not paraphrase the perfect:

Michael Yon: 'The Battle for Mosul IV'

Oh Bla di, oh bla da...

Re(1): 'Letter to Zarqawi', The Belmont Club, Wretchard TC
Re(2): 'U.S. intercepts al Zawahiri to al Zarqawi memo', The Security Watchtower, Mixed Humor
Re(3): 'Training the Iraqi Army - Revisited, Again', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(4): 'Iraqi Troop Strength', The Security Watchtower, Mixed Humor

The following is a comment I wrote in the Belmont club responding to legit concerns of another commenter. I am thinking that smart people are hearing the hum and chant of song deep in the tunnels of the ballpark:

1) AQ is hurting enough in Iraq to be willing to change its tactics. Obviously due to the combat losses but evidently due to the Muslim reaction to their butchery.

It will be difficult to change the dynamics in Iraq. The only opportunity that I can see is in the Iraq/Iran border region where the Brit have been playing the ‘soft’ hand. I think that the Brits are changing tactics as I write. I do not think al-Zarqawi has much influence in that region.

2) They are patient. Much more so than are we. Knowing full well that no matter how many young jihadis die for their cause, new generations and half generations of their willing minions are being redied in the madrasses of Pakistan and Iran.

We have been patient for 4 ½ years. President Bush is a doggedly patient man – see the caterwauling about the Supreme Court nomination. See the effect the caterwauling of the 2004 election had on our activities – minimal at best. See the recent polling in the Middle East. Note that our valiant and brilliant enemy has WRITTEN into his enemy list the nation states that support his terror campaign. That was a terrible mistake.

3) They still have a chain of command in place. Nothing like the structured environment of western armies but authority from top to bottom nonetheless.

The fact that we apparently got the message and al-Zarqawi didn’t signifies a rather weak chain of command. Zarqawi’s response via media outlets demonstrates the same. The fact that Zawahiri is asking for support and information likewise points to something.

To those who seem to think this is a realpolitik conflict, and thus we will bail out ASAP and leave the region to strong men with a gangster mentality please note: We have been in the fight for 4 ½ years. Zarqawi has no influence in the north or south or east of Baghdad. His influence is rapidly degrading in the riverine region to the west of Baghdad. His bosses have just placed a long term challenge to his regional state sponsor. And, the Iraqi government – with a military trained by the best martial force in the world – is threatening that same state sponsor with repercussions. And, oil exports are now consistent and to levels approaching pre-1991 levels. And, most importantly, Zarqawi is being heavily out recruited mano-i-mano.

The Fat Lady is singing.

Unlike most leaders, President Bush will press the effort of eradicating al-Zarqawi’s structure completely. There will be nothing left of it. At that point, with a battle trained Iraqi military, do you find Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the southern ‘insurgents’ to be the strong horse? I would hate to be them. You have to know when you are winning so you can start planning your next battle in the Global War on Terror.

Thus, there is a bit of background hum to this battle, there is some serious practicing in Baghdad, and there is a full throated roar in Afghanistan. None of this ends the Global War on Terror!

Why are we borking Harriet Miers?

To all Brahmin Court Watchers…

Try the following the next time you appear on TV:

"Harriet Mier's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley
abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could
break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, children could not be taught about
evolution"

It is a clever adaptation of an argument based on ignorance, politics, elitism, and emotion.

It worked once, it might, just might, work again!!!

We absolutely require more Brahmin Constitutional Scholars on our Court!!!

Building a Supreme Team...

Re(1): 'Do You Trust Him?', www.hughhewitt.com, Hugh Hewitt
Re(2): 'The Miers nomination: a safe play from Dubya's standpoint', www.beldar.blogs.com, Beldar

UPDATE (2005/10/04 0822): How many Brahmins do you want???

Like most conservatives I was waiting for the name L-U-T-T-I-G to emanate from the lips of our faithful servant and President.

Harriet Miers – Who the h*ll is that!!!

A quick read of the conservative blogs provided some understanding but an awful lot of hot air. Those who do not know her wanted a big name and an Armageddon. Those who do know her expect her to be a fine justice that brings much to this Court. Here are my first impressions:

1. Mrs. Miers will bring balance to an Ivory Towers Supreme Court. While Chief Justice Roberts is a good man, with a fine judicial temperament, my one concern is that those who occupy that rarified air forget what the rest of us breathe. Mrs. Miers will present the ‘common’ reality of ‘common law’ interpretations by the Supreme Court. She will force the unintentional consequences of Supreme Court action to be intentional. Based on Beldar’s post, it is apparent that she has spent the better part of her lifetime battling those consequences.
   
2. Mrs. Miers was selected based on actions known to the President. She was not interviewed; she answered the President’s questions over the span of a decade or more. She answered his questions without being coerced to sell herself. There is no doubt in the President’s mind as to how she will function on the Court. There is no doubt in my mind how she will function on the Court.
   
3. The confirmation hearing process will be de-Borked. She will have to answer questions posed by both Senators Leahy and Hatch, by Durbin and Sessions, and by Feinstein and Kyl. She will not pass through the Judiciary Committee without presenting her case to all Senators on that committee. Much like President Bush shaking the status quo on illegal immigration, the nomination of Harriet Miers forces controversial issues to the forefront. Issues that to this point are mere talking points and stalking horses. That dance is done, that song is over. Chief Justice Roberts was the last and best dancer to that tune. I commend the President for this.

I believe the Conservatives who have fought for three decades to groom ideas and nominees were understandably flummoxed. President Bush did not call their ‘closer’ into the game. Instead, I think he looked at the current, and near future, chemistry of the Court and made an incredibly difficult decision. He freaked his base, but provided a grounding to his United States Supreme Court.

Enjoy the political season…

Enjoy his third pick…

UPDATE (2005/10/04 0822):
Bush to Conservatives - How many Brahmins do you want on the Supreme Court? I think we have enough Constitutional scholars; it might be time to select someone from the real world...

A Challenge to those protesting the GWOT in Iraq!!!

A Challenge to those protesting the GWOT in Iraq:

Where do you want to fight the Global War on Terror?

It is a simple question – and one that must be answered before one can knowledgeably discuss the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the greater Middle East. It is a question that one must answer before one argues following points like 1) Is the war being fought effectively, 2) Are we concentrating enough on the defense of the homeland, and 3) is the United States a virulent empire?

The Administration has made it clear that they desire to fight the war over there.

I ask you to find another region in the world in which to fight this declared war. Please use the comments section.

March 2005 was a Good Month...

I was reviewing my SiteMeter and noted some oddities...

1. Apparently Mixed Humor at 'Security Watchtower' surfed over from his SiteMeter list. Mixed Humor writes exceptionally well on an exceptional site. Thank you for poking around... And thank Bill Roggio of 'The Fourth Rail' for linking to the 'Security Watchtower'.
   
2. And I noted that someone surfed to the March 2005 archives and spent some time there - intrigued, so did I. What was of interest back in Paleolithic era of Spring 2005.

The complete March 2005 Archive:

1. In 'NeoCons To UN, World Bank, and State', I spent some time defining the NeoCon movement and what the success of NeoCon objectives would look like - as well as what failure would mean. This post was written during the Wolfowitz transition to the World Bank kafuffle and the beginnings of the Bolton to U.N. fiasco. Six months later I have to ask caterwauling Lefties if all the bloviation was worth it. Two of your favorite multi-national entities are being reinvigorated and reinvented.
   
2. In 'Betting on Inside Straights' I discussed what the geo-political world would look like in 2008 when the next American President is elected. Even now, it is starting to seem odd to wail about the war in Iraq. If the Iraqi Constitution is ratified the hollering will seem positively insane!!! I like the odds of each of the trend lines coming to fruition.
   
3. In 'The Net Never Forgets...' I went back nine months in history to a great post and discussion that occurred in 'The Command Post'. The topic revolves around foreign fighter infiltration from Syria into Iraq, how it could be resolved, and future projections if the Iraq endeavor succeeds... For those who wanted success, it is heartening to review a challenge by Julius (a sensible Lefty) - and what actually happened as of March 2005. It only looks better now. Sometimes it is refreshing to look at matrices with the full benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

AQRD, Iraq - Iraq Training Ground Par Excellence...

Re(1): 'Oil Spots and Maneuver', The Belmont Club, Wretchard T.C.
Re(2): 'U.S. Special Forces kill al Qaeda's # 2 in Iraq', The Security Watchtower, Mixed Humor
Re(3): 'The Chopping Block', The Fourth Rail, Bill Hobbs
Re(4): 'Saudi Arabia's Most Wanted', The Security Watchtower, Mixed Humor
Re(5): 'Israeli airstrikes kill Islamic Jihad Chief', The Security Watchtower, Mixed Humor
Re(6): 'Five al Qaeda suspects captured in Somaliland', The Security Watchtower, Mixed Humor
Yes, it is true. Iraq is a the Islamofascist Training Ground:

From Wretchard: 'Oil Spots and Maneuver'

But the worst of it is the wastage to cadres. Those who write that body counts are a meaningless metric to apply against the insurgency ignore the fact that formations which sustain heavy casualties lose their organizational memory while those who suffer lightly retain them. Lt. Col. Joseph L'Etoile is on his third and half of his men are on their second tours of Iraq . For Abu Nasir and many of his foreign fighters, the memory of what to avoid next time has been lost on this, their last tour of Iraq.

A list of the Recruit Training Commanders:

'U.S. Special Forces kill al Qaeda's # 2 in Iraq'

And, one of the commanders resigns his commission:

'The Chopping Block'

And even better, things are looking up in aQRD, Saudi Arabia - the financial center:

'Saudi Arabia's Most Wanted'

Side note: There seems to be some attrition at IJRD, Gaza as well:

'Israeli airstrikes kill Islamic Jihad Chief'

The al Qaeda Blotter:

'Five al Qaeda suspects captured in Somaliland'

IEDs are insurmountable and terrorist organizations do not need experienced leadership.

Always, always get your news from journalists. They received a college degree in media!!! They know what they are talking about when it comes to military strategy - I mean, weren't Rommel, Patton, Sherman, Pericles, Caesar, Augustus, Grant, and Epimenides etc (no particular order) journalists. All information should come from Paul Krugman, Annie Applebaum, Robert Scheer, etc...

We have lost all. Get your burquas tailored... Start growing your beard... It is only time...

And I'm sure the anti-war protesters are protesting al Qaeda recruiting in madras high schools. At least wait till the recruits go through puberty before getting them into the action. Fourteen years old is just too young. Marines goe through 11 weeks of basic training, 2 weeks of SOI, and then constant training while on active service. al Qaeda recruits cross the border, join some terrorist cell, and immediately go on a mission.

Note: aQRD, Iraq is a play on the Marine Corps acronym of MCRD San Diego. MCRD San Diego stands for Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. aQRD, Iraq stands for al Qaeda Recruit Depot, Iraq.

Price of Gas UP, Oil DOWN...

Absolutely Pure Speculation Alert:

The following speculation is not susceptible to relegation to “My Flameouts” if proven wrong. I have not studied the topic thoroughly enough – but the thought presented is intriguing… It is PURE speculation – and ODD speculation at that…

• Katrina took oil refineries off-line…
• Rita took more oil refineries off-line…

Odd thoughts:

1. The price of fuel will INCREASE
2. The price of oil will DECREASE

Why:
Oil is priced world-wide. The storms took between 10% and 20% of the American refining capability off-line for an extended period of time. Those refineries will not be purchasing oil to process. Thus, there will be a glut of oil while the refineries are repaired and/or replaced. There is not enough extra capacity in American refineries to pick up the slack. Too much supply to match the demand forecast.

And that is where the increased cost of fuel comes in. Our demand for fuel will not be dramatically reduced as a result of the hurricanes. We will simply refine less fuel. This scarcity will also affect Baja California, Mexico. Too little supply to match the demand forecase.

So here is the odd thought that will get the anti-Capitalists and the illiterate Lefties all a’rantin’. The price of gas will be increasing as the price of oil decreases – and there is absolutely nothing the President can do about it. More oil will not help, but people will prove too stupid to figure it out within the political news cycle. And, the media is definitely clueless – see a Google search on ‘oil refining storms capacity reduction’

Enjoy that political battle.

The Game, the Season, and the Legacy...

Re(1): 'This Weekend', The Belmont Club, TC Wretchard

To me the American Left looks like a quickly aging professional basketball team that has flashes of greatness past. They appear dependent on other opponents to exhaust the Center-Right coalition. Based on the projected outcome of the 'River Wars' (away from the MSM), the upcoming MSM suprise in the Iraq Constitutional vote, and the Left/MSM confusion on the hurricanes I would not bet against a steadfast Amercia.

To use a sports analogy, the only way to lose in Iraq is for the Left to win games in America.

When the Left won, they controlled the court for a season – if not eras. They leaped into the air to guide ally-oop passes into the bucket. The game was easy. Their defense was more than dogged and determined – it was devastating. Opposing teams lost before they stepped onto the court. The left would lose nine games in a season of eighty-two. People forget the losses.

The first part of their game to fade was the defense provided by the mass media. That happened at or about 9/11 as news junkies migrated to the net. The Left got increasingly lazy, fat, and slow. Their MSM defense could not move with the times. And they are finding that they cannot recruit without blowing their salary cap or endangering their teams ‘chemistry’ – bloated with oldsters well past their prime and dependent on game strategy thirty years old.

Then the transition game vanished. The opposition, motivated by witnessing lazy slugs meandering into a zone defense, and leaning swarming tactics from competition against other adversaries, starts to press both the offense and the defense. Soon enough, the Left stops running the court. Every once in a while they get the gander to run – resulting in ESPN highlight films, but they still lose in the larger context of the game.

Then the offense collapses. They stop playing a team game and start lobbing individual shots over the opposition – sometimes at great range and often outside of an organizational concept. Even luck seems to abandon them. There is internal confusion, jealousy, and anger. Many shots are lobbed into the air, miss badly, and then transitioned by the opposition into an easy score. Every once in a while a spectacular player makes a spectacular play – but they lose in the larger context of the game.

The more minutes, games, seasons played the more the Left loses.

And with this President, at this time, we play the game not in terms of minutes and seasons – but years. Tell me again how this President will quit minutes into a game, and when he has his opponents adjusting to his moves. He may not have the ball, he knows he will not always have the ball, but he is confident. He can still win this one game, but if not, he will adjust and overcome to come out on top for the season.

In the end, with three and one-half years left in this run, can the Left survive elections - and can the ‘insurgency’ survive hard and soft American power?

America, Please Quit!!!

Re(1): 'One Million Reasons to End the War in Iraq', Code Pink

HT: 'A Petition to Lose in Iraq', www.LittleGreenFootballs.com, Charles Johnson

I was made aware of a desperate plea by Code Pink to sign an anti-war petition. Since I view things a bit differently, but still wanted to help their cause, I took it upon myself to write a note on behalf of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. I took this step because the ACLU doesn't seem quick to defend al-Zarqawi's First Amendment Rights. I based this comment on numerous al-Zarqawi communications intercepted by American Baby Killers and Corporatists!!!

My boss (Osama bin-Laden) apparently is stuck in an Afghani cave with only ten freedom fighters. I never get to chat with him…

I’m getting pushed around western Iraq which is making the training of minutemen
rather difficult. Also, my experienced jihadists seem rather satisfied with their 72 virgins. I’m left with teenagers scampering around… And they can’t shoot straight. My suicide bombers have to be drugged up like some 1968 Code Pink Love Child…

My fellow Palestinians, Saudis, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Iranians, Syrians, and even Jordanians seem to be less enthusiastic about simply crossing the border. And the locals seem to have lost interests in martyrdom operations. Allah Akbar, most fighters don’t make it back home to recruit new jihadists. Who came up with that stupid ‘Iraq is a Training Ground’ Powerpoint presentation anyway… That’s one head that should be sawed off immediately.

Damn, that flypaper shit is sticky…

I need the United States to QUIT…

Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Responding to Natural Disasters...

The demonstrable difficulty in tracking the wavering path of Rita proves the inherent difficulty in managing a response to such disasters…

Now, the centerpoint of Rita has moved hundreds of miles north and east – toward Louisiana.

Yesterdays evacuations of the southern reaches of the storm may easily prove irrelevant.

Evacuations of regions outside yesterday’s cone must proceed apace and with minimal warning.

Which regions are Governor Perry to evacuate?

Which cities are to dust off their plans?

Where is FEMA to stage?

We have now been there and done that.

Be flexible and hope the voters elected leadership!!!

Predicting the Lefty Response – A Redux!!!

Re(1): 'Waiting For Rita', www.MichelleMalkin.com, Michelle Malkin

It is simply unkind to predict the Lefts response before their talking heads start spinning. It's just too easy, too simple, too boring... Hopefully it will be more challenging to summon prophesies days before the event and the subsequent caterwauling. Kindof like Nostradamus or like the Bible Code scholars!!!

Predictions:

• The Cops will not desert
• The FEMA response will be OK
• The evacuation will be successful
• The National Guard will be mobilized
• There will be nobody stuck in the Astrodome without food and water
• There will be nobody dying in hospitals or elder care centers
• There will be nobody shooting at emergency vehicles
• There will be a crushing increase in the price of fuel

Now the Lefty Response:

1. BusHitler jumped to support a Red State
2. Err America’s watchful eyes saved the world
3. Halliburton will get all the rebuilding contracts
4. Our tax dollars are going to rebuild the big oil companies
5. BushCo (Halliburton, Bechtel, and greedy oil) will gouge Americans on fuel prices

Conservative Knee Jerk Responses:

1. Louisiana is a Red State
2. Who is Err America, anyway?
3. Halliburton signed a contract to rebuild military bases a year ago
4. Libs will consider the rebuilding of roads and infrastructure a corporate subsidy
5. Please idiotarians, about 30% of our refining capability has been wiped within four weeks.

Now, {{ahem}} the proper response:

• Red Governance is simply better than Blue Governance…

Watch and see!!!

UPDATE: Mrs. Malkin, thank you for the link on www.MichelleMalkin.com

Upon being destroyed by the ‘Insurgency’…

Re(1): 'Heads You Win, Tails I Lose', The Belmont Club, TC Wretchard
Re(2): 'More Middlemen in Mosul; Back to the Euphrates', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(3): 'Hard America, Soft America', Michael Barone
Re(4): 'Tribes', Eject! Eject! Eject!, Bill Whittle

We will be crushed by the coming Civil War…

After being crushed by the upcoming Civil War…

America will stand alone in the murder of children…

It never ends…

Always get your war news from journalists in the Green Zone. Remember, these journalists are trained to be journalists. At best, they are fine journalists. At best, they are judicious journalists. At best, they write with flare and emotion.

We rarely see their best…

And a journalist is NOT

• A student of military strategy
• A soldier in the field
• A scientist
• A theologian
• Or a scholar of the public polity.

Their undergraduate degrees are most likely in ‘Communications’ or Left Wing ‘Political Science’ or Moonbat ‘Literature’. All soft degrees. Jounalists are Soft Americans who remain Pink their entire lives..

Hapless Toads Spotted In

Washington…

Over the past week there have been sightings of the Hapless Toad in Washington D.C..

PETA, the Democratic Party, NARAL, and the media elite installed computer chips into the neck folds of a number of these Hapless Toads to study their migration patterns. Each chip contains a unique ID that can be used to identify the Toad and its original habitat. The following Hapless Toads were spotted in Washington D.C. between Tuesday September 12th and Thursday September 16th:

Patrick J. Leahy
Edward M. Kennedy
Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Herbert Kohl
Dianne Feinstein
Russell D. Feingold
Charles E. Schumer
Richard J. Durbin

Most of these Hapless Toads were tagged while rummaging for campaign contributions in Hollywood, California – their natural habitat. Richard J. Durbin and Charles E. Schumer were tagged during an Appellate Court case lawyered by a right wing fanatic named Hugh Hewitt. From media reports, it appears that these Toads can only be protected from extinction if they migrate across state lines – a silly ruling if ever there was one.

These eight (8) Toads have obviously migrated from their summer funding locales. They evidently migrate west to east in search of lush campaign contributions. Note: Apparently, the Hapless Toad cannot survive long in Middle America. They seem to only thrive on blueberries and other blue flowering plants.

The Supreme Court must now leap into action and save the Hapless Toad. They can, through an artful reading of the INTERSTATE COMMERCE CLAUSE of the U.S. Constitution, provide these Toads (and others) the protections of that self-same Constitution.

SAVE THESE TOADS. Their natural behavior of biting, sniping, carping, borking (1), and defecating wherever and whenever they please are not conducive to approval by the great unwashed masses in America. Extinction is a strong possibility – especially in light of slanted right wing media coverage of their natural behavior.

C-SPAN should lose its license after broadcasting these Toads in such a biased, unflattering manner. Editorial judgment must be used to change camera angles and to minimize the effect of these Toads communication patterns. The New York Times and Los Angeles Times serve as a model for the proper illustration of these Toads in their habitat. America may not be ready to accept them, but they come from the same protoplasm as we. It is in our best interests to ensure the protection of all small and insignificant species. We never know when they may prove beneficial to mankind – as a pill, suppository, or herbal tea.

The Supreme Court is there to protect minorities such as these. It is there to enforce today’s desires through the living document that is our United States Constitution. Tomorrows needs can be legislated later.

Today the Supreme Court must ACT NOW. Act locally, think globally.

(1) Borking: A rather unfortunate confluence of belching and flatulence that is best exemplified by the following quote by the Hapless Toad Edward M. Kennedy:

"Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley
abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could
break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, children could not be taught about
evolution"

Borking can be public, as in the above quote, or private, as in the leak of private video rental records (most likely from the same or similar source).

Won, or winning...

Re(1): 'Tal-Afar', The Belmont Club, TC Wretchard
Re(2): 'Battle at the Border', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(3): 'Battle At the Border III', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(4): 'Battle Along the Northern Ratline', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(5): 'Operation Restoring Rights in Tal-Afar', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(6): 'Qaim and the Big Picture', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(7): 'Tal Afar: Calm Before the Storm in Sarai', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(8): 'Balad of the Hellfire', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(9): 'The Battle for the Border IV', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(10): 'The "Islamic Republic of Qaim" Crock', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(11): 'The Anbar Campaign Intensifies', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(12): 'Border Shutdown West of Tal Afar', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio
Re(13): 'Border Wars V - Operation Cyclone in Rutbah, Tal Afar, and more', The Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio

In Tal-Afar, Wretchard illustrates the weakness of the Iraqi insurgency:

Terror is a Frankenstein monster which can destroy its creator unless it is carefully controlled. The myriad and decentralized killers, whose decentralization was accounted a military asset by some analysts -- turned their car bombs, mortars and knives on ordinary Sunnis, Shi'as and Kurds. While attacks on the Shi'a pilgrims, for example, may have brought the insurgency momentary recognition in the Western media, no one but a fool could believe it would buy them anything but enmity among its victims. Decentralization turned out to be another term for 'no command and control'. For terror to succeed it must succeed; against an immoveable object like the US Armed Forces it gradually became a public menace and another species of crime.

Al Qaeda is losing a war of attrition that it did not expect to be involved in. A war in which they lose 156 killed against 2 American fatalities - some terrorist training ground Iraq has become, eh. They have not found the weak and indecisive America they expected. Apparently, they were listening to those out of power, and out of influence – namely the Left and the Media. Their unwitting idiot allies, the Left, were too slow in the drive for failure. The beheadings and burnings and mass killings and taped rants have only tempered American steel. The euphoric joy of a personal jihad against America in Iraq is wiping out a generation of recruits bin Laden needs to effectively strike at the West - in the West. America is standing firm, and killing terrorists.

Wretchard also takes a look at the obvious - That the increasingly powerful nation of Iraq may not look kindly at neighboring states fermenting terror in the region:

It also has the advantage of putting the Syrians on notice that the new Iraqi government, which the Ba'athists are increasingly unlikely to recapture, is taking steps to maintain its territorial integrity. Given another year the new Iraqi government may come to regard the Syrian-supported infiltration as a cassus belli -- not necessarily, but the threat is there.

The references to Bill Roggio's editorials are important reads. Understand that the latest offensives are now using very large numbers of Iraqi military troops. In the case of the Tal Afar offensive we are talking about 6,000 Iraqi troops along with 4,000 American troops. These are crush and hold operations.

Thank God there is someone with strength and leadership in office now...

In this total war, there can only be total victory..

Predictions of the Left: Oh how I wish I were wrong...

It would have been nice if I was wrong...

But, Err America's Randi Rhodent performed as predicted:

1. Make BusHitler’s Halliburton Cronies Richer
2. Raise the Price of Oil and Gas
3. Prosecute a War on Poverty using National Guard troops
4. Milk Blue States for a Red State Catastophe

Her predictable responses did not even take a week to shake out.

1. She noted to her six listeners (check out how many PSAs her show has now) that BusHitler signed a contract in 2004 to give all the hurricane rebuilding money to Halliburton. The Honest Rhodent forgot to mention that the contract was for the rebuilding of military bases. Actually, kindof like an insurance policy and a long term maintenance project. The vast majority of funds will be spent on the commercial and residential rebuilding effort.
2. She has made repeated bleatings about BusHitler's cronies making money hand over fist by charging usurious rates for gas. Nuf Said...
3. She read an LA Times article on the air. The article described a fully armed squad of scary National Guard soldiers. These scary killers 'locked and loaded' before joining battle with the displaced and peaceful civilians at the Convention Center. In 'Met by Despair, not Violence', the 'news' journalist embarks on a factless foray into the scary world of Iraq of the West. Trust me, big boys, chilling yells, rounds in the chamber, hair trigger violence. Iraq, Iraq, Iraq... Hey libs, when you portray the military like this is there any wonder why they don't seem to like or respect you...
4. And, of course, the first refrain the Rhodent squalled was about President Bush using the disaster to to disburse and kill poor black Democrats.

Since many must doubt the veracity of my claims (what human could be so deranged) I will try to find direct links to the first two. It appears that they fell into the memory hole on her website...

Welcome to Hard America…

Re(1): ‘Rebuilding New Orleans’, http://www.townhall.com, Michael Barone
Re(2): 'Tribes', www.ejectejecteject.com, Bill Whittle
Re(3): 'Unnatural Disaster: A Hurricane Exposes the Man-Made Disaster of the Welfare State', www.realclearpolitics.com, Robert Tracinski
Re(4): 'The Big Easy Rocked, but didn't roll', Telegraph, Mark Steyn
Re(5): 'Bill Whittle and the Gotha Program', Belmont Club, TC Wretchard
Re(6): 'City to Offer Free Trips to Las Vegas for Officers', NYT, Joeseph B. Treaster

UPDATES - Brief synopsis of articles
HT: www.RealClearPolitics.com
HT: www.PoliPundit.com
HT: www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/weblog.php
HT: www.DrudgeReport.com
HT: www.fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/

Michael Barone ‘Rebuilding New Orleans’: (HT www.RealClearPolitics.com)

But New Orleans' heritages of upper-class complaisance and political corruption -- the result of the city's French tradition -- work against a more broadly based commercial and economic revival. Without changes in these attitudes, historic New Orleans may revive, but the city will become little more than a theme park, like Venice, and not the great commercial beehive it once was.

Mr. Barone earlier links events together (me thinks subconsciously):

And some parts of that fabric are not worth restoring. The city of New Orleans has had a horrifyingly high crime rate in recent years, and after disaster hit, the reports of looting -- not just of food and necessities, but of luxury items -- have been rampant. Shots have been fired at rescue teams and police officers; supplies of food and medicines on their way to hospitals have been hijacked; gangs of criminals have stolen boats from survivors. Flooding has produced an urban riot like those of the 1960s or Los Angeles in 1992.

I think the two are linked tighter than Mr. Barone does. Our republic always balances freedom and security.

When, long term, one balances security and freedom like Pataki/Giuliani you have the social structure and mores to survive devastation.

Conversely, when one balances those choices in the vein of a Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, and Louisiana than the polity will not rebuild. These are not center left, sky blue polities. These are the moonbat confederation.

It took a decade to move a moonbat NYC to the NYC that survived 9/11...

New Orleans is dead and will not be rebuilt…

They did not change with the times...

Now the hard thought:
Soft Americans are now being relocated to hard America.

UPDATE (2005/09/05 0940):
Bill Whittle - Tribes (HT: www.PoliPundit.com)

The Pink Tribe is all about feeling good: feeling good about yourself! Sexually, emotionally, artistically – nothing is off limits, nothing is forbidden, convention is fossilized insanity and everybody gets to do their own thing without regard to consequences, reality, or natural law. We all have our own reality – one small personal reality is called “science,” say – and we Make Our Own Luck and we Visualize Good Things and There Are No Coincidences and Everything Happens for a Reason and You Can Be Whatever You Want to Be and we all have Special Psychic Powers and if something Bad should happen it’s because Someone Bad Made It Happen. A Spell, perhaps.

The Pink Tribe motto, in fact, is the ultimate Zen Koan, the sound of one hand clapping: EVERYBODY IS SPECIAL.

Then, in the other corner, there is the Grey Tribe – the grey of reinforced concrete. This is a Tribe where emotion is repressed because Emotion Clouds Judgment. This is the world of Quadratic Equations and Stress Risers and Loads Torsional, Compressive and Tensile, a place where Reality Can Ruin Your Best Day, the place where Murphy mercilessly picks off the Weak and the Incompetent, where the Speed Limit is 186,282.36 mph, where every bridge has a Failure Load and levees come in 50 year, 100 year and 1000 Year Flood Flavors.

The Grey Tribe motto is, near as I can tell, THINGS BREAK SOMETIMES AND PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE MY BRIDGE.

UPDATE (2005/09/05 1010)
Robert Tracinski - Effects of the Welfare State (HT: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/)

The man-made disaster we are now witnessing in New Orleans did not happen over four days last week. It happened over the past four decades. Hurricane Katrina merely exposed it to public view.

The man-made disaster is the welfare state.

... [ed: read the link, never accept these elipses]

There were many decent, innocent people trapped in New Orleans when the deluge hit—but they were trapped alongside large numbers of people from two groups: criminals—and wards of the welfare state, people selected, over decades, for their lack of initiative and self-induced helplessness. The welfare wards were a mass of sheep—on whom the incompetent administration of New Orleans unleashed a pack of wolves.

UPDATE (20050905 1136)
Joeseph B. Treaster - 'City of Offer Free Trips To Las Vegas for Officers' (HT: Drudge)

A day after two police suicides and the abrupt resignations or desertions of up to 200 police officers, defiant city officials on Sunday began offering five-day vacations - and even trips to Las Vegas - to the police, firefighters and city emergency workers and their families.

The idea of paid vacations was raised by both Mayor C. Ray Nagin and senior police officials who said that their forces were exhausted and traumatized and that the arrival of the National Guard had made way for the officers to be relieved.

His words were seconded by the police superintendent, P. Edwin Compass III, in a
separate interview. "When you go through something this devastating and traumatic," Mr. Compass said, "you've got to do something dramatic to jump-start
the healing process."

The officials were planning to send 1,500 workers out in two shifts for five days each. They are sending them to Las Vegas because of the availability of hotel rooms and to Atlanta because many of them had relatives there.

Maybe something can get done with these first responders on vacation. Remember those radio adds for a temp agency...

Remember those fire and police personnel vacationing the week ater 9/11.

Sounds like they all need stars and smiley faces on their school papers.

Hope these 'First Responders' get some new shoes. Apparently, theirs got wet.

I think Joeseph Trester is in the sane ballpark: 'Law Offiers Overwhelmed, Are Quiting the Force'. It really sounds like he is a mole inside Prada - trying to get the word out the best he can. Remember, he has to get his articles past the NYT 'editors'. Read between the lines.

UPDATE (20050905 2056)
Mark Steyn - 'The Big Easy Rocked, but didn't roll' (HT: www.LittleGreenFootballs.com)

My mistake was to think that the citizenry of the Big Easy would rise to the great rallying cry of Todd Beamer: "Are you ready, guys? Let's roll!" Instead, the spirit of the week was summed up by a gentleman called Mike Franklin, taking time out of his hectic schedule of looting to speak to the Associated Press: "People who are oppressed all their lives, man, it's an opportunity to get back at society."

Unlike 9/11, when the cult of victimhood was temporarily suspended in honour of the many real, actual victims under the rubble, in New Orleans everyone claimed the mantle of victim, from the incompetent mayor to the "oppressed" guys wading through the water with new DVD players under each arm.

Welfare culture is bad not just because, as in Europe, it's bankrupting the state, but because it enfeebles the citizenry, it erodes self-reliance and resourcefulness.

UPDATE (20050906 0930)
T.C. Wretchard - 'Bill Whittle and the Gotha Program'

"From each according to his abilities. To each according to his need." Which is another way of saying that you get to the same place no matter how you start out. One of the unintended consequences of encouraging dependency is that it annihilates the life history of the dependent. For him there is no memory and no exit.