Myths and Distortions of the Left

Don Rumsfeld, in a speech before the American Legion in Salt Lake, questions those who seek to divide our nation in a dangerous time:

It's a strange time:

*When a database search of America's leading newspapers turns up literally 10 times as many mentions of one of the soldiers who has been punished for misconduct -- 10 times more -- than the mentions of Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith, the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Global War on Terror;
*Or when a senior editor at Newsweek disparagingly refers to the brave volunteers in our armed forces -- the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, the Coast Guard -- as a "mercenary army;"
*When the former head of CNN accuses the American military of deliberately targeting journalists; and the once CNN Baghdad bureau chief finally admits that as bureau chief in Baghdad, he concealed reports of Saddam Hussein's crimes when he was in charge there so that CNN could keep on reporting selective news;
*And it's a time when Amnesty International refers to the military facility at Guantanamo Bay -- which holds terrorists who have vowed to kill Americans and which is arguably the best run and most scrutinized detention facility in the history of warfare -- "the gulag of our times." It’s inexcusable.

Why do the Left and Democrats seek America's defeat in the Global War on Terror? Is it because of a dominant socialist mindset they've become more like our enemies than the traditional freedom loving people they once were?

How Democrats Fight Terrorism

They launch treasonous tirades against our Commander in Chief, while our nation faces a mortal threat:

Mayor Rocky Anderson came out swinging today at an anti-war protest in Salt Lake City -- demanding President Bush tell the truth about the war in Iraq. Thousands of people gathered outside the City-County Building this afternoon as the controversial mayor gave an animated speech in protest of the war and President Bush. Anderson called the war in Iraq -- quote-- "illegal and immoral."

...Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff spoke to those gathered saying he had to speak out against what Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson was doing blocks away at an anti-war protest. Shurtleff said it's disrespectful for Anderson to be speaking out against the war on the same day that a Marine from his city is being buried.

The Successors of Fascism

President Bush made this point in a speech before the American Legion in Utah today:

"Enemies of liberty come from different parts of the world. ... Despite their differences, these groups form the outline of a single movement — a worldwide network of radicals who use terror to kill those who stand in the way of their totalitarian ideology," Bush said..."As veterans, you have seen this kind of enemy before. They are successors to fascists, to Nazis, to communists and other totalitarians of the 20th century. And history shows what the outcome will be. This war will be difficult, this war will be long, and this war will end in the defeat of the terrorists and totalitarians and a victory for the cause of freedom and liberty," he said.

This is why its all about Iraq.

The Battle for Baghdad

This is from Mercury News:

``The Battle for Baghdad will go a long ways toward determining the future of Iraq and the future of the Middle East,'' said Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, answering questions via e-mail. ``The United States simply cannot achieve its goals of a democratic, stable and secure Iraq if the unacceptable levels of violence that we had in Baghdad in recent months continue.''
About 8,000 additional U.S. soldiers have been in Baghdad since early August, accompanied by 3,000 Iraqi soldiers.
Despite an increase in violence in Baghdad and elsewhere in the past three days, U.S. officials say the early results of the Baghdad offensive seem encouraging. The capital's homicide rate, which soared to a high of more than 1,800 killings in July, appears to have plummeted by more than half in recent weeks, the U.S. military says.

Is still rough going, but there's still hope the situastion will improve.

Stryker Mobile Gun System

Great Photo from Army News.

Aircraft Carrier Vs. Cruise Missile 9

A long but important article by Mark Williams. A exert:

...the Iranians possess at least 300 Exocet antiship missile systems and an undisclosed number of Russian Moskit supersonic antiship systems--and possibly also the improved Moskit version, the Yakhont...It is Iran's Moskits, though, that are the real concern for American ships. These ramjet-equipped missiles, flying two and a half to three times the speed of sound and as low as five feet above the water, were specifically designed by the Russians to overcome the Aegis defense systems and SM-2 and SM-3 defense missiles protecting American aircraft-carrier groups. The maximum theoretical response time to a Moskit launch is 25 to 30 seconds, leaving little time for jamming and countermeasures--let alone bringing to bear missiles and quick-firing artillery. Unlike past decades, when U.S. warships were constructed with aluminum superstructures (which were 35 to 45 percent lighter than steel and assisted a vessel's speed and maneuverability), current American warships, like the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that are primary components in a U.S. carrier group, generally have steel superstructures. Nevertheless, al Qaeda's attack on the U.S.S. Cole in 2000 provides some insight into what a Moskit can do. The Cole, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer with steel armor, was docked in Aden harbor when a small craft exploded against its port side, putting a 40-by-40-foot (12-by-12 meter) gash in the Cole's flank. That explosion was the result of as much as 600 pounds of explosive. The Cole's vulnerability suggests that any of Iran's Russian-made Moskit missiles, and their 750-pound warheads, are potential ship-killers...

In the longer term, the trend seems clear. Iran developed its first indigenous 32-bit microprocessor last month. Like mounted cavalry faced by the machine gun in 1914 or the battleship confronted by aerial attack in 1941, the U.S. aircraft carrier battle group seems likely to become increasingly a giant, slow-moving target when an enemy can fire swarms of self-guiding cruise missiles from hundreds of miles away. "Sixty-odd years ago, the German admiral Durnitz had in his office a picture of the ocean with a few gulls and a sunlit sea," John Arquilla says. "Durnitz would point to this picture when his U-boat skippers visited him and say, ‘That is the future of naval warfare--there will be no great vessels, only submarines and aircraft.' In 21st-century sea warfare, expect the rise of sea power without a navy."

American Grit Will Mean Victory

This according Don Rumsfeld:

Today we are engaged in conflicts that are again testing whether or not our country believes that the defense of liberty is worth the cost," Rumsfeld said while addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention here. The enemy in the war on terror is ruthless and will lie constantly to advance its cause, Rumsfeld said, but history has proven the American people have resolve and determination. He cited American perseverance following the attack on Pearl Harbor, in the battle of Iwo Jima and in the Korean War. "History has shown time and again that if Americans have the patience and perseverance to see an effort through -- that we prevail," he said. "And the result of that perseverance is a safer and more secure world."

On a similiar note, read my article Perserverance in War.

MiLinks

Hydrogen Fuel Cells Power Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

Northrop Grumman Unveils Next Generation Global Hawk.

Big Down Payment for Future Bombers. How about just build another B-52?

William Lind says the US Army is Beginning to Learn.

Canada Rebuilds its Air Force.

Marines Plan Major Budget Changes. Including cuts in hi-tech toys.

While this Study Urges Added Funding For Marines. Can't please everyone.

Australia to Increase Army Size.

Navy to Scrap Last Diesel Sub. I forgot we still had one!

Iran Tests Submarine-to-Surface Missile. But will they use it?

Navy to Commission Attack Submarine Texas. The second Virginia class.

USS Wasp Surges to Lebanon. These light carriers are very handy.

Last 2 Kidd Destroyers sail to Taiwan. They may need them!

Israel Buys 2 Nuclear-Capable Submarines. They may need them!

Giant Monster Movies. Can't get enough!

Afghan Landing

This cool shot was sent to me by John Burtis. Description:

I'm sure all of you have seen many choppers make some daring moves, but this one is spectacular! This is "unique" landing operation was to round up suspects. The shot was taken by a trooper in Afghanistan. The Pilot is Larry Murphy, PA National Guard. Larry is a Keystone Helicopter Corp. EMS Pilot called to active duty.

The Shadow Party

Its being led by George Soros, according to this Frontpage mag interview with an author of The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party:

Poe: It works by siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions that would have gone to the Democratic Party in normal times, and putting those contributions at the personal disposal of Mr. Soros. He then uses that money to buy influence and loyalty where he sees fit.

And Soros' agenda?

Judge for yourself. In his new book The Age of Fallibility, Soros writes, “The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.” He announced in 2003 that it is necessary to “puncture the bubble of American supremacy.” Soros is working systematically to achieve that goal.

On the economic front, he is shorting the dollar in global currency markets, trying to force a devaluation. At the same time, Soros is orchestrating a nationwide movement to encourage mass immigration into the United States, and to mandate the provision of free social services to illegal immigrants. These measures alone have the potential to bankrupt the nation.

Is Soros the antichrist? Of course, the Left thinks Karl Rove is. Kidding aside, this is alot of power in the hands of one, anti-American individual.

Thanks to John Burtis for the tip.

Rust Proves Staged Ambulance Attack

An apparent attack by Israeli aircraft on a Red Cross ambulance by Israeli jets, proved another staged attack willing repeated by the MSM without fact checking. But, as Honest Reporting describes:

The report, using photographic evidence, finds that each of these claims spread by the international media is, in fact, false. HonestReporting commends Fox News (click to see video), the only media outlet to cover this story of an apparent anti-Israel hoax. Fox states that comparisons of different photos of the vehicle in question and similar vehicles indicate that the hole in the roof had been there all along, previously filled by a vent. In addition, a comparison between a number of pictures of the ambulance show considerable rust around apparent bullet holes, indicating that whatever damage had been done to it occurred long before the recent conflict.

We should give the mainstream media some credit for consistency. As in Katrina reporting plus news on the War on Terror, they have been consistently bias and often wrong.

Iraqi Troops Head Towards Independence

This good news in the Global War on Terror is from Multi National Force-Iraq:

The first full Iraqi Army division will soon be operating without the mentoring of U.S. advisors, a U.S. Army official who oversees Iraqi security forces’ training said Monday in Baghdad.
Brig. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard discussed the formation of the Iraqi National Police and security concerns throughout Iraq in a briefing to reporters.
Pittard, commander of the Iraqi Assistance Group, said that after Sept. 3, the 8th Iraqi Army Division will be operating independently.
Coalition forces will provide only guidance going forward to what will become the first Iraqi Army division to reach such a level of independence.

As they stand up, we will stand down. No cut and run needed!

Wanted: Pentagon Pork Buster

Winslow T. Wheeler details the job requirements:

Any serious proposal to reform congressional pork barreling would include the following:
-- A description of the item and the need for it, if any, not by anyone in Congress, but by an objective entity, such as the Government Accountability Office.
-- An estimate of the past, present, and future cost of the idea, again not from the advocates but from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
-- Most importantly, every earmark Congress endorses should be awarded federal money only after a nation-wide competition to find the best contractor for it. If the idea is any good, why award it to an enterprise pre-selected by a politician rather than by the open market?
-- Few, if any, in Congress will like these ideas; they need a stalwart advocate: specifically, a member that would use the parliamentary devices at his or her disposal to frustrate business as usual unless real reforms are adopted.

John McCain need not apply!

Iran Tests Sub-Launched Missile

This disturbing news is from Military.com:

Iran tested a new anti-ship missile fired by a submarine during war games Sunday, raising worries it could disrupt vital oil tanker traffic in the Gulf amid its standoff with the West over its suspect nuclear activities... The Thaqeb, Farsi for Saturn is Iran's first missile that is fired from underwater and flies above the surface to hit its target, distinguishing it from a torpedo. A brief video showed the missile exiting the water and hitting a target less than a mile away...

The test took place during large-scale military exercises that Iran has been holding since Aug. 19. It was the latest in a series of new naval weapons Iran has unveiled this year to tout what it calls its new technological prowess in arms production.
The Iranian naval commander, Gen. Sajjad Kouchaki, said the Thaqeb could be fired from any vessel, not just submarines. He called it a "long-range" missile but did not specify how far it could fly, and it did not appear capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
He also said the Thaqeb could escape enemy radar - a claim Iran made about a number of weapons it unveiled during military maneuvers in April. Some outside experts have questioned whether the weapons, tested against Iranian radar, would really be undetectable to more advanced U.S. radar.

Though, I'm not too concerned about Iran's nuclear rhetoric, which is all it is, this new weapon bears watching.

Seabees help flood victims

This story is from CentCom:

Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 currently assigned to Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, began assembling tents with the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) Aug. 19 to house some of the approximately 6,000 people left without homes because of recent floods here.

An estimated 250 people are confirmed dead and another 300 are still missing as a result of the four-meter-high wall of water that crashed through the city of Dire Dawa Aug. 6. The 6,000 displaced people are currently sheltered in schools throughout the city.

The Seabees are part of a cooperative effort, which includes the ENDF, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to help the local government provide shelter and other assistance to the flood victims.

Additional services and items, such as food, mattresses, water treatment materials, and supplies to improve sanitation conditions are being provided through partner agencies, including CARE, Population Services International, and the International Rescue Committee.

So, Israel Lost? 3

Here's further proof from Hezbollah itself that it won't be attacking Israel again anytime soon, via NewsMax:

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Sunday that he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers if he had known it would lead to such a war.
Hezbollah guerrillas killed three Israeli soldiers and seized two more in a cross-border raid July 12, which sparked 34 days of fighting that ended Aug. 14.
"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 . . . that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," he said in an interview with Lebanon's New TV station.

Captain Kirk a Rascist?

I was floored when I read this from Townhall, of a Star Trek celebrity roast on the Comedy Channel:

...on Aug. 20 it ran a celebrity roast of William Shatner of "Star Trek" fame. Even the promos leading up to the event were filthy. "The Shat Hits the Fan" was a constant advertising line. The TV promos themselves carried so many bleeps it was amazing any actual words remained...More surprising were the many anti-black jokes thrown at Nichelle Nichols, another roaster and "Star Trek" castmate (Lt. Uhura). A whole pile of racial stereotypes were thrown out there, with comedienne Lisa Lampanelli urging Shatner: "Don't kill yourself. Then Uhura over there won't have anyone's house to clean. I kid. I love you, Nichelle -- or as they called you on the Enterprise, Mammy." Shatner ended the night with more of the same, bashing both Nichols and Farrah Fawcett: "Your skin looks so much like fried chicken that Nichelle's mouth is watering." Where's the NAACP?

I never watch this channel. I have it blocked out because of all the filth, even the commercials would make a sailor blush.

So, Israel Lost? 2

Amir Taheri explains why Hezbollah Didn't Win:

A claim of victory was Hezbollah's shield against criticism of a strategy that had led Lebanon into war without the knowledge of its government and people. Mr. Nasrallah alluded to this in television appearances, calling on those who criticized him for having triggered the war to shut up because "a great strategic victory" had been won.
The tactic worked for a day or two. However, it did not silence the critics, who have become louder in recent days. The leaders of the March 14 movement, which has a majority in the Lebanese Parliament and government, have demanded an investigation into the circumstances that led to the war, a roundabout way of accusing Hezbollah of having provoked the tragedy. Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has made it clear that he would not allow Hezbollah to continue as a state within the state.

This is something we asserted all along, but the Western Media must portray Iran and its proxies as a great power. Then when the shooting starts, they're ready to surrender.

Michael Young uses my analogy of the 73 Yom Kippur War as another so-called Arab victory in this post.

EU Gives France a Backbone

I couldn't resist this, from the Washington Times:

The European Union yesterday swept away a major hurdle to keeping the peace between Israel and Hezbollah by agreeing to provide the "backbone" of a French-led peacekeeping force of 15,000 soldiers in Lebanon. But Europeans said that it could take up to three months for the U.N. force to take control. The European commitment of up to 6,900 European soldiers relieved concerns that the peacekeeping force might not materialize because of reluctance by many countries to send troops into the Middle East cauldron without clear instructions or authorization to use their weapons. An agreement was reached after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan met in Brussels with foreign ministers of the 25 European Union states.

Don't Demote the RAF

This editorial in the Telegraph takes issue with revisionist historians who say the Royal Navy won the Battle of Britian:

The revisionists argue that such was the might of the Home Fleet that a German seaborne invasion would never have reached these shores and the aerial battle of that blazing summer was therefore little short of irrelevant...In reality, the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940 saw the first defeat for Hitler's war machine and in the process gave this country a priceless morale boost after the humiliation of Dunkirk.

It also helped swing American opinion behind the British cause, thanks in no small part to the inestimable war reporting from London of Edward R Murrow. This was a heroic defensive victory and was to be this country's last taste of glory until the offensive victory at El Alamein in 1942, which finally started to turn the tide of the war. It is also worth noting that the revisionist claim of naval impregnability hardly sits comfortably with what happened at the Battle of Crete in 1941, when our fleet was cut to pieces by the Luftwaffe.

I was thinking about the Crete analogy as well. The Brits suffered greatly for lack of airpower in the earlier Battle of France and later during the seige of Singapore. The truth is, civilization owes much to "The Few" who saved Britian in 1940.

No Amnesty for Israel

Typical of so-called "human rights groups" Amnesty International is attacking Israel for defending itself:

In a report to be released Wednesday, Amnesty International accuses Israel of war crimes, saying it broke international law by deliberately destroying Lebanon's civilian infrastructure during its recent war with Hezbollah guerrillas. The human rights group said initial evidence, including the pattern and scope of the Israeli attacks, high number of civilian casualties, widespread damage and statements by Israeli officials "indicate that such destruction was deliberate and part of a military strategy, rather than 'collateral damage.'"

If Amnesty was around in World war 2, Nazi Germany would still be alive and thriving.

The Military Gets it Right

William Lind finally has something good to save about our brave fighting forces:

The Okhrana recently supplied me with a copy of a draft field manual, FM 3-24/FMFM 3-24, Counterinsurgency, which is being written jointly by the Army and the Marine Corps (which is no small achievement in itself). The draft is thoughtful, useful, and frank about the difficulties armed forces designed for conventional wars have when facing insurgencies.

The bulk of its contents is material drawn from the long history of counterinsurgency (more often than not a history of failure). Nothing wrong with that; history must always be the starting point in attempts to understand war, and most other things as well. The manual's authors have done their homework, and if one may lament how much of the manual represents a recovery of lessons learned at a painful price in Vietnam and then thrown away, at least they are here being restored. More than one chapter ends by stressing the need to learn and adapt, with a hint that we have not done too well at that.

Read more on the Marines' new emphasis on counter-insurgency below.

Marines Gear for Irregular Warfare

Returning back to roots as a light reaction force. From Military.com:

Among the changes are plans to slash the projected buy of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle by 43 percent, from a total of 1,013 amphibious assault vehicles to as few as 578. Plans to curtail this program were first reported in June by Inside the Navy. The Marine Corps, according to the summary, would use savings garnered to invest in “irregular platforms of the future,” which include the Light Armored Vehicle-Personnel variant, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and the Internally Transportable Vehicle. The ITV is designed to be carried by the tiltrotor MV-22 Osprey aircraft.
“Investments into these new platforms give the combatant commander versatile and scalable mobility options optimized for irregular warfare, resulting in a better balance of irregular and conventional capabilities,” states the summary.
Purchases of the tiltrotor MV-22 Osprey aircraft will be capped at 30 per year; the previous ceiling was 36, according to the 10-page summary. The spending proposal reduces the planned buy across the six-year spending period by 25 aircraft. Despite this reduction, the Marine Corps will continue to field two MV-22 squadrons a year, according to the document.

This is better than the weapon heavy force it became during the First Gulf War.

Democrats on the War

Ann Coulter on the Democrats:

Assuming against all logic and reason that the Democrats have some serious objection to the war in Iraq, perhaps they could tell us which part of the war on terrorism they do support...

They oppose the National Security Agency listening to people who are calling specific phone numbers found on al-Qaida cell phones and computers. Spying on al-Qaida terrorists is hampering our ability to fight the global war on terror!

...Democrats oppose the detainment of Taliban and al-Qaida soldiers at our military base in Guantanamo, Cuba. Democrats such as Rep. Jane Harman, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, have called for Guantanamo to be shut down...

Democrats oppose the Patriot Act, the most important piece of legislation passed since 9/11, designed to make the United States less of a theme park for would-be terrorists...

They oppose profiling Muslims at airports.
They oppose every bust of a terrorist cell, sneering that the cells in Lackawanna, New York City, Miami, Chicago and London weren't a real threat like, say, a nondenominational prayer before a high school football game.

But they support the Global War on Terror!

Baghdad Violence Down

This good news is from Iraqpundit:

Turns out that, news of the Apocalypse notwithstanding, there's apparently been a significant decline in Baghdad street violence this month, including both criminal and political attacks. At least that's what U.S. and Iraqi officials are claiming. While it's reasonable to take a skeptical view of such claims like these, it's just as reasonable to be skeptical of the U.S. media's reports about the state of the city. As for me, I put my bet on the Baghdadis.

Here's what's going on. The U.S. military has increased its presence in Baghdad in order to rein in the murders, kidnappings and other criminal violent activity that has been plaguing the capital. (This security program does not address car bombings.) Some 5,000 extra troops moved in two weeks ago, and joined with thousands of Iraqi troops to do door-to-door sweeps in a series of dangerous neighborhoods.

If this continues, it will be the end for terrorists in Iraq, and eventually Iran.

Will Israel Go It Alone?

Against Iran? This is from All Headline News:

Iran's ongoing defiance of international demands regarding its nuclear program and the world's failure to do anything about it but talk may compel Israel to take matters into its own hands, senior government sources in Jerusalem warned Wednesday.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on condition of anonymity, one official said Tehran's written response Tuesday to international incentives to stop its uranium enrichment efforts was a clear rejection that Iran knew perfectly well would carry no consequences.
"The Iranians know the world will do nothing," he said.

Austin Bay says Israel is not alone.

France Shamed into Action

Will send troops to Lebanon after all:

President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that France will send a total of 2,000 soldiers for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, and an European Union official said it wants to see the troops in place within a week.
In a nationally televised address that also was closely followed throughout Europe, Chirac said France will increase its deployment from an already announced 400 troops, and hopes to retain command of the force. He said the United Nations had provided the guarantees France had sought involving the mandate of the force.
"Two extra battalions will go on to the ground to extend our numbers within UNIFIL," Chirac said. "Two thousand French soldiers are thus placed under blue helmets in Lebanon," he added.

How Liberals Fight Terrorism

They are enamored with rather than critical of terrorists. Even the NY Times finds fault with this CBS Documentary:

On the one hand, the producers here are attentive to Mr. bin Laden’s skill at media manipulation. On the other, they themselves seem half-seduced by the portrait of the pure-hearted Arab revolutionary that has so captivated parts of the Muslim world. With the heavy rotation of soulful portraits of the soft-voiced prophet of jihad with Super 8-style movies of the warrior on horseback, parts of “In the Footsteps of bin Laden” could almost double as a recruiting video for Al Qaeda...Finally, there’s something way too credulous about “In the Footsteps of bin Laden.” The documentary spends almost no time with critics in the Arab world who see Mr. bin Laden as a dangerous fanatic who may have pushed the world to the brink of a global catastrophe. Hasn’t Mr. Bergen learned anything in the eventful nine years since he met the terrorist?

Medical teams educate, treat villagers

This is from CentCom:

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Coalition forces, to include the Bagram Cooperative Medical Assistance team and New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction team, conducted a joint medical civil action program July 22 to 29 in the Panjab and Waras districts of Bamyan Province.
During the visits to the Tarapass and Petabjoy valley systems, the combined team stopped at local medical centers before traveling to schools to provide medical support to villagers.

The medical centers visited included Panjab District Hospital, the biggest hospital in the area, and the Shinya Ashkarat Clinic of Basic Health Care.
“We provide training best needed for problems and concerns in the area,” said Army Maj. Anthony Littrell, CMA director from Samford, N.C. “The area is inaccessible nine months out of the year due to harsh weather conditions. Because of this, non-urgent cases can be treated at individual homes by community health workers.”

Thanks to our troops and those who fight for Iraqi democracy!

Renewed Hope in Baghdad

This good news is from Multinational Force-Iraq:

Efforts this week to quell violence in the capital city are showing signs of progress, but Coalition leaders say the battle is far from over.
“Abating the extremists in the capital will neither be easy nor rapid,” Multi-National Force - Iraq spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV said this week of progress in the capital city. “Challenges will ensue, but efforts will march forward block by block.”U.S. and Iraqi forces have been conducting combined missions in Baghdad as part of Operation Together Forward, an Iraqi-led campaign to reduce violence in the capital, while at the same time promoting economic incentives, civic action projects and the control of illegal weapons.
This past week, Iraqi and Coalition forces concentrated on four major Baghdad hot spots – mostly in the western part of the city – in an effort to reduce the number of murders, kidnappings, assassinations and car bombs in those areas. Operations in the al-Doura neighborhood of southern Baghdad continued to build on the improved security established over the past two weeks.
The operations in western Baghdad are led by the Soldiers from the 6th Iraqi Army Division and policemen from the 2nd Iraqi National Police Division, supported by Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team and 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

Also read More Than 100 Iraqi Terror Suspects Captured Last Week.

MiLinks

Updated US Military Aircraft Prices. That Raptor is one expensive bird.

Excalibur Smart Shell Closer To Fielding.

David Axe's F-22 Series: Raptor, or Turkey? The whole series.

DoD Finds Cruise Missile Defense 'Gaps'. Are we really safe?

Israel, Hezbollah Assess Arsenal, Consider Lessons.

General To Recommend US Missile Defense Sites In Europe Soon. But the terrorists like Europe, right?

Lockheed Says F-35 Could Fly Pilotless.

New warships built to deter terror acts. The littoral combat ship.

Iran 'fires on Romanian oil rig'. The mullahs get mad.

Danish Warships to Lebanon. No one wants to send troops.

Fuel Cells for Navy Warships. Its the latest thing!

Delaying Joint Strike Fighter

We need this airplane yesterday, and the Navy wants to wait. From Military.com:

The Navy and Marine Corps want to delay fielding of the Joint Strike Fighter by more than a year, according to Pentagon officials.
If approved, the move would bump planned acquisition of 35 stealthy new fighters beyond the Navy's proposed new six-year spending plan, freeing up more than $1 billion between fiscal years 2008 and 2013 that officials hope to redirect to other naval priorities, these officials said.

By the time this fighter finally enters service in the next decade, it will likely be obsolete and greatly overpriced. The Navy spends so much on giant supercarriers they can't afford the planes to fill its massive decks.

More Lebanon Winners and Losers

Fantastic article at the American Thinker on the recent Lebanese conflict. This was my favorite part:

Despite the death knell sounding on the President’s Middle Eat policy, the war had the unintended consequence of firming the Bush Administration position. As the saber rattling from DC has increased in regards to Iran, many on the American left began a policy of pre-emption against Bush’s policy of pre-emption. The argument was typically along the lines of “Bush lied to us about WMD and terrorism in Iraq, so how can we trust him on Iran?” It was a lack of credibility argument. This argument has now exploded as did the first sophisticated, Iranian provided and most likely operated anti-ship weaponry fired on the Israeli navy. The volley fire of anti-tank weapons finished this argument as it finished the Israeli tanks. It is now beyond reasonable question that Iran is a state supporter of terrorism. The “no credibility argument” has, well, lost the little credibility it had before. Bush’s position on Iran has strengthened.

Even Bush's poll numbers are up!

UK Waking Up?

This is from the Spectator via The American Thinker:

Almost three quarters of the British public are now convinced that we are fighting a new world war against extremist Islamic terrorists — and although they may not recognise the names, on this issue at least, most are in the same camp as leading US conservatives such as Eliot Cohen, Norman Podhoretz and Newt Gingrich. The public is also deeply concerned at how this new conflict is developing, with four out of five judging the West to be losing and the terrorists to be winning. Almost nobody believes that last week’s foiled plot to blow up a large number of transatlantic flights will be the last such attempt, or that the police and security services will be as effective next time; 86 per cent of respondents believe that Britain is likely to suffer a major terrorist attack within the next year.

Hopefully both America and Britian will get rid of our Liberal tendacies and get serious about combatting Islamic Fascism.

Israeli Casualties

Seen this on the news? I haven't. From the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

*43 Israeli civilians were killed by Hezbollah rocket fire
*116 Israeli soldiers and officers were killed
*3,970 rockets were fired at Israel, 901 of them hit urban areas
*4,262 civilians were treated in hospitals for injuries
*6,000 Israeli private homes were damaged
*300,000 Israelis were forced to flee
*Over 1,000,000 Israelis were forced to spend a month in bomb shelters
*One third of the population of Israel was directly exposed to the missile threat
*Over $1,400,000,000 is estimated to be the direct economic loss to the Israeli economy.

Maybe it will be on CNN when I get home!

France's Doublespeak

"Do as I say, not as I do" is the philosophy, according to Jules Crittenden:

I don’t speak French, so I have no idea what the actual French words are for those concepts or what possible nuances there may be. I’ve been relying on news reports in English, which now inform me that the French do not intend to send any significant number of troops to what is supposed to be a force of 15,000 in Lebanon, like everyone thought they said they would... The shamelessness of France knows no bounds. They have a domestic Arabic population and business interests in the Mideast to satisfy. They desperately want to be taken seriously as a major power. So they sat down with the United States and hammered out a peace plan. Then, before the ink was dry, they shrugged a Gallic shrug.

France is a great power, in its own mind. But don't put them to the test, please.

Iraq as Roach Motel

Terrorist check in but don't check out! Larry Schweikart on the real Iraq body count:

In America’s Victories, I argued that Iraq was a giant “Roach Motel,” in which the terrorists check in, and only leave via the morgue. The real Iraq body count suggest I understated my case by several orders of magnitude. Let me reiterate that no one is looking at the enemy wounded, many of whom will never again fight, or deserters/quitters. As the Japanese found out with their kamikaze pilots, there is a finite number of “warriors” willing to commit suicide. There is also—even for the most fanatical of bushido-ist Japanese and Islamic jihadists—a critical mass in which “fighters” and would-be suicide bombers say “no mas” and quietly abandon the front.

The “Roach Motel” strategy, as bloody as it is, works as well for us in Iraq as it worked for Lord Chelmsford when he sent his army into Zululand in 1879 to draw out the Zulus and destroy them.

Zarqawi’s last memos testify to the effectiveness of this strategy, as does his corpse.

Jimmy's Legacy

John Burtis places blame for last week's Court decision on terrorist surveillance, on Jimmy Carter, as well he should!

Somewhere in Detroit a dimwitted federal judge appointed by the late, lamentable and toothy Jimmy Carter, who made militant Islam what it is today by his feckless and toothless response to the capture of our hostages in Tehran back in 1979, ruled that the highly successful NSA program is unconstitutional...President Carter - who directed the ill fated rescue attempt at Desert One, which cost so many lives, which was planned so abysmally and so poorly, and was such a propaganda windfall for the Ayatollah, which demonstrated the utter lack of US power to the world, the lack of dust filters, the need for landing near a highway and for the capture of a busload of people on hegira, all told a massive foul up of the first degree - is still telling us what to do in the East. Mr. Carter's mistakes are legend, his lack of leadership is noteworthy, his failures countless, and for all of this he is still rewarded by a political party noted for full retreat and sham victories on the field of honor.

I thought we heard the last of Mr. Peanut in 1980.Sadly, was I wrong!

So, Israel Lost?

Despite what you here in the Media, events over the weekend from Lebanon means Prime Minister Olmert got his point across:

Lebanon's defense minister said yesterday that he is certain Hezbollah will not break the cease-fire, but warned all militant groups of harsh measures and a traitor's fate if they incite Israeli retaliation by firing rockets into the Jewish state.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues on the offensive, with Hezbollah apparently helpless to respond:

A day after Israeli commandos staged a pre-dawn raid deep into Lebanon -- prompting U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to declare the Israelis in violation of the Security Council cease-fire resolution -- no new clashes were reported. Residents in the mountains east of Beirut, however, described continued overflights by Israeli warplanes on the truce's seventh day...The Lebanese defense minister said Hezbollah would not retaliate.

This proves what I said earlier:"Hezbollah will likely think twice in the future before illegally seizing Israeli citizens."

Plus, Spacewar has a fair and balanced analysis of the conflict.

Taliban to Disarm?

As reported by the Toronto Star:

In a significant move, Canadian and NATO officials in southern Afghanistan are involved in sensitive negotiations with Taliban fighters after discreet backroom signals from insurgents that they might be willing to lay down arms.
News of the surprise offer was quietly welcomed by allied military officials caught in the crosshairs of a swelling insurgency that has killed seven Canadian soldiers since July 22.
Disarmament talks are unfolding even as "hundreds" of fighters mass west of Kandahar in an ominous prelude to a potential battle.
The overture for potential peace came when a faction of Taliban insurgents in Panjwai region southwest of Kandahar signalled it wanted to talk to NATO's International Security Assistance Force or the United Nations about disarming.
"They didn't want to have a dialogue on disarming or stopping fighting with the Afghan government directly," one source told the Toronto Star.

Give up Bin Laden and its a deal!

Debunking the Myth Makers

Austin Bay (and others) review the new book from Popular Mechanics titled Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up To The Facts:

"Debunking" begins with an insightful and blunt foreword by Sen. John McCain, who observes,
"Conspiracy mongering is no small phenomenon. ... These theories come in nearly infinite variety, but all reach essentially the same conclusion: that the U.S. government, or some shadowy group that controls it, organized the attacks as part of a master plan for global domination. But the truth is more mundane. The philosopher Hannah Arendt described the banality of Nazi evil; the 9/11 hijackers were also ordinary, uninteresting men with twisted beliefs."
Counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke's blurb for the book describes it as "reliable and rational" and that the government "isn't competent enough to pull off such conspiracies and too leaky to keep them secret."
Book editors David Dunbar and Brad Reagan frame the content with the late Senator Pat Moynihan's classic quip: "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion. He is not entitled to his own facts."

I think I agree with Clarke on this. You can also read the original magazine article online the book is based on.

France Backs Down

Surprising? No. Disappointing? Yes. This is from the Washington Post:

France on Thursday rebuffed pleas by U.N. officials to make a major contribution to a peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, setting back efforts to deploy an international military force to help police a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, according to U.N. and French officials.
French President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that France would contribute only 200 additional troops to the U.N. operation in southern Lebanon, which the Security Council wants to expand from 2,000 troops to 15,000.

Why did they back down? Could it be from fear of Hezbollah?

The decision was prompted in part by the French military's anxiety over serving under U.N. command, diplomats said. French officials cited the loss of 84 French troops in the U.N. mission in the early 1990s in Bosnia, and the seizure of French peacekeepers as hostages. French officials had also expressed concern that Hezbollah fighters were not prepared to disarm and might turn their guns on peacekeeping troops, according to U.N. diplomats. In 1983, Islamic militants killed 58 French paratroops in a suicide bomb attack in Beirut.

Maybe this is a good thing, considering France's support of Arab dictators such as Saddam Hussein as well as recent praising of Iran as a "stabilizing force in the region".

Hollywood Blasts Terrorists

'Bout time! From the Sidney Morning Herald:

In a move that has the international Muslim extremist community quaking in its boots, the group of high-profile luvvies has taken out a powerfully worded full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times calling for an end to the slaughter of innocents by nasty men belonging to organisations beginning with H. Take that, you terrorist punks!
The signatories include the chairman of News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, the actors Michael Douglas, Dennis Hopper, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Danny De Vito, Don Johnson, James Woods, Kelly Preston, Patricia Heaton and William Hurt, and various directors, including Ridley Scott and Michael Mann.
The ad singles out for special mention Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine.

I think this is great. Better late than never.

Update: Here's the ad at Radio Blogger.

Carter Tells All

In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel. Can you guess who Carter is speaking about here:

The fundamentalists believe they have a unique relationship with God, and that they and their ideas are God's ideas and God's premises on the particular issue. Therefore, by definition since they are speaking for God anyone who disagrees with them is inherently wrong. And the next step is: Those who disagree with them are inherently inferior, and in extreme cases -- as is the case with some fundamentalists around the world -- it makes your opponents sub-humans, so that their lives are not significant. Another thing is that a fundamentalist can't bring himself or herself to negotiate with people who disagree with them because the negotiating process itself is an indication of implied equality. And so this administration, for instance, has a policy of just refusing to talk to someone who is in strong disagreement with them -- which is also a radical departure from past history.

If you guessed Osama Bin Laden or Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, you're wrong. Here's another hint:

And, of course, fundamentalists don't believe they can make mistakes, so when we permit the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, it's just impossible for a fundamentalist to admit that a mistake was made.

That's right, he's talking about his own elected President George Bush. The man who did nothing to stop the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism which is fueling terrorism today has the gall to critisize the only president trying to end the threat once and for all. Left up to Carter and his Party, most of Eastern Europe and 50 million Arabs in Iraq and Afghanistan would still be in slavery.

Test Your Knowledge

HonestReporting says Media photos from the recent Lebanon Conflict fail to tell the whole story. Take the quiz and see if you know fact from fiction.

Win the Battle, Lose the War

Interesting theory on the fallout from the Lamont-Lieberman race, by Joe Mariani:

The likely result of Lieberman's loss in the primary is that other Democratic politicians will shift to the Left. No politician in a losing party wants to gamble with the support of core voters, as Lieberman did. Yet as they move Left, the Democrats will lose more mainstream support. As they shrink, they will move further to the Left to retain core voters. Eventually, the expanding Republican party will split, returning us to a viable two-party system...

Because of Ned Lamont's primary victory, the Republicans will probably retain control of Congress in November. And if they have the backbone to nominate a serious Conservative for President in 2008 -- someone like Virginia Senator George Allen, for instance -- they now have an excellent chance of winning, thanks to the malignant anti-war wing's takeover of the Democratic party. No one who's serious about fighting Islamofascism, the most important issue of our time, will entrust the defense of our nation to those who demand the US military run away from the central front of the war.

I hope he's right.

How Liberals Fight Terror

Even after the recent foiled London Bomb Plot which could have killed thousands of Americans, the events in Lebanon, and the upcoming 5th anniversary of September 11, Liberals assert themselves as obstacles to fighting the Global War on Terror:

Judge Rules Terrorist Surveillance Program Unconstitutional

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.
U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.
"Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution," Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program, which involves secretly listening to conversations between people in the U.S. and people in other countries.

Liberals fight the Bush administration harder than the real threat to our freedom from Islamic Fascism.

News Blackout on Fox Crew?-Update

I watch Fox News frequently and there's hardly a mention about the kidnapping of Steve Centanni and his cameraman. Didn't the press go crazy when Jill Carrol of the CS Monitor was kidnapped?

Update- Brit Hume had a short monologue on the kidnapped reporters on his show yesterday.

Dark Years After Vietnam

Brendan Miniter says Democrats have forgotten:

The Vietnamese call the two decades that followed the fall of Saigon in 1975 the "Dark Years." That period came to a close only after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet empire, when the regime in Hanoi, though still communist, began to liberalize. The U.S. didn't suffer for nearly as long--Jimmy Carter was a one-term president, after all--but the blow to American confidence was nonetheless severe. It wasn't until the first Gulf War in 1991 that the U.S. was willing to put hundreds of thousands of boots on foreign ground again to wage a large-scale military invasion. And in the years that followed, President Clinton again hesitated to use American troops on foreign soil after 18 soldiers were killed in the streets of Mogadishu. Mr. Clinton did wage war in Kosovo, but only from the skies. And as late as the invasion of Afghanistan in the weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks, serious people were still warning of "another Vietnam" in the far-flung mountains that had once swallowed up Soviet troops.

Liberals no longer want America involved in "foreign wars", even if the enemy comes here. Personally, I don't see where the Party which lost Vietnam, almost lost us the Cold War, and did very little against terrorism in the 90's has any right to question Republicans on National Security.

MiLinks

F-22 Strike Raptor. Its the best in the biz!

Batmav micro UAV. Small like a bat!

Pilots Flex Skills in Network Centric Warfare. Future war now!

South African Vulture UAV for Production. The Pride of the African skies!

RPGs versus Infantry. Lebanon war gets dirty.

Bolster infantry forces. Robert Scales wants more boots on the ground.

Lockheed Tests RATTLRS Supersonic Sled. "Submunitions are successfully dispensed at supersonic speed".

AMRAAM: Deploying & Developing America's Medium-Range Air-Air Missile.

The Mexican Helicopter Carriers. Invading the US in style!

The Great American Mine Hunter Give-Away. Just when we need them the most.

Israel enhancing nuke-capable submarines. Who can blame them?

The 1000-Ship Navy. We're still waiting!

DDG-1000 Destroyer Cost Needs Justifying. That's what I'd like to know!

Patriotism Rampant

Robert Cox says Loe Lieberman may be on to something:

I took my kids to the Shamu Show at SeaWorld San Diego, first stop on the 2006 Cox Family West Coast Summer Vacation Tour...The show announcer then asked all those currently serving in the military to stand up. Hundreds of military families were in SeaWorld that day and during the 2 p.m. show, roughly 100 men and women, out of a crowd of more than 3,000, rose to their feet. The announcer then asked the crowd to show their appreciation and a long, loud and heartfelt applause followed...

We watched from the pier above as the anti-war protestors, armed with clipboards approached beachgoers requesting their signature for what purpose I can only guess. Time and again, couples walking arm and arm, parents with families in tow and individuals strolling toward the surf, ignored them or waved them away. In the time we watched, we did not see a single person sign on to their cause.

This is good to know in times like these.

Israel's Win in Lebanon

This from the UK Times, basically repeats what I've stated on the recent conflict:

First, the damage inflicted by the Israeli Defence Forces on Hezbollah’s infrastructure and resources is far, far greater than the equivalent harm that it has suffered. A sizeable proportion of Hezbollah rocket launchers and fighters have been eliminated, while the Israeli army has lost no more than a few tanks and, to its regret, about 100 soldiers. For a body that is used to incessant combat, this is not a spectacular setback.
Secondly, Hezbollah has deployed a huge percentage of its missile arsenal to very little advantage. Only in the Alice in Wonderland world of the Middle East could it be seen as a “triumph” for a terrorist organisation simply to launch Katyusha missiles in the direction of Israel and roughly 95 per cent of them to hit nothing of any value. It took Hezbollah six years to accumulate a stockpile that, fundamentally, it has wasted.
Thirdly, the administration in Lebanon, which had ostentatiously refused to send its soldiers to the south of that country for the past six years, has been obliged to pledge to the United Nations that it will now do so. It will, furthermore, be under the de facto control of a much larger international force than has been assembled in that region before — one that will be judged a success or otherwise by the extent to which it keeps the place quiet.

Its doesn't matter what the pundits say. Just as America still remains in Iraq fighting the terrorists after 3 years, free and democratic Israel is still a thorn in the Islamic Fascists' side.

Lawmaker Apologizes To Marines

Sorry, not Congressman Jack Murtha, the real culprit here. This is from the Washington Post:

A Republican congressman apologized yesterday to the Marines under investigation in the killings of two dozen civilians in Haditha, Iraq, last November, saying that statements he made about the case were taken out of context and that he did not mean to imply the Marines were guilty of wrongdoing.
Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) issued the apology as part of an agreement with lawyers for Marine Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, who alleged that Kline had damaged Wuterich's reputation...

Wuterich took the unusual step earlier this month of filing a federal lawsuit against Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), alleging that statements Murtha made about the Haditha deaths were libelous...Wuterich had threatened to sue Kline as well.

Time for Murtha to step up and regain his honor for these libelous remarks.

Swift Aid to Lebanon

This story is from CentCom:

BEIRUT, Lebanon - U.S. Navy High Speed Vessel Two Swift (HSV 2) delivered more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid to Beirut, Lebanon.

More than $2 million of relief was donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and, with the help of the Islamic Relief Organization (IRO), was immediately disbursed to approximately 20,000 needy Lebanese citizens.

Diana Sufian, an independent project coordinator, brought the IRO and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints together for the coordinated relief effort.

“We’re true humanitarians,” said Sufian. “We’re reaching out feeding the children who are hungry.”
Sufian expressed her gratitude for the U.S. Navy’s support and interest in delivering the supplies.
“I want to put America’s face on this,” said Sufian. “I want the whole world to see that America cares, and see what these brave men and women in uniform are doing out here.”

Swift’s commanding officer Cmdr. Rob Morrison was humbled by the experience and said he was grateful to be able to help. “It’s an honor to be a part of this,” he said. “I have an outstanding crew and I am very proud of them for the work they’ve done here in the last few days.”

Who Wins?

The worldwide press has spoken and Hezbollah is declared the victor in its recent conflict with Israel. As usual, events are a little more complicated than the Media will tell you. Never let it be said, though, that reporters were interested in the whole story over the one that makes headlines.

Despite the popular consensus, coming even from Israel, Hezbollah is no winner because she is no closer to destroying the Jews than before the fighting began. Likewise, increased pressure is now on the Lebanese government to look to its own defense and disarm the terrorists according to UN Mandate. Iran is no victor either for she is still under threat of sanctions for failing to cease nuclear ambitions. Iranian ties to terrorists are evident, which can only continue to undermine Tehran’s standing in the world community, if it is possible to get lower.

The biggest loser in this debacle is the Liberal Media. Reuters has been caught with its pants down with doctored photos. CNN has long proved themselves willing spokesmen of terrorist propaganda, all for the sake of a few headlines.

Israel is winner in the end, as she is now considered a full partner with America in the Global War on Terror. President Bush recently declared his intention to defend the Jewish State from rogue states like Iran if necessary, while attempting to eradicate world terrorism. This long-range objective is more beneficial to Israel than any battlefield victory.

The new Lebanese democracy comes out ahead as well. As proved in Iraq and Afghanistan, Arab governments can no longer stand idly by while their sovereignty is hijacked by a terrorist minority like Hezbollah.

BBC is a Little Off

In more ways than one. This hilarious story is from James Taranto:

Last Monday the BBC published a puff piece on Cuba's dictator titled "Fidel: The World Icon." Here's how it starts:

Cuba's President Fidel Castro--the world's longest-serving leader--turns 80 on 13 August. This week, we will be assessing his political life and his impact on the Caribbean island.

The world's longest-serving leader? Castro seized power in January 1959, which certainly puts him at the top of the list. But we can think of one head of state who's been in office since 1952, and it's one the BBC should have heard of: Queen Elizabeth II.

Aircraft Carrier Vs. Cruise Missile 8

Recently the last carrier launch of the venerable Navy F-14 Tomcat occurred. Originally designed as a fleet interceptor in the late 1960’s, the Tomcat evolved into a potent long-range strike aircraft just in time for the start of the Global War on Terror. This “Bombcat” was a welcome addition to the aircraft carrier’s strike capability after the retirement of well-used A-6 Intruder bombers in the 1990’s. The replacement of these late Cold War planes is the very good F/A-18 Super Hornet, which unfortunately lacks the range of the older aircraft. This decrease in the combat range of naval strike planes comes at a time when warfare at sea moves into the littorals; confined waters that are unsuited for the big ships. Carriers now are forced closer inshore to participate in the land battle, thus making themselves greater targets for enemy mines, diesel subs, and cruise missiles. This will inevitably give credence to those who say the vulnerable and over-priced supercarriers be replaced with smaller, more stealthy vessels that fire long-range missiles and UAVs, with less risk to ship and crew.

Hezbollah Blows It!

Finally made it to the "The Quill Pen Ten" at Opinion Editorials with this article.

How Liberals Fight Terrorism #5

They excuse their willing complicity in encouraging terrorists to fight on. From the NY Times:

It comes like a punch to the gut, at times like these, when our leaders blatantly use the nation’s trauma for political gain. We never get used to this. It never feels like business as usual.
On Wednesday, when the administration already knew that British agents were rounding up suspects in what they believed was a plot to blow up planes en route to the United States, Vice President Dick Cheney had a telephone interview with reporters to discuss the defeat of Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut in a Democratic primary. Mr. Cheney went off on a rather rambling disquisition, but its main point was clear: In rejecting Mr. Lieberman, who supported the war in Iraq, the Democrats were encouraging “the Al Qaeda types.” Within the Democratic ranks, the vice president added, “there’s a significant body of opinion that wants to go back — I guess the way I would describe it is sort of the pre-9/11 mind-set, in terms of how we deal with the world we live in.”...It would be a blessed moment in modern American history if we could do that without turning this into a political game plan.

In other words, "its time for America to get amnesia again about another victory by the good guys in the Terror War".

Terrorist Surveillance Defeated Bomb Plot

Glad the NY Times didn't get wind of this. From Sky News:

"During the investigation an unprecedented level of surveillance has been undertaken and that surveillance has had as its objective to gather intelligence and evidence in support of the investigation," he said.
"We have been looking at meetings, movements, travel, spending and the aspirations of a large group of people. This has involved close co-operation not only between agencies and police forces in the UK but also internationally.

It takes all forms of weapons to fight a war, and good intelligence is the most important.

Many Fear, Mistrust Muslims

Well Duh!! This story is from NewsMax:

Nearly four in 10 Americans admit having feelings of prejudice against Muslims living in the U.S. – and are in favor of having Muslims carry a special ID, a new Gallup poll reveals.
Also, 22 percent of those surveyed said they would not like to have a Muslim as a neighbor...Opinions are different, however, among Americans who are personally acquainted with a Muslim, the poll disclosed.

Yeah, many of the neighbors who knew these recent British bombers say they were surprised finding they lived by radical terrorists.

Who Democrat's Really Hate

It's not about Bush, says Ann Coulter:

...Democrats don't oppose the war on terrorism because they hate Bush: They hate Bush because he is fighting the war on terrorism. They would hate him for fighting terrorists even if he had a "D" after his name. They would hate Bernie Sanders if he were fighting a war on terrorism. In the past three decades, there have been more legitimate sightings of Big Foot than of "Scoop Jackson Democrats."
That's why Hillary Clinton has anti-war protestors howling at her public events. That's why she has drawn an anti-war primary opponent, Jonathan Tasini, who appears to believe that Israel is a terrorist state. If those rumors I've been hearing about a Hezbollah/Hamas/DNC merger are true, we might be in for a slightly longer fight.

Or Joe Lieberman:

In Tuesday's primary, Connecticut Democrats dumped Joe Lieberman, an 18-year incumbent, because he supports the war on terrorism. This is the same Joe Lieberman who voted against all the Bush tax cuts, against banning same-sex marriage, against banning partial-birth abortion, against the confirmation of Judge Alito, against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in favor of the Kyoto accords. Oh yes, this was also the same Joe Lieberman who was the Democrats' own vice presidential candidate six years ago.

'Nuff said.

Iraq and Terrorism

Mike Gallagher wonders what Cindy Sheehan and Ned Lamont are thinking after yesterdays foiled terrorist bombing plot:

Somehow, the loony left has managed to convince a fair number of Americans that Iraq has nothing to do with Al-Qaeda or terrorism. I don’t quite know how they’ve managed to do that. A simple Google search of legitimate, reliable news sources can confirm the miles and miles of irrefutable connections between the bad guys of Iraq and the bad guys of terrorism.
You don’t believe me? Go ahead and look it up. Ask where the mastermind of the Achille Lauro hijacking fled after slaughtering an American named Leon Klinghoffer, way back in 1985. You doubt the connections? Find out where the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing sought – and received – safe harbor. I’ll give you a hint: they were sheltered in a city spelled B-a-g-h-d-a-d.
Furthermore, investigate the mountains of documents confirming meetings between top level Al-Qaeda leaders and high-ranking members of the Iraqi government.
No, the anti-war voices in America are lying when they say there is no connection between Iraq and terrorism. And they know it.

Of course, the left will lay low until America gets amnesia again, like soon after 9/11.

World's Biggest Amphibious Airplane

This is the Russian Albatros. Cetainly not the first jet seaplane, but very unique and capable:

This is the world's only turbojet that can take off and land both on water and at a conventional airport. It can perform numerous tasks: search for SSBNs (ballistic missile submarines), rescue merchant vessels and warships in distress, and even quench forest fires. I'll describe its capabilities later. Let's first talk about the A-40 amphibian itself.
Gennady Panatov, one of its designers, told me that the Albatross, at 86 metric tons, is also the world's biggest amphibious airplane. It was tested in 1990, and was nearly adopted, but was not produced en masse for reasons we'll discuss later...

Apart from its smart, appealing design, the Albatros has unique combat capabilities. It is primarily a military aircraft, a kind of submarine hunter, which was once part of the national anti-submarine defense. It can fly 2,000 km out to sea (this is its range; as the crow flies it can cover a distance of 5,500 km); barrage a suspected nuclear submarine deployment area for five to eight hours (up to 12 hours with refueling); descend on water like its living namesake, the world's biggest bird; turn off the engines and listen to traffic noise; and conduct other "search operations," to use a military term. It can track a submarine, pinpoint its location with indicator buoys (or surround it with red flags, as if it were a wolf), follow it all the way, take off without losing touch with it, and then land again if it stays deep for a long time or lies on the seabed.

How about this as a P-3 Orion replacement!

Myths and Facts About Lebanon

This is a short 2 minute film by HonestReporting.com.

Lieberman's Loss is GOP Gain

So says Time Magazine and many Democrats:

...Democratic candidates found themselves on the defensive Wednesday as the Republican Party worked ferociously at every level to try to use the primary defeat of Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut to portray the opposition as the party of weakness and isolation on national security and liberal leanings on domestic policy. Doleful Democrats bemoaned the irony: At a time when Republicans should be back on their heels because of chaos abroad and President Bush's unpopularity, the Democrats' rejection of a sensible, moralistic centrist has handed the GOP a weapon that could have vast ramifications for both the midterm elections of '06 and the big dance of '08.
At breakfast time, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman was in Cleveland, decrying "an unfortunate embrace of isolationism, defeatism, and a blame- America-first attitude by national Democratic leaders at a time when retreating from the world is particularly dangerous."

...White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told reporters in Crawford, Tex.: "It's a defining moment for the Democratic Party, whose national leaders now have made it clear that if you disagree with the extreme left in their party they're going to come after you."

Well, if the Dems are so worried, where were they before the Primary?

Slate calls the election a Democratic Disaster!

The Infantry Alternative

General Robert Scales discusses the limits of airpower and what we can do about it:

What about the ground alternative? Haven't Israeli losses in places like Bint Jbeil (or Marine losses in Fallujah) shown that it's too expensive in soldier's lives to confront the enemy on his turf? Haven't we learned in places like Korea and Vietnam that tactical close fighting on the ground is exactly what the enemy wants? Maybe. But experience in Lebanon seems to have resurrected once again the concern that perhaps we haven't tried, really tried, to find ways and means to engage an insurgent on the ground without suffering excessive casualties...There are many areas that desperately need attention if we are to commit to keeping light infantry alive in battle. Just a few: Put precision small arms in the hands of infantry; give them better networks to connect them to the outside world and to each other; provide even better personal protection from small arms; and most importantly, find a technological breakthrough that will conceal light infantry as it rushes across the last 50 meters, the so-called "deadly zone" where most of them die.

I believe the foot soldier is the only alternative to the insurgent, if we are to win the Long War. I have written about airpower's limitation in a recent article The Decline and Fall of Airpower.

How Liberals Fight Terrorism #4

They seek interviews with terrorist supporting dictators, often finding them "impressive":

Mike Wallace Interviews Iranian Dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

...Of Ahmadinejad, Wallace said, "He's an impressive fellow, this guy. He really is. He's obviously smart as hell."
Wallace said he was surprised to find that the Iranian president was still a college professor who taught a graduate-level course.
"You'll find him an interesting man," he said. "I expected more of a firebrand. I don't think he has the slightest doubt about how he feels ... about the American administration and the Zionist state. He comes across as more rational than I had expected."

Why am I not surprised he is a college professor? Winston Churchill once said he was glad he never met Adolph Hitler before the war, because so many of his peers who had, succumbed to the future mass murderer's "charm", like Charles Lindberg and Neville Chamberlain.

Apparently the Liberal Media's attitude toward the terrorists is, "its so nice to be needed by someone again".

Powerline repeats the Hitler analogy.

And so does Blogs for Bush.

A post at Free Republic threatens to boycott CBS. I already do!

Civil Rights or Civilization?

My thoughts on Britain's foiled transatlantic bomb plot:

How ironic that such a backward race as Islam, in many cases still living in the 7th Century, is currently holding the entire world hostage. Because the West feels compelled to protect the civil rights of its citizens, grandmothers are frisked in airports and now babies must do without their milk, all for the actions of a people who too often abuse the rights of the nations they reside in. What’s even more frustrating is the fact that every time we go to the gas pump, we inadvertently aid the terrorists’ evil designs around the world. Congress is little help in that they refuse to permit new oil wells to be dug to alleviate the situation, for fear of a few radical environmental groups. We are now so fearful of offending minority rights that the majority of Americans are at risk. That’s how illegals can cross our too porous borders at their leisure and Muslims can spread jihad and hate in our country, and are perceived as victims for doing it. As someone once said “what good are rights when you’re dead”.

Israeli Troops Pour In-Breaking

The ground offensive into Lebanon is expanded. Pajamas Media has details.

Iraq Division Takes Over

They're on the way to full control. From Multi-National Force Iraq:

The 4th Iraqi Army Division assumed control of their area of responsibility, encompassing regions spanning three of Iraq’s northern provinces, Salahad Din , As Sulaymaniyah and At-Ta’mim provinces.Its area of responsibility includes the cities of Tikrit, Kirkuk, Bayji and Samarra, as well as the major oil and electrical infrastructure in northern Iraq.The 4th IA Division is the fifth of 10 Iraqi Army divisions to take control over Iraqi units in their assigned regions. In addition, there have been 25 brigades and 85 battalions assuming operational command and control to date...

While the Iraqi Army has taken the lead in security, help will still remain available to them, said Gen. George W. Casey Jr. , commanding general of Multi-National Force - Iraq. "This is a step and we will help them become independent. We are going to do what it takes." That help will come in the form of intelligence capabilities, logistics and medical care. "These things take a little longer to understand," said Casey.“I think what you saw here today was a great statement in progress and unity in Iraq,” said Casey. “They (Iraqis) keep taking small steps and getting better and better everyday.”

The Missiles of August

Austin Bay on all the gloom and doom in the world today, and where its going:

What do the terrorists have to offer the Third World? Mumbai answered the question for 1 billion Indians: only mass murder. As a political message that's a historical loser. Anarchism and nihilism do not build wealth. In fact, wealth defeats them. Within a week Mumbai was back to work. It will take decades to stop them, but Mumbai demonstrates why terrorists fail.
At least terrorists without nuclear weapons, which brings us to Hezbollah and Iran. The Israel-Hezbollah war reveals Iran and Syria as actively engaged in hijacking an Arab country (Lebanon) as well as firing short-range ballistic missiles at Israel. In the long term, arming and funding Hezbollah will increase at least tacit international support for regime change in Damascus and Tehran. Tyrants use terrorists, and tyrants pursue nuclear weapons. The Lebanon-destroying shenanigans of Iran and Syria's Hezbollah puppet ultimately put the puppeteers at risk.

This is a message of hope thats hard to see sometimes. Hang in there!

Democrats Reject Patriotism

The only true statesman in the whole party was defeated yesterday, at least in the Connecticut Primaries. From the Washington Times:

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Anti-war challenger Ned Lamont defeated three-term incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman in yesterday's Democratic primary here after a campaign that turned into a referendum on the Iraq war and President Bush..."We just finished the first half, and the Lamont team is ahead," (Lieberman) said in possibly the most upbeat concession speech in recent American politics. "But in the second half, our team -- Team Connecticut -- is going to surge ahead."

...Mr. Lieberman promised to run as an independent, against Mr. Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger. Supporters at the Goodwin Hotel last night were elated that Mr. Lieberman would still be on November's ballot and predicted that he would win easily after picking up all the independents and Republicans who could not vote in yesterday's primary.

Watching Lamont's victory speech, he was surrounded by liberal anti-war activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. What a team the Dems are betting on!