Attacks Increase in Iraq Militants Recruit Displaced Young Men

From Informed Comment

The number of attacks in Iraq has increased in recent days, frustrating US military commanders who were hoping a corner had been turned and that violence would steadily be reduced. See below for Wednesday's violence.

Internally displaced Iraqis are finding it increasingly difficult to settle in another province, since provincial authorities do not want the financial burden of caring for them. The BBC quotes veteran Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul Ahad as warning that the displaced are a fertile recruiting pool for the guerrilla groups. "The insurgents in west Baghdad tell me that the hardest fighters are the Sunnis who have been kicked out of their homes by the Shia," Mr Abdul Ahad told the BBC.

The US State Department is considering banning the use of private security guards in Iraq, though one scheme would involve just hiring the guards as US government employees. The privatization of war fighting, a major step back to the 18th century favored by the Bush administration as a way of throwing money to its friends, has the disadvantage of roiling diplomatic relations.

The US Marine Corps is lobbying to be redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan. They feel that they could provide the bulk of the forces needed in the latter country, allowing a more unified command structure. They probably also feel that the Afghanistan enterprise might just have a future.

Prominent military analyst Anthony Cordesmann is warning against even a soft partition of Iraq, on the grounds that it would weaken the federal government and set the stage for a bloodbath. (See next entry for Iraqi reactions).

Barack Obama is denouncing the Senate vote in favor of the Kyl-Lieberman resolution condemning Iran, saying that it could lay the groundwork for Bush-Cheney to take the US to war against that country. He is critical of Hillary Clinton for voting for it.

Reuters reports civil war violence for Wednesday. Major incidents:

' TIKRIT - Six people were killed and 10 wounded when a car bomb exploded near the convoy of Colonel Jassim Hussein Mohammed, the chief of security of Salahuddin province, in the city of Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, a joint U.S. and Iraqi security centre said.

ZAAB - A suicide truck bomber killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded five others, including two civilians, in an attack on an Iraqi army base in the town of Zaab, 70 km (45 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, a police official said. Another police official reported seven casualties but no fatalities.

TAL AFAR - A Katyusha rocket landed on a house in the northern town of Tal Afar, killing five members of the same family and wounding five others, police said.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol wounded three civilians in the Karrada district of central Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded two policemen and two civilians in eastern Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Gunmen opened fire on a minibus, killing one person and wounding six, in the Saidiya district of southern Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb wounded two people in Baghdad's Karrada district, police said.

BAGHDAD - One civilian was killed and six wounded by a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol in Baghdad's Karrada district, police said.

BAGHDAD - One person was killed and five wounded when gunmen attacked a small bus carrying civil servants in the Bayaa district of southwestern Baghdad, police said.

MOSUL - A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and another person were killed when an explosives-rigged minibus targeted a KDP office near the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, Mosul's deputy governor Khesro Goran said. Sixteen people were wounded.

DIWANIYA - Gunmen killed two policemen in separate incidents in the city of Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

DIWANIYA - Three mortar rounds which landed in and around a girls' primary school in Diwaniya wounded 11 girls, three teachers and a man, police said.
'

At our Global Affairs blog, "Burma Fades from View."

At the Napoleon's Egypt blog, a letter from the Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople [Istanbul] condemning the French invasion of Egypt, which had been a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans allied with the Eastern Orthodox Russian Empire in a bid to gather the allies necessary to expel the French. This letter underlines how the French invasion was not a 'clash of civilizations,' since the French typically condemned Christianity and a major Christian leader condemned their invasion of a largely Muslim country.

The Lefties are ASSassins

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reportedly raided the home of Republican congressmember John Doolittle (R-CA), according to The Hill.

"The FBI searched the Virginia home of [Doolittle] last Friday," write Mike Soraghan and Susan Crabtree, "in its investigation into the ties of the congressman and his wife, Julie, to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to law enforcement and other Congressional and K Street sources."

Raw Story reported in November 2005 that the Justice Department, investigating possible influence-peddling by Abramoff, had scrutinized his dealings with Doolittle and other lawmakers.

Presently, Doolittle "has been under fire," continue Soraghan and Crabtree, "for paying his wife's company, Sierra Dominion, a 15 percent commission on all contributions that the company raised for Doolittle's campaign committee and leadership PAC." Two of Abramoff's businesses made up the only other three clients of Doolittle's wife.

Excerpts from the Hill article, available in full at this link, follow...

Doolittle came within three percentage points of losing his election in November after facing months of scrutiny over his relationship with Abramoff, who is in jail for an array of fraud, bribery and money-laundering charges.

///

Doolittle also received contributions from indicted defense contractor Brent Wilkes and his associates, and investigators are probing whether those contributions are linked to any official action Doolittle took to help Wilkes’s company obtain millions of dollars in government earmarks.

Wilkes recently was indicted in connection with his investigation stemming from former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s (R-Calif.) bribery conviction and jailing.

Just more left wing quackery. Mr. Doolittle has already answered his critics baseless charges but like Tom Delay the left will not let go. They are like a pitbull, they are relentless and dangerous.

Iran a War I can Support

The tone from the article acts like it would be bad to go to war with Iran right now. We need to take over the middle east and show the terrorist who is in charge. All this pussyfooting around is worse than Vietnam. Or would you people turning against the Iraq war like to wait for a mushroom cloud to form over a city near you? I didn't think so.

Top American General Disputes US Military Claim on Iran

Then the White House Stands By Iran Weapons Claim.
It may be time to give Gen. Pace his walking papers like Gen Shinseki got when he tried to say we would need hundreds of thousands of troops to secure Iraq.

Newsweek: Hidden war with Iran; Will it 'blowup?'

The cover story of the latest Newsweek explores the "hidden war with Iran," asking will it "blowup?"

"The longstanding war of words between Washington and Tehran is edging toward something more dangerous," states a Newsweek press release sent to RAW STORY. "A second Navy carrier group is steaming toward the Persian Gulf, and Newsweek has learned that a third carrier will likely follow."

The press release adds, "Iran shot off a few missiles in those same tense waters last week, in a highly publicized test. On the chaotic battleground of Iraq, a hidden war between the United States and Iran is already unfolding. But, ironically, the history of the Bush administration's dealings with Iran also offers a surprising degree of hope. A special investigation by a team of Newsweek reporters, led by Senior Editor Michael HirHirsh Washington and Correspondent MazMaziarhBahari Tehran, has uncovered periods of marked cooperation and even tentative steps toward possible reconciliation in recent years far more than is commonly realized."

"At least one former White House official contends that some Bush advisers secretly want an excuse to attack Iran," Michael HirHirshd MazMaziarhBahariport for Newsweek.

The article continues, "'They intend to be as provocative as possible and make the Iranians do something [America] would be forced to retaliate for,'" says Hillary Mann, the administration's former National Security Council director for Iran and Persian Gulf Affairs U.S. officials insist they have no intention of provoking or otherwise starting a war with Iran, and they were also quick to deny any link to ShaSharafi'sdnapping. But the fact remains that the longstanding war of words between Washington and Tehran is edging toward something more dangerous. A second Navy carrier group is steaming toward the Persian Gulf, and NEWSWEEK has learned that a third carrier will likely follow. Iran shot off a few missiles in those same tense waters last week, in a highly publicized test. With Americans and Iranians jousting on the chaotic battleground of Iraq, the chances of a small incident's spiraling into a crisis are higher than they've been in years.

Excerpts from article:

#

It would be another war that nudged the two countries together again. At the beginning of 2003, as the Pentagon readied for battle against Iraq, the Americans wanted TehTehran'slp in case a flood of refugees headed for the border, or if U.S. pilots were downed inside Iran. After U.S. tanks thundered into Baghdad, those worries eased. "We had the strong hand at that point," recalls Colin Powell, who was secretary of State at the time. If anything, though, America's lightning campaign made the Iranians even more eager to deal. Low-level meetings between the two sides had continued even after the Axis of Evil speech. At one of them that spring, ZarZarifised the question of the MujMujahedinKhaKhalqEK), a rabidly anti-Iranian militant group based in Iraq. Iran had detained a number of senior QaeQaedaeratives after 9/11. ZarZarifoated the possibility of "reciprocity"—your terrorists for ours.

The idea was brought up at a mid-May meeting between Bush and his chief advisers in the wood-paneled Situation Room in the White House basement. Riding high, Bush seemed to like the idea of a swap, says a participant who asked to remain anonymous because the meeting was classified. Some in the room argued that designating the militants as terrorists had been a mistake, others that they might prove useful against Iran someday. Powell opposed the handover for a different reason: he worried that the captives might be tortured. The vice president, silent through most of the meeting as was his wont, muttered something about "preserving all our options." (Cheney declined to comment.) The MEKMEK'satus remains unresolved.

Around this time what struck some in the U.S. government as an even more dramatic offer arrived in Washington—a faxed two-page proposal for comprehensive bilateral talks. To the NSCNSC'snn, among others, the Iranians seemed willing to discuss, at least, cracking down on HizHizbullahd HamHamasr turning them into peaceful political organizations) and "full transparency" on Iran's nuclear program. In return, the Iranian "aims" in the document called for a "halt in U.S. hostile behavior and rectification of the status of Iran in the U.S. and abolishing sanctions," as well as pursuit of the MEK.

Sergeant At Arms defends Pelosi military jet request, citing 9/11

February 8, 2007

As the Sergeant at Arms, I have the responsibility to ensure the security of the members of the House of Representatives, to include the Speaker of the House. The Speaker requires additional precautions due to her responsibilities as the leader of the House and her Constitutional position as second in the line of succession to the presidency.

In a post 9/11 threat environment, it is reasonable and prudent to provide military aircraft to the Speaker for official travel between Washington and her district. The practice began with Speaker Hastert and I have recommended that it continue with Speaker Pelosi. The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable. This will ensure communications capabilities and also enhance security. I made the recommendation to use military aircraft based upon the need to provide necessary levels of security for ranking national leaders, such as the Speaker. I regret that an issue that is exclusively considered and decided in a security context has evolved into a political issue.

Corrupt Doolittle needs Help Now

The First Lady appeared to a enthusiastic crowd at a "Get Out the Vote" rally with Doolittle Thursday evening at William Jessup University in Rocklin.

Yet in this year's primary, Republican challengers in both races garnered 30 percent of the party vote. Now, some polls show a statistical deadheat between Doolittle and Democrat challenger Charlie Brown, and between Pombo and his Democrat challenger, Jerry McNerney.

One Breath
Doolittle is there

Republicans Band Together Our Dear Leader is Under Attack By Britain

British believe Bush is more dangerous than Kim Jong-il

·US allies think Washington threat to world peace
· Only Bin Laden feared more in United Kingdom

Julian Glover
Friday November 3, 2006
The Guardian


The ICM poll ranks the US president with some of his bitterest enemies as a cause of global anxiety.

America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies, according to an international survey of public opinion published today that reveals just how far the country's reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq. ..

Iraq a 'work of art in progress' says US general after 49 die November 3: An American general in Baghdad called Iraq a "work of art" in progress yesterday in one of the most extraordinary attempts by the US military leadership to put a positive spin on the worsening violence.

---

EthicsInCongress said...

Video showing Charlie Brown live on KCRA 3 News (NBC Sacramento Affiliate) last night facing off Doug Ose (Doolittle spokesperson and ex-congressman from another district) on Doolittles Support, Defense and Financing of the CNMI Forced Abortions, Sex Slavery, Sweat Shops and Religious Persecution.

See the video

Note Doolittles spokesperson laughing throughout the report. They really do think this is funny!

Dumbest response from Doolittle spokesman - "Go tell the Govt of CNMI" (cause we don't give a shit).

Video: GOP 'uses evangelicals for their votes'

RAW STORY
Published: Thursday October 12, 2006

A new book by former Bush Administration "Faith-Based Initiatives" staffer David Kuo claims that the president's moves to court Christian conservatives are a mere "political ploy."

In the following video, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann reports that the Kuo book claims Rove referred to certain evangelicals as "the nuts."
Part 1

Part 2

Can't see the video Click here

Doolittle, Brown Trade Verbal Blows at Fiery Debate

Video

Doolittle, Brown Debate GOP Dissatisfaction
Brown, Doolittle Battle Over the War in Iraq
Doolittle Answers Abramoff Corruption Question

A bitterly fought congressional race ignited a bitterly fought debate Wednesday as Rep. John Doolittle and Democratic rival Charlie Brown faced off in Rocklin.

The candidates exchanged pointed remarks at each other over much of the two-hour debate at the studios of Starstream Communications. While dueling over a variety of issues, Brown attacked Doolittle as a Republican insider and member of a "culture of corruption" in government, while Doolittle blasted Brown's "liberal ideology," particularly his membership in the American Civil Liberties Union.

"Who is this guy?" asked Doolittle of Brown. "He's a Republican during the daytime and a liberal at night." Doolittle also took issue with Brown's stands on the war in Iraq, illegal immigration and gay marriage, calling the retired Air Force officer "wrong" at every turn.

"This race isn't about liberal or conservative," Brown countered. "Since when did supporting the Constitution of the United States become a liberal value?"

Answering questions posed by area journalists, Brown attacked Doolittle's standing as a GOP congressional leader and a key player in the Abramoff scandal as well as his connection to disgraced Florida congressman Mark Foley.

While the two men were opposed on many of the issues raised, such as the fight against terrorism, both candidates generally agreed on a few matters, including strengthening border security and the search for alternative energy sources.......




Doolittle just cleaned browns clock by saying the "Do you really believe this ridiculous story that Saddam did not have WMD when the president said he did." That should have ended discussion right there game over. But Doolittle got in another great shot when he said he had been elected over and over for twenty six years. How can anyone argue with that?

Party On.

Congress ready to celebrate end-of-war party
Politicians have $20 million set aside, despite poor news out of Iraq

Updated: 1:27 p.m. MT Oct 4, 2006

WASHINGTON - The military’s top generals have warned Iraq is on the cusp of a civil war and that U.S. troops must remain in large numbers until at least next spring. But if the winds suddenly blow a different direction, Congress is ready to celebrate with a $20 million victory party.Lawmakers

included language in this year’s defense spending bill, approved last week, allowing them to spend the money. The funds for “commemoration of success” in Iraq and Afghanistan were originally tucked into last year’s defense measure, but went unspent amid an uptick in violence in both countries that forced the Pentagon to extend tours of duty for thousands of troops.

“If the Bush administration is planning victory celebrations, Americans deserve to know what their plan is to get us to a victory in Iraq,” said Rebecca Kirszner, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.Carolyn

Weyforth, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said, “Republicans are confident we will be victorious in the ongoing war in terror, and we look forward to a time when those funds can be used to honor the men and women who have risked and given their lives.”

Voters Say Scandals Will Affect Votes
Voters Polled by AP Say Scandals Will Affect Whom They Choose in Midterm Elections

WASHINGTON Oct 5, 2006 (AP)— Congressional Republicans, already struggling against negative public perceptions of Congress, now face voters who say new scandals will significantly influence their vote in November.....

The Foley scandal, fueled by new revelations each day, has put Republican leaders and GOP candidates on the defensive, forcing them into a political detour just as they were preparing their final offensive against Democrats to save control of Congress.

The poll also found that President Bush's efforts to depict the war in Iraq as part of a larger campaign against terrorism and to portray Democrats as weak on national security was not altering the political landscape.

Disapproval of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq was at 61 percent among likely voters, a slight uptick from the 58 percent who disapproved last month. A majority of likely voters also disapproved of Bush's handling of the war on terrorism, a conclusion that mirrored past attitudes.

Pathetic just like the Republican leadership. We are led by heartless liars that care more about power than people, even kids. The Repugs took a page out of the Catholic priest scandal, cover it up and hope no one finds out. Sickening

Amen

Video: Olbermann's Special Comment for the anniversary of 9/11

John Doolittle

Abramoff connections

Main article: Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal

John Doolittle has been entangled in the scandal involving Jack Abramoff. Doolittle has denied any wrongdoing, and on April 18, 2006 he hired a former prosecutor from Ken Starr's office as his media adviser on the matter.

Campaign contributions from Abramoff and his clients

Doolittle estimated that he received about $50,000 from clients of Abramoff, mostly Indian tribes.^[14] Abramoff also personally donated $14,000 over the period 1999-2004 to Doolittle's congressional campaigns.^[15] According to the Washington Post, Doolittle "was particularly close to Abramoff." Doolittle said he always thought of Abramoff as "a friend" for a single reason: "I liked him, frankly, because he was a partisan, conservative Republican activist.". Unlike many lawmakers, Doolittle has refused to give away any of the Abramoff money.

Fund raising by Abramoff for Doolittle

An "ardent opponent of casino gambling," Doolittle held a fundraiser at Jack Abramoff's skybox at the MCI Center in February, 1999. Abramoff, who rented the boxes himself, billed Indian tribes lobbying fees to cover his cost. These tribes had hired Abramoff to represent their casino interests.

Under federal campaign finance law, Doolittle was required to pay Abramoff for use of the box, or to report the use as an "in-kind" contribution from Abramoff to his campaign. Doolittle initially failed to report the use of the sky-boxes in his Federal Election Committee filings. In late 2004, his spokesperson, Laura Blackman, said "It was an in-kind contribution, and it was an oversight that it wasn't reported, but we are taking steps to correct that."

In January 2005, Doolittle reported that his campaign fund had sent a check for $1,040 to one of Abramoff's former employers, the Preston Gates lobbying firm, to pay for the skybox. The lobbying firm returned the check because it had never owned the skybox. In May 2005, Doolittle campaign-fund spokesman Richard Robinson acknowledged that the rejection of the check should have been reported to the FEC and said a corrected accounting would be filed. Robinson said Doolittle's fund is determined to rectify the six-year lapse in paying for the box. "If we find out that Jack Abramoff paid for the suite, then we'll reimburse Jack Abramoff, because we want to reimburse the person or entity who paid for the box," Robinson said. "We thought we were doing that in January."

Payments to Doolittle's wife by Abramoff

From August 2002 through February 2004, Abramoff's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig paid Julie Doolittle $66,000. Initially her work to help plan a fundraiser for Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation, called the Spy Game Gala, that was to be MC'ed by Tony Snow. The event never happened because it coincided with the beginning of the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003. According to the initial statement by her attorney, the $66,000 in payments from Abramoff were because she "primarily performed public relations and other event planning services for the Spy Museum event."

She was paid a total of $27,000 through February of 2003, when payments stopped. In July 2003, Abramoff (via Greenberg Traurig) began paying her again, $5,000 per month; this continued through mid-February 2004, when the first story on what would become the Abramoff scandal was published.

In a statement in June 2006, her attorney, William Stauffer, said that "Sierra Dominion, a small business owned by Julie Doolittle, provided marketing, event planning, and related services to the Greenberg Traurig law firm, and its partner, Jack Abramoff, from August 2002 through March 2004." "Sierra Dominion had a retainer arrangement with Greenberg Traurig under which it provided services concerning the Spy Museum event and also the Signatures and Stacks restaurants". (The two restaurants were owned by Abramoff.)

Julie Doolittle's records in connection with her work for Abramoff have been subpoenaed by the United States Department of Justice. The DOJ has not filed any charges in neither case.

No explanation has been given as to why Greenberg Taurig made the payments to Julie Doolittle, rather than the foundation (for whom the charity event was planned) or the restaurants or Abramoff personally (as restaurant owner).

Doolittle's actions on behalf of Indian tribes

In a February, 2002, Doolittle was among more than two dozen lawmakers who signed a letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton urging her to reject an Indian casino opposed by Abramoff's tribal clients. ^[21]

In early June 2003, Kevin Ring, a former staffer to Doolittle and a lobbyist at Greenberg Taurig, brought members the Iowan Sac & Fox tribe to meet with Doolittle in his office. In mid-June, Doolittle wrote a letter to Norton complaining that the tribe's casino was wrongly shut down because the Bureau of Indian Affairs had refused to recognize a newly elected tribal council. Another lobbyist involved in the matter was Michael D. Smith, formerly Al Gore's Midwest political director, and a member of Team Abramoff at Greenberg Traurig. Doolittle's action helped the Tribe to reopen the casino, a major enterprise for the tribe and its reservation. Eventually, the faction supported by Doolittle won control of the Tribal government in a government supervised election, by a 4-1 margin. Others involved in the effort included Senator Byron Dorgan (D- N.D).

In October, 2003, Doolittle appealed in a letter to Norton for quicker action for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts, which was seeking federal recognition; the tribe was also a client of Greenberg Traurig, and Kevin Ring was a lobbyist on the account.

Doolittle's actions on behalf of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)

One of Abramoff's major clients was the government (Commonwealth) of the Northern Mariana Islands. Doolittle visited the islands in February of 1999 as part of a congressional delegation. In April of 2000 and April of 2001, he met with CNMI House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial in Washington D.C. On May 25, 2001, the Saipan Tribune printed a letter from Doolittle to Fitial, which noted a recent $150,000 earmark, mentioned two possible Army Corps of Engineers projects on the islands, and said "I will urge the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee to include funding for the feasibility study for both projects in the FY 2002 appropriations bill." In August 2001, he backed Fitial's candidacy for governor. Doolittle was successful in securing $400,000 in Corps study funds in 2001, his first year on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.

Doolittle accepted $14,000 in contributions from Jack Abramoff just weeks before Doolittle endorsed the election of Fitial, a CNMI politician who had been crucial to Abramoff getting a lobbying contract from that government. The final Abramoff donation to Doolittle came as the last CNMI lobbying contract was expiring in December 2001. In the governor's election in early 2002, Fitial lost. The new governor, Juan N. Babauta, cancelled the contract with Greenberg Traurig.

Mission Accomplished

U.S. count of Baghdad deaths excludes car bombs, mortar attacks

By Mark Brunswick and Zaineb Obeid
McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. officials, seeking a way to measure the results of a program aimed at decreasing violence in Baghdad, aren't counting scores of dead killed in car bombings and mortar attacks as victims of the country's sectarian violence.

In a distinction previously undisclosed, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said Friday that the United States is including in its tabulations of sectarian violence only deaths of individuals killed in drive-by shootings or by torture and execution.

That has allowed U.S. officials to boast that the number of deaths from sectarian violence in Baghdad declined by more than 52 percent in August over July.

But it eliminates from tabulation huge numbers of people whose deaths are certainly part of the ongoing conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Not included, for example, are scores of people who died in a highly coordinated bombing that leveled an entire apartment building in eastern Baghdad, a stronghold of rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Johnson declined to provide an actual number for the U.S. tally of August deaths or for July, when the Baghdad city morgue counted a record 1,855 violent deaths.

Violent deaths for August, a morgue official told McClatchy Newspapers on Friday, totaled 1,526, a 17.7 percent decline from July and about the same as died violently in June.

The dispute is an important one. With Baghdad violence reaching record levels in July, U.S. commanders warned that the country was tipping toward civil war. They then ordered 8,000 U.S. troops and 3,000 Iraqis to conduct house-by-house searches of Baghdad's neighborhoods in an effort to root out insurgent gunmen and militia death squads in Operation Together Forward.

The program, which began in earnest Aug. 7, included bringing in thousands of American troops from other parts of Iraq in what was seen by many as a last-ditch effort to head off a civil war that many Iraqis say has already begun.

Within weeks of the kickoff of the Baghdad security plan, the U.S. military's top spokesman, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, boasted that the murder rate in Baghdad had fallen by 46 percent and attributed most of the fall to the new security sweeps.

On Thursday, Caldwell revised the figures, posting a statement on the website of the Multi-National Force-Iraq that the murder rate had dropped even more - by 52 percent from July.

That claim was immediately contradicted by the morgue figures, which trickled out in accounts by various news organizations citing unnamed officials.

Johnson said he couldn't comment on morgue figures and declined to release the raw numbers on which Caldwell's claim was based. He said the numbers were classified and that releasing them might help "our enemy" adjust their tactics.

"We attempt to strike the right balance, being as open and transparent as possible without providing information that places our troops or Iraqi civilians at undo risk by the enemy adjusting their tactics for greater impact," he said, in explaining the decision not to release the figures.

Johnson said the numbers more accurately reflect the impact of Operation Together Forward's mission: targeting operations of shadowy sectarian death squads, who often use drive-by shootings, torture and executions as tactics for terror, rather than suicide bombings or rocket or mortar attacks.

He said the figures quoted by Caldwell reflect a "cautious optimism" that the situation is improving in Iraq.

But whether the violence is truly improving is far from clear. The morgue numbers made public this week reflect only deaths in Baghdad and figures compiled by the Ministry of Health for August violent deaths throughout Iraq won't be released until later this month.

Whacked Libs

Can you believe a bunch of whacked out libs and Clintonites are all up in arms about the Docu-drama "The Path to 9/11"? I guess the truth just hurts them to much. The fact that Clinton was handed Bin laden on a silver platter and said no thank you just burns them up. They say things were made up. pfft. The lefties are fond of making things up. This should be taught in the classroom but now Scholastic has lost it's spine and now says-

After a thorough review of the original guide that we offered online to about 25,000 high school teachers, we determined that the materials did not meet our high standards for dealing with controversial issues,” said Dick Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO of Scholastic, in a press release.

A Little Recap of Incompetence

Book: In lead up to war, Bush's temper flared over reporters; Cheney aides mistook watering hole for WMD hiding place

Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War, a new book arriving in stores today by veteran Newsweek investigative reporter Michael Isikoff and Nation Washington editor David Corn reveals a flurry of new details on the inner workings on the Administration in the lead-up to the Iraq war -- many of which cast unflattering light on the aggressive nature of the Bush-Cheney team that discounted facts from the intelligence community in favor of a policy that involved attacking Iraq, RAW STORY has learned. Among the book's myriad disclosures will include:

• President Bush was driven by a visceral hatred of Saddam Hussein, which he privately demonstrated in expletive-laden tirades against the Iraqi dictator. In May 2002--months before he asked Congress for authority to attack Saddam-Bush bluntly revealed his ultimate game plan in a candid moment with two aides. When told that reporter Helen Thomas was questioning the need to oust Saddam by force, Bush snapped: "Did you tell her I intend to kick his sorry mother fucking ass all over the Mideast?" In a meeting with congressional leaders, the President angrily thrust his middle finger inches in front of the face of Senator Tom Daschle to illustrate Saddam's attitude toward the United States.

• As part of an aggressive prewar covert action program--codenamed Anabasis (after an ancient text about a botched invasion of Babylon)--the CIA was authorized by the White House in the winter of 2002 to blow up targets in Iraq and engage in "direct action" (an agency euphemism for assassination) to weaken Saddam's regime and to prepare for his ouster by the U.S. military. For Anabasis, the agency smuggled Iraqi exiles to a top-secret site in the Nevada desert and trained them in sabotage and explosives. The Iraqi force, known as the Scorpions, was being trained to seize an isolated Iraqi military post-in order to create a provocation that could trigger a war with Iraq.

• When Bush was first briefed that no WMDs had been found in Iraq, he was totally unfazed and asked few questions. "I'm not sure I've spoken to anyone at that level who seemed less inquisitive," the briefer told the authors.

• Colin Powell remains intensely bitter and angry about his UN Security Council Speech, during which he presented the case for war. After it became clear that much of his speech was wrong, he refused to have anything to do with CIA director George Tenet.

Much More

President wants Senate to hurry with new anti-terrorism laws

July 30, 1996
Web posted at: 8:40 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton urged Congress Tuesday to act swiftly in developing anti-terrorism legislation before its August recess. (1.6 MB AIFF or WAV sound)

-------------------------------------------------------------------
GOP Congress blocked Clinton push for anti-terror legislation

by John in DC - 9/04/2006 11:10:00 AM

CNN, July 30, 1996

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, emerged from the meeting and said, "These are very controversial provisions that the [Clinton] White House wants. Some they're not going to get." ....[Hatch] also said he had some problems with the president's proposals to expand wiretapping.

So Bill Clinton, rather than just breaking the law as Bush did (then again, perhaps this is why Bush broke the law - he knew from history that the Republicans controlling the congress would oppose his efforts to expand wiretapping), decided to go to the Republican congress in 1996 and ask them for increased authority to do more eavesdropping in order to stop the terrorists - stop September 11. Senior Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, one of the GOP's top picks for the Supreme Court and a GOP committee chair, objected.

The Republicans stopped President Clinton from getting all the tools he needed to stop the next September 11 - well, no, actually they opposed giving President Clinton all the tools he needed to stop the actual September 11. Could September 11 have been stopped if the GOP had given President Clinton the tools he requested to stop Osama and Mohammad Atta from killing 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington?

Maybe we need to ask the Republicans up for re-election why they wanted to appease the terrorists?

President Clinton urged Congress Tuesday to act swiftly in developing anti-terrorism legislation before its August recess.

"We need to keep this country together right now. We need to focus on this terrorism issue," Clinton said during a White House news conference.

But while the president pushed for quick legislation, Republican lawmakers hardened their stance against some of the proposed anti-terrorism measures.

There's even an audio clip of President Clinton practically begging the Republicans to give him the tools he needed to stop Osama and the terrorists. Trent Lott said no. Orrin Hatch said no. Do these men really deserve to run the Congress during a time of war?

Cheney's August of 2002 speech

In August of 2002, seven months before "Operation Iraqi Freedom" was launched, Cheney gave a widely covered speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars' 103rd National Convention in Nashville, Tennesee which argued that critics were wrong to suggest that deposing Saddam Hussein might spark more unrest across the Middle East region or prove counterproductive to the "war against terror."

"Another argument holds that opposing Saddam Hussein would cause even greater troubles in that part of the world, and interfere with the larger war against terror," Vice President Cheney had said. "I believe the opposite is true."

"Regime change in Iraq would bring about a number of benefits to the region," Cheney had contended. "When the gravest of threats are eliminated, the freedom-loving peoples of the region will have a chance to promote the values that can bring lasting peace."

In the same speech, the vice president had also predicted that Iraqis would "erupt in joy" after Saddam's regime was overthrown.

"As for the reaction of the Arab 'street,' the Middle East expert Professor Fouad Ajami predicts that after liberation, the streets in Basra and Baghdad are 'sure to erupt in joy in the same way the throngs in Kabul greeted the Americans," Cheney had said.

"Extremists in the region would have to rethink their strategy of Jihad," added Cheney. "Moderates throughout the region would take heart."

"And our ability to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process would be enhanced, just as it was following the liberation of Kuwait in 1991," claimed Cheney back in August of 2002.

FULL TIMES ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT THIS LINK

Cheney has been wrong about everything so why would any sane person think he is right this time?

Cheney Chooses Chief Propagator of False Iraq-9/11 Link To Be Official Biographer

Think Progress

Vice President Cheney — “the man running the country” — is now working on an official biography.

But don’t hold out any hope that the biography will offer any revealing insight into “Dick Cheney’s dark, secretive mind-set.” The author of the book, according to U.S. News, will be Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes:

We hear that the Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes is hot on the case and plans to publish a bio titled, naturally enough, Cheney as early as next spring. “I’m not a historian,” Hayes fesses up.

No, Hayes is not a historian. What are his qualifications? He’s a journalist who has cultivated close ties within the White House and has become the go-to source for insiders seeking to peddle false claims on Iraq. Here are some highlights of Hayes’ record:

1. This January, Cheney was asked by then-Fox News radio host Tony Snow, “Were there links to — between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda?” Cheney answered, “Well, I think Steve Hayes has done an effective job in his article of laying out a lot of those connections.” Hayes wrote an article entitled “Dick Cheney Was Right” about the Vice President’s effort to connect Saddam to 9/11. But even President Bush said most recently that Iraq had “nothing” to do with 9/11.

2. In 2003, Hayes declared “case closed” in an article purporting to show the links between bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Cheney recommeneded it to the Rocky Mountain news as the premier source of information on the issue. (”[Y]ou ought to go look is an article that Stephen Hayes did in the Weekly Standard here a few weeks ago…That’s your best source of information.”) Hayes relied on a classified Defense Department memo produced by Douglas Feith. The Defense Department shot down Hayes’ article, stating the Feith memo was “not an analysis of the substantive issue of the relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda, and it drew no conclusions.”

Each and every one of Hayes’ attempts to link Iraq to 9/11 have been thoroughly discredited, but he continues to push the argument. It’s quite fitting that Cheney chose him to be his official biographer.

Digg It!

Advanced Cell Technology Announces Technique to Generate Human Embryonic Stem Cells that Maintains Developmental Potential of Embryo; Approach Published in Nature

"Until now, embryonic stem cell research has been synonymous with the destruction of human embryos," stated Robert Lanza, M.D., Vice President of Research & Scientific Development at ACT, and the study's senior author. "We have demonstrated, for the first time, that human embryonic stem cells can be generated without interfering with the embryo's potential for life. Overnight culture of a single cell obtained through biopsy allows both PGD and the development of stem-cell lines without affecting the subsequent chances of having a child. To date, over 1,500 healthy children have been born following the use of PGD."

Blair 'feels betrayed by Bush on Lebanon'

The alliance between George Bush and Tony Blair is in danger after it was revealed that the Prime Minister believes the President has 'let him down badly' over the Middle East crisis.

A senior Downing Street source said that, privately, Mr Blair broadly agrees with John Prescott, who said Mr Bush's record on the issue was 'crap'.

The source said: "We all feel badly let down by Bush. We thought we had persuaded him to take the Israel-Palestine situation seriously, but we were wrong. How can anyone have faith in a man of such low intellect?"

Analysis- Bush is the most powerful man in the world but he can't force respect even from friends and allies. How much more respect and prestige does the United States have to lose before the people say enough?

America's one-eyed view of war: Stars, stripes, and the Star of David

There are two sides to every conflict - unless you rely on the US media for information about the battle in Lebanon. Viewers have been fed a diet of partisan coverage which treats Israel as the good guys and their Hizbollah enemy as the incarnation of evil. Andrew Gumbel reports from Los Angeles

If these were normal times, the American view of the conflict in Lebanon might look something like the street scenes that have electrified the suburbs of Detroit for the past four weeks.

Who, exactly, is offering the White House advice?

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow held a quick gaggle with reporters in Crawford yesterday, when an interesting subject came up.

Q: Tony, earlier this year the President brought in some advisors to talk about the war in Iraq, some outsiders — outside experts. Is he doing anything similar, or are any senior officials doing anything similar with respect to the Middle East? Are you bringing in any outside experts or –

Snow: Yes.

Q: — perhaps Jewish or Christian or Muslim –

Snow: There have been meetings of that sort in recent days.

Q: What can you tell us about them?

Snow: You know what, I'll see what I'm cleared to tell you about.

Asked what "types of people" have offered the White House advice on the Middle East, Snow said, "Again, at this point, I really don't want to do it." Asked if "religious leaders" have been part of these meetings, Snow said, "Again, I'm just not going to go any further."

Why all the secrecy? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that White House recently invited a Christian apocalyptic fiction writer to chat about biblical prophecy.

The Washington Post's Dan Froomkin spoke with Joel C. Rosenberg — who recently told CNN that the rapture may be near and it'd be a good idea for people to start taking care of unfinished business — who explained that he was invited last year to "speak to a 'couple dozen' White House aides in the Old Executive Office Building — and has stayed in touch with several of them since.
More

Analysis- The scary thing about the end of the world scenario above is that it is the leaders of the free world that are buying into this interpretation. Could the ding dongs in the White House be trying to go down in history as the courageous leader that brought about the end of the world ....I mean the second coming?

After all we've Done

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hundreds of thousands of Shiites chanting "Death to Israel" and "Death to America"

Jordan's King Says Arab Moderates Change
"The Arab people see Hezbollah as a hero because it's fighting Israel's aggression," he said. "This is a fact that the U.S. and Israel must realize: As long as there is aggression, there's resistance and there's popular support for this resistance."


Analysis- Mission Accomplished.

Look around, What do you see?

Raise readiness, Assad tells Syrian Army

Iraqi VP accuses Israel of 'massacres'
"These horrible massacres carried out by the Israeli aggression, incites in us the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity," he said in a speech attended by Iraq's president, the prime minister and other top government officials.

The comments were harsher than the criticism leveled by Iraq's president and the deputy prime minister on Sunday. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, another Shiite, had also condemned Israel's offensive before traveling to Washington last week, provoking criticism from U.S. lawmakers

On Sunday, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, demanded an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, warning that "Islamic nations will not forgive the entities that hinder a cease-fire," al-Sistani said, in a clear reference to the United States.

The latest remarks by Abdul-Mahdi and Sistani are likely to heighten Iraqi public anger against the United States and create political problems for the Iraqi government, which depends on the Americans for its security and survival.

VIDEO - Ad: 'For Zion's Sake, I Will Not Keep Silent'


Israel: No cease-fire in coming days

Analysis-Look around and ask yourself if things are setting up for a wider war or is the U.S. doing what it can to make peace. The U.S. has the power (or maybe had) to bring all sides in. But Bush takes another route let Israel do what ever it wants apologizing along the way. Oops.

There is still hope.
Top Republican asks Bush to push for immediate Lebanon ceasefire.
Hagel said the US link to Israel was a "special and historic one."
"But, it need not and cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships," he said.
Sen. Hagel is correct on this and Iraq. Pat Buchanan is correct.
This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue it is a "what is in the best interest of America" issue. Israel is a friend and ally and always will be however Israels interest and Americas interests are not always the same so Bush and the rest of Washington better stop acting like they are.

Right now the law of unintended consequences (yet predictable) is making the impossible happen. Sunni and Shi'ite are being united by Israels continued attacks and growing civilian casualties. The civil war in Iraq is between Sunni and Shia. Hezaballah are Shia as is Iran, the Arab countries that initially came out against Hezbollah where Sunni but they now like all the other Muslims are starting to come around in favor of Hezbollah. Sunni and Shia have always been split, will this do what nothing else has for over a thousand years.

Where will it end?

Morality

Most people consider themselves to be a moral person. Paticularly if you are a religious person morality is your professed foundation. So how is it people that claim to follow God simply follow those that claim to follow God (politicians or SCC) thus removing responsibility from themselves and conveniently placing it on those with ulterior motives.

Take Rodney Stanhope who posted a comment a few threads down saying in essence tow the party line for Doolittle regardless of his ethics. Unlike Rodney I believe morality should be above politics. Vote for the best person and yes that means taking their morals and ethics into account.

Is it moral to support Doolittle who has done many seemingly unethical just because he is a Republican? That would be immoral. So do not vote for a party vote for a person voting is the most important personal responsibility and should be given more thought than simple party line votes. Party line votes without question are immoral.

Is it moral to support tax cuts for those at the top while the poor among us have services cut.
That is immoral.

Is it moral to support a war just because our leaders who have been wrong at every turn tell you they are right this time? That is immoral.

Iraq is supporting Lebanon

Rumsfeld- He seems literally in a parallel universe and slightly deranged. If you listen to what he said last week about Iraq, he’s living in a different world, not a different country. Edit posts
Q: Is the country closer to a civil war?
SEC. RUMSFELD: Oh, I don't know. You know, I thought about that last night, and just musing over the words, the phrase, and what constitutes it.


Ethics and morality. They go together but morality is more personal. I would like to know from those of you who claim to follow God but instead follow Politicians and these So Called Christian leaders that have proven themselves unethical and immoral. Is it really that easy to unquestionably follow the unethical immoral and incompetent?

I fear politics will ruin religion rather than religion ruining government.

Attorney: PERA Could Stop ACLU Profits From Anti-Christian Lawsuits

(AgapePress) - An attorney with the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy (AFA Law Center) says the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has gained windfall profits from its anti-Christian litigation, and it is time for the system that allows this to be changed.

Crampton and other faith and family advocates believe Congressman Hostettler’s legislation, if passed, could put an end to ACLU profits from anti-Christian litigation. PERA would do this by amending 42 U.S.C. sections 1983 and 1988 to prevent the use of the legal system in a way that extorts money from state and local governments and inhibits their constitutional actions.

Analysis- The ACLU making money from anti-Christian litigation is no better than politicians that have hijacked Christianity and use their believe in God to further their careers.

This is the Begining

Could U.S. Troops End Up in Lebanon
The uniformed military, however, is ardently opposed to sending American soldiers to the region,
according to my source. “They are saying 'What the fuck?'” he told me. “Most of our combat-ready divisions are in Iraq or Afghanistan, or on their way, or coming back. The generals don't like it because we're already way overstretched.”

The scenario of an American deployment appears to come straight out of the neoconservative playbook: send U.S. forces into the Middle East, regardless of what our own military leaders suggest, in order to “stabilize” the region. The chances of success, as we have seen in Iraq, are remote. So what should be done? My source said the situation is so volatile at the moment that the only smart policy is to get an immediate ceasefire and worry about the terms of a lasting truce afterwards.

Iran: The Next War
Even before the bombs fell on Baghdad, a group of senior Pentagon officials were plotting to invade another country. Their covert campaign once again relied on false intelligence and shady allies. But this time, the target was Iran. BY JAMES BAMFORD

I. The Israeli Connection

A few blocks off Pennsylvania Avenue, the FBI's eight-story Washington field office exudes all the charm of a maximum-security prison. Its curved roof is made of thick stainless steel, the bottom three floors are wrapped in granite and limestone, hydraulic bollards protect the ramp to the four-floor garage, and bulletproof security booths guard the entrance to the narrow lobby. On the fourth floor, like a tomb within a tomb, lies the most secret room in the $100 million concrete fortress—out-of-bounds even for special agents without an escort. Here, in the Language Services Section, hundreds of linguists in padded earphones sit elbow-to-elbow in long rows, tapping computer keyboards as they eavesdrop on the phone lines of foreign embassies and other high-priority targets in the nation's capital.

At the far end of that room, on the morning of February 12th, 2003, a small group of eavesdroppers were listening intently for evidence of a treacherous crime. At the very moment that American forces were massing for an invasion of Iraq, there were indications that a rogue group of senior Pentagon officials were already conspiring to push the United States into another war—this time with Iran. more

Analysis- I can't help but think that within one year we will be at war with Iran and the public will support it. They will support it like they supported Iraq in the beginning. The only thing that will stop the coming war with Iran is if the public is smarter this time. Irrational fear will drive "good" people to do bad things. Just to make a prediction it will take over a year after the war starts before public support wanes and we find out our intelligence was not very good.

Morality is not on our side
By Ze'ev Maoz
There's practically a holy consensus right now that the war in the North is a just war and that morality is on our side. The bitter truth must be said: this holy consensus is based on short-range selective memory, an introverted worldview, and double standards.

Doolittle and Simmons

Saying he was "deeply humbled" by the results of last week's election, Jerry Simmons issued an apology to the Sierra College community

"I apologize … for how I've handled my role as a trustee. Although I had the best intentions, sometimes my implementation of key decisions was done poorly," Simmons said.

Simmons said he has spent many sleepless nights over the past few weeks pondering how to help the college move forward. He hoped the apology was "a place to start."

He then voted with three other trustees -- Klein, Scott Leslie and Nancy Palmer -- against a motion to remove him as president of the Sierra Joint Community College District board of trustees. The motion -- which needed five votes to pass -- failed, with trustees Dave Creek, Dave Ferrari and Barbara Vineyard backing it.

He appoligized yet there is still a recall. Why?

The Congressman John Doolittle stands behind them-

Congressman John Doolittle, Assemblyman Tim Leslie and Placer County Republican Party Chairman Dean Forman have all condemned the recall started Tuesday in statements issued to the press. Doolittle said “It is unfortunate that politics continues to overshadow the many positive things that the college is accomplishing.”

Here is something circulating from daily kos about John Doolittle

John Doolittle is in trouble.

I am convinced that he will be indicted.

The trouble is timing. It might happen before November, but it could also happen after the election.

Another open question is what crime will he be indicted for first.

Doolittle offers prosecutors a cornucopia of corruption, so it might be his connections to Abramoff, or Duke Cunningham, or his wife's fundraising scams or some new scandal that brings the little weasel down.

Or perhaps it will be a combination of them all. More

And from WAPO

Analysis-I honestly have not followed Sierra College politics but I saw a comment from PS about it and in reference to this blog. So tell me who the good guys are in this fight.

Bush White House checked with rapture Christians before latest Israel move

"Everything that you're discussing is information you're not supposed to have," barked Pentecostal minister Robert G. Upton when asked about the off-the-record briefing his delegation received on March 25. Details of that meeting appear in a confidential memo signed by Upton and obtained by the Voice.

The e-mailed meeting summary reveals NSC Near East and North African Affairs director Elliott Abrams sitting down with the Apostolic Congress and massaging their theological concerns. Claiming to be "the Christian Voice in the Nation's Capital," the members vociferously oppose the idea of a Palestinian state. They fear an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza might enable just that, and they object on the grounds that all of Old Testament Israel belongs to the Jews. Until Israel is intact and Solomon's temple rebuilt, they believe, Christ won't come back to earth.

Three weeks after the confab, President George W. Bush reversed long-standing U.S. policy, endorsing Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank in exchange for Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip.

Tens of millions of American Christian Zionists support Israeli expansionism because they believe it will bring Armageddon and the return of Jesus.
All want to maintain a U.S.-Israel monopoly on nuclear weapons in the Middle East. There is ample evidence that to maintain this monopoly, the U.S. and Israel plan a dangerous war against Iran, and probably its ally Syria, that could kill millions of Muslims, Arabs, Israelis and even Americans.

The rhetoric between Iran's leader Ahmadineajad and US President George Bush -- both of whom seem to think "God Chose ME to Start Armageddon" -- keeps ratcheting up, even as the Israelis make absurd predictions that Iran could produce nuclear weapons within months. Bush needs a war to distract attention from the disasterous war in Iraq and his many scandals.

Other special interest groups have managed to skew U.S. foreign policy in directions they favored, but no lobby has managed to divert U.S. foreign policy as far from what the American national interest would otherwise suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that U.S. and Israeli interests are essentially identical."

The Bush administration is insane. If the American people do not decapitate it by demanding Bush’s impeachment, the Bush administration will bring about Armageddon. This may please some Christian evangelicals conned by Rapture predictions, but World War III will please no one else.

Analysis-Does the President believe that a nuclear war in the mid east (Iran) will bring Christ back? There are many who believe it and are excited about it. There is even the top ten signs. Number one is Iran's nuclear program.

The scary thing is this end of the world talk is making it's way to MSM which is giving it legitimacy. I have heard on CNN Evangelicals are excited at the prospect of a wider war with Iran.

Is the battle in the Middle East a sign of Armageddon? An eye-opening look at what some evangelicals say the conflict means. Tune in at 8 p.m. ET. CNN

What is wrong with these people. YOU can not purposefully bring about the second coming.

Note- Israel needs to be helped and protected as a trusted ally but you even tell a friend when they have stepped over the line.

Where are the Christians?
By Pat Buchanan

But where are the Christians? Why is Pope Benedict virtually alone among Christian leaders to have spoken out against what is being done to Lebanese Christians and Muslims?

When al-Qaida captured two U.S. soldiers and barbarically butchered them, the U.S. Army did not smash power plants across the Sunni Triangle. Why then is Bush not only silent but openly supportive when Israelis do this? (snip)

Already, Bush is ranting about Syria being behind the Hezbollah capture of the Israeli soldiers. But where is the proof?

Who is whispering in his ear? The same people who told him Iraq was maybe months away from an atom bomb, that an invasion would be a "cakewalk," that he would be Churchill, that U.S. troops would be greeted with candy and flowers, that democracy would break out across the region, that Palestinians and Israelis would then sit down and make peace?

How much must America pay for the education of this man?

'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for July 19

MATTHEWS: Great, thank you very much. Please keep coming back, Andrew Lee Butters in Beirut.

Let‘s bring in now two political analysts, Pat Buchanan and of course Bob Shrum, both with us regularly. Pat, let‘s go through the politics of this situation. The neocons are out there complaining that this president isn‘t tough enough. I have no idea what they mean, 50,000 dead in Iraq, it was supposed to be a cake walk. Ken Edelman‘s out there today saying we should go other places, you have got guys who have wanted to blow up every Arab country on their list. Why is going on in their complaint and why does the president pays five seconds attention to them?

PAT BUCHANAN, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: I don‘t know why he pays attention to them, Chris. What they want, Chris, is a wider war, especially in the Middle East. They want the United States to fight Israel‘s war against Hezbollah, Syria but especially Iran.

And the Israelis want us to fight Iran‘s well. But it‘s not in the interest of the United States. None of those countries, even Hezbollah and Hamas have not attacked the United States of America. I don‘t think the country is listening to the neocons anymore. I think they‘re discredited. The question is, is Bush listening to them, because he was gone for awhile up through his second inaugural, very much according to a script they wrote.

MATTHEWS: Literally.

BUCHANAN: Yes.

(snip)

MATTHEWS: I just wonder Pat about the simple history. We know from looking at the Arab world, as we‘ve come to understand it, that there‘s this division between the Shia, who are on the outs and they‘re coming to be the ins of course in Iraq and they‘re certainly already in control of Iran, taking on Sunnis, that‘s a war we‘re only vaguely understanding. That‘s a 1,000-year-old war. Do you think we‘re creating another 1,000 year war by killing so many Arabs? I‘ve been afraid of this war from day one, because I‘ve always felt, based on history, every time you somebody, you‘ve got his brother, his mother, his family coming back to get you. We‘ve killed 50,000 Iraqis in a war that was supposed to be a two-day wonder.

When are we going to notice that the neocons don‘t know what they‘re talking about? They‘re not looking at this country‘s long-term interests. They‘re bound up in regional and global ideology and they have had no experience, I‘ll say it again, in even a school yard fight. They don‘t know what physical fighting is all about. They went to school and were intellectuals, but they he want our government to be their big brother. I don‘t get it. I don‘t know why we keep falling for it and the president, you say is he free of these guys yet or not?

BUCHANAN: Well, the president fell for it after 9-11 when they put their little precooked meal in front of him after he knocked down Afghanistan and so they said let‘s do Iraq now and Wolfowitz and all the rest of them. But let me say this Chris, I think the president realizes now that we went into Iraq to pursue weapons that did not exist, a country that did not attack us, did not threaten us, and now we have created a great base camp for terrorism in the Anbar province, the west there, that did not exist.

In response to Mr. Shrum, not only the 150,000 hostages, you attack Iran, Hezbollah will retaliate against the 25,000 Americans in Lebanon, you will have massive hostage takings and killings. Are these people nuts? You‘ve got to ask yourself. I certainly hope the president is not listening to them, because I really question whether they‘ve got America‘s national interest at heart. They are calling for wars against people that never attacked us. I don‘t care how bad they are. There are wicked people all over this world, but you don‘t go after people unless they come after you.

Analysis- Pat Buchanan has it right not only about the silent religious leaders but he is thinking of what is good for the U.S. All I can say is to repeat Pat's question where are the Christians? People are suffering and dying yet I here nothing but Israel good Arab bad. Who is trying to stop the killing? Sitting back and pointing fingers is easy but changes nothing.


Holy War
As the Middle East burns, GOP pols, neocon pundits, and a powerful Christian right leader all sing the same (crazy) tune.
In the June issue of the Prospect, I wrote about Texas televangelist John Hagee, an Armageddon prophesier who insists that military confrontation with Iran is foretold in the Bible as a necessary precondition for the Second Coming.

This is not my religion. This is a religion that has been hijacked for political purposes and I wan't my religion back. A religion of peace.