"Just a Horse"

There is no such thing as "Just a Horse" and Nancy Armour knows that when she ends her column today on Barbaro with:

"Grief," co-owner Gretchen Jackson said, "is the price we all pay for love."

Even if he was just a horse.

The Jackson's are grieving today from their loss as are millions of Barbaro's fans.

There is no such thing as just a horse, just as there is no such thing as just a dog, or just a bird or just another human being. Each and every one has a distinct 'person'ality that we either choose to see or not. (Bear with me)
I was actually surprised to note the differences in bird personalities when I finally had a chance to work with them. Birders wouldn't be surprised, but I was. I had never noticed before. And horses? I have 2 that are on opposite ends of the spectrum of personalities. And neither are anything like Mr. Barbaro.

That personality bit, where we can see it (as in your favorite dog) or choose not to (as in the herefords we drive by on the highway), allows us humans to compartmentalize each other too.

Right now the paradigm is 'Iraq is failed and we need to get out. And get out soon.' Yet that same person holding that train of thought also believes we should get in to Darfur. Why would anyone want us near their country when we clearly can't handle things? Why would people want to risk the lives of our military for a civil war in Sudan, but not for one in Iraq? How is it possible?

Simple....We aren't going to go into Darfur. So people can protest and complain and let their views be known on the subject and loudly.
"We feel badly!"
And yet they can be safe in the knowledge that nothing will be done so the protests can go on. That "compartment" can serve as an outlet for everything wrong in the world.

Arrrrgghhh - this world is horrible, there is war in the ME, Bush lied, and Darfur!!! Arrrggghhhh

Most people feel badly about a lot of things in this world. And a lot of things in this world can't be fixed. Let me get back animal corollaries. Remember the Mutual of Omaha shows? First you'd get to know the pretty gazelle as it grazed and cared for it's young etc. Then you'd get to know the pretty lioness as she napped and cared for it's young etc. Then the two met.

Life. It's easier if you can keep your compartments separate. Barbaro wasn't just a horse. He was Barbaro. He wanted to live. He had feelings for his owners and they loved him with all their hearts. They knew it was time.

We have responsilities for those we take under our roof. The Jacksons' definitely lived up to theirs.
At this point and time we have a responsibility to the Iraqi people. (and no I am not comparing them to "just a horse") I am saying that right now, they are the real thing. Darfur is there in the outliers and it's terrible what's going on there but right now, it isn't as real to me. They are the neighbors, or to keep with the animal theme, they are the neighbor's herefords. Going to slaughter.

But right now we are IN Iraq. We took on Iraq and said you have to change. That means that we are responsible for their well being up until the point where they are responsible for their own. Everyone who knows anything, including the President and Prime Minister of Iraq say that we are still needed there. And so we must stay.

A friend of mine has cried over every Barbaro slip and I am certain she is fulling grieving today. I'm ok. He's gone, it had to be done and wasn't unexpected. But I put Barbaro in a separate compartment of news stories. He never became a "friend" and I never got to know him.
Darfur may have it's day, but it isn't today.
Today we take care of our own responsibilities and that right now is Iraq.

Senator Lugar

Bloodthirsty Liberal caught Senator Lugar's remarks and notes that perhaps that's what a grown up sounds like! I would have to agree.

One for the Good guys

Iraqi authorities said they believed that the fighters, a diverse cadre of Sunni, Shiite, Afghan and other foreign gunmen, convened under cover of the pilgrims to set up a camp within striking distance of the Najaf-based Shiite religious leadership when attention was turned elsewhere. The fighters, who called themselves the Soldiers of the Sky, are driven by an apocalyptic vision of clearing the Earth of the depraved in preparation for the second coming of Muhammad al-Mahdi, a Shiite imam who disappeared in the 9th century, according to Ahmed Duaibel, a spokesman for the provincial government in Najaf. The governor of Najaf province, Assad Abu Gilel, said the group planned to attack pilgrims and shrines and to assassinate Shiite clerics at the peak of the religious holiday, called Ashura, which culminates Tuesday.

Good one!

Roundup

Sandy Berger, and John Kerry.

Monday Funnies

via the LATimes entitled

Was 911 Really That Bad?

Ok, you would be aghast, I'm sure. But the funny part here is the complete and utter disregard for reality. The premise is that basically we didn't lose that many people on 911 and the Islamists weren't that much of a threat.
Ok - we've all heard that before, but seriously, this guy David Bell, while comparing our losses on 911 and adding in our losses during the war in Afghanistan and Iraq to losses during WWII comes to the conclusion that we are overreacting!!

Oddly he doesn't once compare the death and destruction of WWII with the death and desctruction of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq!!

How can a professor be this obtuse??
The intro:

IMAGINE THAT on 9/11, six hours after the assault on the twin towers and the Pentagon, terrorists had carried out a second wave of attacks on the United States, taking an additional 3,000 lives. Imagine that six hours after that, there had been yet another wave. Now imagine that the attacks had continued, every six hours, for another four years, until nearly 20 million Americans were dead. This is roughly what the Soviet Union suffered during World War II, and contemplating these numbers may help put in perspective what the United States has so far experienced during the war against terrorism.

It also raises several questions. Has the American reaction to the attacks in fact been a massive overreaction? Is the widespread belief that 9/11 plunged us into one of the deadliest struggles of our time simply wrong? If we did overreact, why did we do so? Does history provide any insight?

Steyn

Because it's been awhile.

The only energy displayed by Nancy Pelosi was the spectacular leap to her feet within a nano-second of the president mentioning Darfur. Up went Madam Speaker and the entire Democratic caucus like enthusiastic loons on a gameshow. Darfur! We're all in favor of Darfur. People are being murdered! Hundreds of thousands! We oughtta do something! Like, er, jump up and down when it's mentioned in a speech. And, er, call for the international community to mobilize.

I know a non-binding resolution!! Because it's important to let the President know how we really feel.

Anger

It's hard on a soul to go from a perfect, sunny day of hiking with the dog and spending time with the horses to coming home just to be angered all over again by what's going on lately. Let's start with that tiny little piece of crap John Kerry at Davos this week.
Where else would he be during "world economic forum day" since he's such a worldly guy. Yes, that's right, sitting right next to the former president of Iran while evidence piles every day concerning their (Iran's) involvement in the murders in Kerbala. I am sooooooooooo thankful for every Swift Boat Veteran involved in the campaign against him in 2004. I cringe to think of where we would be if he were in office today.

On to those resolutions. Rober Kagan has a piece that says so elegantly what I feel about these damn resolutions that I'll just ask you to go read his piece.

Many of their proponents frankly, even proudly, admit they are responding to the current public mood, as if that is what they were put in office to do. Those who think they were elected sometimes to lead rather than follow seem to be in a minority.

Imagine that!! Leadership. Oh no - says Hillary - Don't hand us your problems in 2009, the President should

withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq before he leaves office, asserting it would be "the height of irresponsibility" to pass the war along to the next commander in chief.

If only she hadn't voted to allow us in eh?? Or if her own husband had gotten us out of Bosnia or...................

Bleeechhhhh
I'm going back to fantasy land right now to watch Desparate Housewives. It's no frickin wonder that TV is so popular.

Another Vietnam?

Not if we can stop it!! Fred Barnes points out the similarities and concludes:

In Vietnam, the slide down the slippery slope seemed inevitable. But in Iraq, there's time to halt it. Bush can be expected to hold firm in his pursuit of victory in Iraq. If Petraeus achieves a breakthrough in pacifying Baghdad and then in controlling insurgent-dominated Anbar province, the war opponents must stand down. If they refuse to acknowledge success and cause a repeat of the Vietnam calamity, they should be held accountable. This time, self-inflicted defeat should not be met with silence.

Amen.

Iraq

You can feel the screws tightening. During a Parliamentary meeting:

The speaker (al-Mashhadani) didn’t like this response from Maliki and turned to the lawmakers and said “You applaud this? The Prime Minister is openly accusing one of your colleagues of being a terrorist and you applaud! This is unacceptable!”
The session descended into chaos with members in white and black turbans shouting at each other. The speaker lost his patience and screamed back “Enough of this sectarian speech making! You will set the streets on fire! How are we going to succeed if we’re divided like this?”

Resolution on Iraq: Number 1 (Hey - I've only just begun!)

In the spirit of the United Nations and the current Congress of the United States of America I bring to you yet another non-binding resolution in order to make me feel better because now I have “done something” important regarding this important matter. I hope that in spite of this resolution being non-binding, that you will take it to heart and remember it fondly.


Whereas the United States strategy and presence on the ground in Iraq can only be sustained with the support of the American people and bipartisan support from Congress;

Whereas we voted to allow our President to start this war in Iraq with specific goals in mind;

Whereas maximizing chances of success in Iraq should be our goal, and the best chance of success requires support from all sources.

Whereas the President, after careful study of the Iraq Study Group’s proposals along with the wise council of many others chose a course of action that included an increase of troops by 21,500 for a duration of time during which the Iraqi troops are also to be increased and given more training and the Iraqi government is to cooperate more fully to control militias within and around Baghdad and help to rebuild security so that militias are no longer thought to be needed by the neighborhoods.

Whereas the President, during his State of the Union specifically requested a little more time.

Whereas General Petraeus has suggested that resolutions undermining the President’s request for support without actually doing anything than undermining the President’s request for support is a morale booster to the enemy and morale killer to our own troops on the ground.

Now therefore be it resolved by me and any other signatory that

1) I will support the Commander and Chief as requested as he makes use of the most recent facts on the ground to come to his decision.

2) I will support our military men and women who make choices every day on how best to win this war and stabilize Iraq, who have all around done an outstanding job from the beginning of this war.

3) I will support Iraq and Iraqis as they work to create a functioning democracy of sorts and must try to do this without the support of their own neighbors.

4) I will support fulfilling our obligations of war. Just like in Bosnia, and South Korea and in Germany, we entered the arena, we need to feel obliged to stay until we are no longer needed.

5) When the Iraqi government along with our own military leadership including our Commander in Chief says we are no longer needed, I will support withdrawing. That time is not now.

Signed:
Terri Goon

Mountain Lions

These guys scare me! And may I say, no wonder!

A 65-year-old Californian woman has saved the life of her husband, 70, by fighting off an attacking mountain lion with a small log and his pen.

Baghdad

Things are afoot. From Mohammed:

Although the major Baghdad plan isn’t officially launched yet, every day we see several joint operations against targets in and around the city. Still, according to the latest leaked reports, it seems as if the major implementations of the plan are going to wait until the beginning of next month,.
The waiting is proving to be more of a burden on the people of Baghdad than the operation itself would be. Patience is fading under the pressure of the increasing numbers of suicide attacks and the civilian deaths they cause. Baghdadis are desperately waiting for the operation to begin because they hope it can reduce the occurrence of these deadly attacks that distribute death equally among civilians.

However, and despite the spike in suicide bombings there’s a good sign. The numbers of unknown bodies that carry signs of torture have decreased significantly over the last two weeks, an official in the health ministry told al-Sabah:

And from Blackfive:

Last October, my sources began telling me about rumblings among the insurgent strategists suggesting that their murderous endeavor was about to run out of steam. This sense of fatigue began registering among mid-level insurgent commanders in late December, and it has devolved to the rank and file since then. The insurgents have begun to feel that the tide has turned against them.
In many ways, the timing of this turnaround was inadvertent, coming at the height of political and bureaucratic mismanagement in Washington and Baghdad. A number of factors contributed to this turnaround, but most important was sustained, stay-the-course counterinsurgency pressure. At the end of the day, more insurgents were ending up dead or behind bars, which generated among them a sense of despair and a feeling that the insurgency was a dead end.

The Washington-initiated "surge" will speed-up the ongoing process of defeating the insurgency. But one should not consider the surge responsible for the turnaround. The lesson to be learned is to keep killing the killers until they realize their fate.

It sounds to me like the most important thing to do right now, is give the moral support needed to keep up this great work in support of the Iraqi people and us. There will be a later post of a "new" resolution (hey - why not? everyone else is writing the damn things) for emailing about the country and ending up in someone's hands in Iraq and the US govt.

Stay tuned.

The BBC

Hit my funny bone this morning with what they are calling a "news" piece. Concerning the Lebanese strikes that were called off yesterday due to increasing violence.

Somehow that brought us back to Bush/Iraq/Saudi Arabia/Iran.

Some regional analysts believe that many of the area's problems - in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Iraq and elsewhere - will not be fundamentally settled until the Americans and Iran reach a strategic understanding.

That would clearly have to include a resolution of differences over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, an issue on which Washington has taken an unbending stand.

Does this, or does this not imply that Tehran's stand is cooperative?? And where the heck does that come from? LOL

The Pledge

Republicans all over the net are signing the Pledge. I'm still corresponding with Senator Salazar concerning these damn resolutions. People are serious about them.

Iran and Saudi Arabia

Today Instapundit links to a strategy page article about Iran and Saudi Arabia not getting along so well. His post is titled "The Secret War against Iran".

Hmmm - Today the BBC has an item about Lebanon that essentially talks about Iran and Saudi Arabia working together.

Beirut newspapers are also reporting highly significant co-operation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, to defuse the situation and reduce sectarian tensions.

The Saudis, regarded as the custodians of Sunni Islam, are closely linked to the Siniora government in Beirut, while Iran - the world's only Shia Islamic republic - has close ties with Hezbollah and with Syria, which has great residual influence in Lebanon.

Riyadh and Tehran have been co-ordinating closely on regional affairs recently. The chief Iranian security official, Ali Larijani, was recently in Riyadh, while his Saudi counterpart, Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, is currently visiting Tehran.

The Iranian and Saudi ambassadors in Beirut are reported to have played a major role in bringing about the decision to call off the strike.

If so, this would be an encouraging development, in a region where sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shias have been rising sharply, notably in Iraq.

Similar co-operation between the two regional powers could help ease the worsening sectarian strife in Iraq.

Things to watch....

What He says!

Varifrank on John Warner - of as he says, "The Asshat Senator from Virginia".

Warner, You fat bastard. You unthinking coward. You slimy warthogs rectum. You walking colosotomy bag. You mouldering sack of crap. Get out of my party!

And frankly you can add John Boehner's name to that list of adjectives if he goes through with this clear dis to the Commander in Chief.

Even House Republicans, once the president's firmest bulwark, made their skepticism clear Monday, calling for firm benchmarks for success in Iraq that House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said would ``hold the Bush administration and the Iraqi government accountable and require the administration to report to Congress every 30 days.''

``I support the president's plan,'' Boehner said. ``But we have a duty to candidly and honestly assess whether the new strategy will be effective and ultimately successful.''

UPDATE: Hillary is suggesting that this resolution is to get the attention of the US and Iraqi governments. What kind of Presidential candidate can't get your attention without resorting to resolutions that do nothing at all except let the troops know they are not supported and the enemy know that the fight is about over?? Loser.

The State of the Union (Updated)

Well - I know I'm a Bush W toadie, so maybe my opinion counts for naught but I liked the State of the Union speech tonight.

I didn't like the energy part where he basically pledged the same things he always does and then doesn't do anything about. Except the reserve. He can and has done something with that. I'm ok with increasing those.

Health Care: Well that sounds ok. Tax incentives for health insurance buyers.

Immigration: Temporary worker program. That is fine with me as long as this is for ALL workers, not just grunt workers. Why the heck should the only people affected by immigration be blue collar people!? And since when do we want a certified 2nd class?

On the WoT. I'm glad he mentioned that this war started before 911. I'm glad he mentioned that this war is measured by what has NOT happened. I like that he mentioned that the fight is NOT the fight we entered, but it's what we've got. I like that he stressed our responsibilities over there. Not only for them but for us too.

In watching the speech however it was liking watching John Edward's "two Americas". One in the image of George W. Bush is looking at an idealogical struggle and seeing it as a real present danger to this country. The other is rolling it's eyes because they don't see it at all.

I actually saw on one lefty blog tonight (sorry, I forget which) where they actually proposed that there may be nothing wrong with Iran running the Middle East vs the US and that we should look into it! Are you kidding me????!

Anywho...I liked the speech. I think it was realistic. He's asking for support from people with whom he knows he doesn't have much. I wish he would talk to us more.

UPDATE: John Podhoretz has a nice re-cap.

Charlie Gibson last night on ABC actually asked Hillary some tough questions. She failed in my book. Then today I see that during the questioning of General Petraeus he was asked about the "Resolution" being offered of no support for the President. The general said it would not have a "beneficial effect" on troop morale. Hillary is still for it:

I, among others on this committee, have put forward ideas about disapproving the escalation not because we in any way embrace failure or defeat, but because we are trying to get the attention of our government and the government of Iraq."

Um - Don't you think you've gotten the attention of the governments of both Iraq and the US? What would REALLY get their attention is if you dropped this.

The State of the Union

Brought to you by Jules Crittendem. I like it.

The State of the Union is a disaster. I did my best, but I made mistakes, and my best wasn’t good enough.
We went to war without building up our army, and now, I am trying to make up for that.
But that is not the disaster.
The disaster is that you, Congress and the American people, do not care to fight.

Jimmy Carter's more recent lies

Conveniently listed. (via Powerline)

Pork

I don't pay much attention to pork, but others do and Captain Ed today will make your head spin with a quote from the NYTimes on it.

The New York Times' Nicholas Confessore really needs a remedial civics lesson -- and so do a few New York politicians. In an article covering the pork-barrel controversies in the state, Confessore reports that some officeholders want to defend earmarks from the state budget for home-district vote-buying as -- get this -- the "purest expression of self-government":

puhlease.

Demographics

Christopher Hitchens has a review of sorts of Mark Steyn's book. He has his own points at the end of this long column for what he would do if he were king.

Trouble in Paradise

For those of you who consider Iran paradise.

The grand ayatollah complained that people kept on shouting slogans about nuclear rights, but he asked: "Don't we have other rights too?"

It was a pointed reference to concerns about diminishing freedom of speech in Iran under Mr Ahmadinejad.

Grand Ayatollah Montazeri also launched a scathing attack on the president's handling of the economy.

He said some gentlemen claimed inflation was only 13% in Iran, but everyone knew the cost of housing had risen more than 50%.

He asked why the government went on useless trips and spent money on others abroad, seemingly a reference to President Ahmadinejad's recent tour of Latin America and Iranian aid to Palestinian groups like Hamas.

Global Warming

Could it be? Are there skeptics in the midst of scientists? Those who question that humanity is the cause, or that predictive models are perfect?

"I can understand how a scientist without tenure can feel the community pressures," says environmental scientist Roger Pielke Jr., a colleague of Vranes' at the University of Colorado.

Pielke says he has felt pressure from his peers: A prominent scientist angrily accused him of being a skeptic, and a scientific journal editor asked him to "dampen" the message of a peer-reviewed paper to derail skeptics and business interests.

"The case for action on climate science, both for energy policy and adaptation, is overwhelming," Pielke says. "But if we oversell the science, our credibility is at stake."

(ht Barcepundit)

It's Snowing Again Here

I know those of you from the rest of the country thinks it snows in Colorado all the time, but no it doesn't, not usually. So we're getting another grey day and I could use some sunshine to wash the guilt away that I feel for wanting to see some sunshine vs appreciating every drop of moisture we get!

Anway,
Michelle Malkin write on Jamil Hussein today in the NYPost. I was hoping for an actual interview with the guy, but no. If you go to her website you'll get photos as well, but not the complete column. Bottom line:

Capt. Stacy Bare, the civil-affairs officer who took us on patrol in Hurriya, concurred: "There were no six Sunnis burned."
MURDERS do happen regularly in their area, the soldiers em phasized. And no one sugarcoated the brutality of the Shiite militia. But the soldiers say this particular story doesn't stand up.

....................................
Captain Ed notes that Venezuela's governing body, is no longer doing any governing. He also notes that Senior Chavez is going to be hurting real soon with the price of oil going down. Apparently Venezuela's oil is harder to get to and lower quality than Saudi Arabia's. At less than $40/barrel they won't be making much money at all.
....................................
Varifrank and Uncorrelated both write on Hillary's big announcement.
Varifrank is sure she won't win and is pleased she's running because she just single handedly gathered up the troops of the GOP.
Uncorrelated is certain she's not a shoe in.

Around the World

Loony Tune Hugo Chavez has been given the power to bypass congress and do whatever he wants for the next 18 months. He's calling this "Socialism". I'm not sure which books he reads but the books I have call it "Dicatorship".

The bill allowing him to enact laws by decree is expected to win final approval easily in the assembly on its second reading on Tuesday.

Can you imagine voting IN a dictatorship?

Amir Taheri has an interesting piece on what's going on inside Iran. It doesn't sound pleasant with

The conflict is centered on what looks like a looming economic crisis. Inflation has risen to 17 percent, its highest rate since the 1970s. A cascade of business closures has pushed unemployment, already high even by Third World standards, to its highest level in three decades.

And in Iraq a Sadr Aide is arrested.

The Speed of Light

Coming to you at a slower speed. Kind of cool. You slow it down, you can maybe control it.

Physicists said the new approach to taming light could hasten the arrival of a futuristic era in which computers and other devices will process information on optical beams instead of with electricity, which for all its spark is still cumbersome compared with light.

(ht Instapundit)

Here was the part that cracked me up this morning. It shows the level of intellect that a scientist gives to a reporter (ooh - maybe it was meant for us readers?).

"We only have to turn a knob and it slows," said John C. Howell, the University of Rochester physicist who led the effort,

LOL

Yeah - that's all it took. I have one of those dimmers too...ROFL

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter said/did something the other day. I can't remember what it was, but it was so outrageous, someone suggested I blog about it. I kind of figure that the guy is a doddering old man who is losing his mind and not really worth my time. That's the only explaination, right.

Well, no, not so much. Powerline has tracked the story of President Carter and the Nazi guard he was trying to help. He was a younger man then with no excuses for senility. Just blatant horribleness.
I'm glad I wasn't of voting age during his time because I was probably stupid enough myself to have voted for him.

Running Late

But Varifrank shares what he's learned on Iraq.

Robert Bluey sees bloggers making a difference in earmark reform. (ht Instapundit)

Jules Crittenden has the easiest to understand version of the Scooter Libby situation I've ever read.

Is al Qaeda leaving Baghdad for a bit? Maybe because of an anticipated surge?

And finally, a response to the Psychology Today article on liberalism/conservatism. Let's call it "It's not really paranoia if people are really after you!

Baghdad

Don't bother reading me today, Michelle Malkin is back from Iraq. Read all of her links.


Also note the good news from the Philippines where one bad beheader finds his end.

Women Alone

The NYTimes today has a front screen news story about a new statistic showing that

51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse

Big news? Who knows. I'm writing to complain about the tone of the story. Kind of like how the big newspapers will hear a Bush speech and then find everyone in a room they can interview who didn't like it. In this case we have the new statistic and then they interviewed everyone in a room who feels "trapped" in relationships.

after a divorce, are more likely than men to delay remarriage, sometimes delighting in their newfound freedom.
..........“I’m in a place in my life where I’m comfortable,” said Ms. Crenshaw, who has two grown sons. “I can do what I want, when I want, with whom I want. I was a wife and a mother. I don’t feel like I need to do that again.”
............“The benefits (of divorce)were completely unforeseen for me,” Ms. Fidler said, “the free time, the amount of time I get to spend with friends, the time I have alone, which I value tremendously, the flexibility in terms of work, travel and cultural events.”

You get the drift.
I am unmarried, so what do I know, but since I write about the war as a nonsoldier, I get to write about this too.

I have to say that I sincerely doubt most men these days in nonIslamist countries are trying to "enslave" their womenfolk. Good Lord ladies, if you're feeling that enslaved, figure out why! It probably has something to do with you! And the NYtimes? As expected the tone of your story is off base. You introduced the story as an interesting shift in demographics and how this will change how society views it's main institutions. However the tone is an anti-man screed with no suggestions about what this new vision of society will be.

Get me re-write!

ps and of course this does not apply to those of you who are truly brutalized. - most men don't do that!

The War

Michael Yon who has just gone back to Iraq and who was not as positive during his last visit see this war as "winnable". (Ps he lives on donations.....)

Hot Air has an interesting CNN interview with a couple of reporters. (ht Michelle Malkin) Pam Hess of UPI sees the lack of questions concerning what happens if we lose. She has it figured out, like Mark Steyn does that

Nations lose wars, not political parties — a point the parochial left seems unable to grasp.

From Pam:

What we're not asking is actually the central question. We're getting distracted by the shiny political knife fight.

What we need to be asking is, what happens if we lose? And no one will answer that question. If we lose, how are we going to mitigate the consequences of this?

It's so much easier for us to cover this as a political horse race. It's on the cover of "The New York Times" today, what this means for the '08 election. But we're not asking the central national security question, because it seems that if as a reporter you do ask the national security question, all of a sudden you're carrying Bush's water. There are national security questions at stake, and we're ignoring them and the country is getting screwed.

And finally, is Pakistan helping? From the Guardian:

Pakistan hits 'al-Qaida hideouts' near Afghan border

Martin Luther King Day

Powerline has a real nice tribute to the man today. It's his holiday and not just a day off!

Iraq

Omar is seeing signs of the surge moving insurgents out of Baghdad already. It seems they have respect for American forces that are allowed to be "forceful"! He suggests we keep Diyala safe also because that's where the bad guys are going.

Reuter's Headline Writer

Someone needs to fire the guy/gal who writes the headlines for Reuters. Headline:

Islamists attack troops in Somali capital

but here's the story:

It was not clear who carried out the attack in a city where much of the population has guns, although suspicion will fall on Islamist remnants who have vowed guerrilla war.

As long as we're talking about the media, read Amir Taheri's take on the media today.

Last month, Iraq received the U.N.'s special environmental prize for reviving parts of the marshes drained by Saddam, thus saving one of the world's most precious ecological treasures. Almost no one in the media noticed.
Also last month, the Iraqi soccer squad reached the finals of the Asian Games - beating out Japan, China, South Korea and Iran. Again, few in the West noticed.

Too Flippin funny

Barney Frank on Gateway Pundit via Instapundit. The whole thing is laugh out loud funny. You may want to pause it before you get to the end and use the facilities due to the pee you pants funny moment right at 3 min/25 secs.

Prescription Drug Coverage

The Wrong Prescription
Government should not negotiate drug prices in Medicare.

Direct to you from the Washington Post!
Go Julie, Go Julie.......

Iraq

Mohammed shares what's going on in Iraq.
ie Sistani is on board with dis-arming the militias.

The New Plan

So in reading the major papers this morning, I kept thinking to myself, "George, please don't read the papers this morning, they're a downer."

David Ignatius sees congress wanting to send our President a big kiss of "No confidence" as a way of re-gaining power. What the hell? They've been asking for a "change" for years now. Well.........
Bloodthirsty Liberal sees reality in this. "Soldiers as Pawns" is the title of his post. Ending with "God help us".

The Kurds are mad. (no advance knowledge before the attack of the Iranian terrorist hideout in Kurdistan)

The Washington Post has these headlines:
Bush Iraq Plan Meets Skepticism on the HIll
Intelligence Chiefs Provide Bleak Assessment
Bush Falls Flat with Iraq Speech

There were others about people not supporting him and protest marches throughout the land etc.

So how is it that Amir Taheri finds Iraqi support and encouragement for the plan? And Captain Ed finds Arabian allys behind the plan?

A reader can get very confused. It makes you really wonder about this country and the people in it. Do we really want to go back to isolationism? And do people really think that we will then be left alone? The only thing that is going to swing this is going to be another major attack on this country. That's the completely sad thing. I will follow this president whereever he wants to lead because I truly believe he is looking at what is best for us all in regards to this war. Can reasonable people disagree? Sure. But they're wrong. If Iraq falls to Islamists after Bush leaves office this country is going to be seeing war close up and I will post a big "I told you so" blog. I hope I don't have to do that.

Minimum Wage

For all! Well, except if you happen to be a big business in the district run by Nancy Pelosi!
Short version, the house passed the minimum wage bill that extends to US territories, except American Samoa where Starkist Tuna just happens to be in business. Now why on earth should the Northern Marianas get $7.25/hr but not the Samoans?? Just one reason. Pelosi.

What the hell are people thinking when they do this? pfft

In Defense of Bloggers

Scott has been watching a lefty blogger as he fights for his rights to post snippets of a right wing radio show online. The guy has been getting these snippets and sending them to advertisers to make certain those advertisers knew what show they were being associated with. Some advertisers have left (can't say as I blame them!).
Anywho, now this blogger is finding lawyers at his door. Give Spocko a little encouragement! He's left, but he's right on this one.

The President's Speech

For those of you who didn't get a chance to watch/hear the speech tonight, no worries, here is a re-cap.

To the American People,
Things didn't go as expected after the Iraqi election in 2005. My bad. So I'm going to do one other thing. Essentially, I'm going to send 20,000 more troops over there and this time we're going to win. Maliki has agreed.
The details:
Lots of embedding,
Lots of training,
No holding back
Oil revenue will be shared amongst all Iraqi's
Iran and Syria will be forced to quit their collaborations with the insurgents.

This time we're going to win. If things don't go exactly as planned, we'll make adjustments. There are other plans out there. Very honorable. But after talking with numerous people and listening to the Iraq Study Group, I'm going with this plan. If you have a new plan, just let me know why you think it will allow us to win, because that's the most important part and everyone, Congress, Generals, the Iraqi Govt, the Iraq Study Group all the big think tanks agree that we have to win this.

ps People are going to die and get hurt. Prepare yourself.

pps I am the Commander in Chief. No one else's plans have worked fully and I got the blame and rightly so. This round, I'm taking over.

Take care
President Bush

UPDATE: It was awesome!

UPDATE: Other reactions. John at Powerline wasn't impressed. Captain Ed see's Maliki doing his part already. Varifrank is with me.

In the papers: Jonah Goldberg notes that "at least Bush wants to win". And Ralph Peters as always has a great column.

For visual, take a look at some of Michelle Malkin's pictures while she's there.

Jamil Hussein

Flopping Aces continues to uncover reality.

Brig. Abdul-Karim Khalaf never acknowledged that there was a Capt. Jamil Hussein assigned to the Khadra station, he confirmed to the AP that there was a Capt. Jamil Ghdaab Gulaim assigned there. Apparently he is the source for the AP even though he still, to this day (according to Bill Costlow), denies being the source.

So what do we have so far?

That the AP has lied again in their response. The AP specifically stated that Brig. Abdul-Karim Khalaf acknowledged Jamil Hussein exists when he did no such thing. He acknowledged a completely different name the AP gave him but not a Jamil Hussein.

Then, the AP's source denies he is the source.

And Jamil isn't even the story!!! Six Sunnis, burned alive. That's the story. I can't wait until they get to that part. What's it going to end up being. Six Sunni's cooked toast and burned it??

Somalia

Ralph Peters gives kudos to where it belongs. Seeing al-Qaeda/Islamists on the run is choice. Noting that "the street" will not fight for al-Qaeda is too.

Yes, there's plenty of anti-Ethiopian emotion in the streets of Mogadishu today - but that's not the same as pro-Islamist sentiment.
As for al Qaeda's media pals, they'll try to play down the scope of this defeat, lying that only a few foreign terrorists were in Somalia. But even apart from the number of fanatics now lying dead in mango swamps, snake-ridden forests and scrubland, the psychological blow to al Qaeda has been huge: Mired in Iraq and hunkered down in remote rat-holes in Pakistan, Terror International, Inc. has been robbed of its biggest success story since 9/11.
The Islamists lost their vital beach-head in the Horn of Africa. Even Sudan, for all its villainy, is wary of associating with al Qaeda today (Khartoum has enough problems).

Speaking of that media, here is the headline in San Franscisco. Opportunity, peril seen for U.S. in Somalia
Experts divided on value of air strikes against terror targets
After admitting that the Somalia govt thinks the US has a right to go after al-Qaeda there, this damn paper actually seems to agree with Gayle Smith "an expert on Africa at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington":

"Our role would be, create a condition that would help Somalia stabilize," Smith said. "Otherwise we'll be repeating the mistakes of Iraq and Afghanistan, where we thought that all we need to do is go after the bad guys."

Um - that role of helping to stabilize Iraq/Afghanistan seem to be what most people don't want us doing and certainly don't want us finishing! How long has Somalia been in a civil war? Since 1991. Ethiopia took care of the Islamists out of their own self interest without CNN at their side counting civilian bodies or inserting Islamist propaganda into their stories.
Now with the Vice-President of Iraq begging us to stay in Iraq and finish the job, this think tank wants us moving over to Somalia to re-build. ROFL
People all over the world think that the US controls everything. If only we would put in the effort, it would be done. I thought that at least the US news would realize that's not the case. We don't even have our own act together. How on earth can we control everything when we have people in office like this guy John W. Warner. (yes - a Republican) You think it should be embarrassing to Democrats to have a dude on the intelligence committee who doesn't know the difference between Shia and Sunni, listen to Mr. Warner on the Democrats plan for the "symbolic" vote on Iraq. He's going to vote with them against the President because

he was becoming increasingly skeptical that a troop increase was in the best interest of the United States. “I’m particularly concerned about the greater injection of our troops into the middle of sectarian violence. Whom do you shoot at, the Sunni or the Shia?” Mr. Warner said. “Our American G.I.’s should not be subjected to that type of risk.”

What the hell does that mean? Does he seriously think this is just sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia? Does he seriously think that American G.I.'s don't know who to shoot at?
Lord, give President Bush the words tonight to rally this country. We need to follow through on our commitments not only for our own self interest but for the interest of those we've made promises to. Al-Qaeda needs to lose. Iraq is part of that. Of couse it's not the whole story and has it's subplots going on all over, but it's part of this war and it needs to end only with us on top and with it having a sane govt strong.

Advice to President Bush

On Iraq, from Amir Taheri. I like it. 10 little tips, along with the acceptance of the fact that Dems have been so anti-war, they really can't buddy up right now and to

always remember that, in military terms, you have already won the war in Iraq. The task now is to translate that into a lasting geopolitical victory.

So far, so good

This week at the crossroads is so far so good. Captain Ed has the story of the interrupted al-Qaeda plot in Jordan. Combined with the as yet unadmitted US airstrike on al-Qaeda in Somalia......

It seems to be a bad week for al-Qaeda. They've watched their remnants get shredded in Somalia by US forces, and now the Jordanians have thwarted another operation and killed one of their ringleaders. 2007 has gotten off to a good start for counterterrorism efforts.

This week

Jules Crittenden (via Instapundit) sees us at a crossroads right now (as in this week!).

I can't say I disagree with him and his post is good. I just see that a lot of decisions that are made end up changing rather quickly due to politics. If we go with a surge, I hope that Bush has his stubborness back because people are going to complain. Actually half the people will complain now and another 25% will complain soon. We need to be stronger than that.

(UPDATE: Jules is a guy (see comments). Whoops Sorry about that! I've switched pronouns in this post to update!)

Thanks for the gentle note Mr. Crittenden!

Gay Sheep and Slaughtered Sheep

Mark Steyn thinks he has connected the two. I didn't catch on to his round up but he's always entertaining.

Baghdad

Omar sees changes occuring in Baghdad and is hoping for the best.

This time it looks like the plan will perhaps be somewhat different, at least in its political side because there's a need and an apparent will to avoid the mistakes that surrounded previous plans as can be told from Maliki's words yesterday. He sent, or resent, a few tough-worded messages including:

-Political factions will not interfere with the implementation of the plan
-ALL outlaw groups bearing arms will be dealt with in the same manner
-Protecting the populace is the job of the official armed forces and not the job of militias

I'm not sure if this is part of our "surge" but with or without an increase in troops it sounds like there are some changes going on there.

Israel/Iran

OpFor notes the Israeli nuclear threat to Iran.

The NYTimes Corrects Itself

Powerline today notes that Brian Calumne has finally issued a correction to a story I never mentioned. (On a story of El Salvador's antiabortion policy, the times noted a woman who was sentanced to 30 years in prison for having an abortion. In reality that woman was sentanced for killing her newborn baby.)
The Times finally looked at the record and added a correction.

Border wars

Mexico is attacking and winning.

A U.S. Border Patrol entry Identification Team site was overrun Wednesday night along Arizona's border with Mexico.

The Zawahiri Two-Step

Starts out two steps behind! Bloodthirsty Liberal keeps me laughing.

Iran in Iraq

The big news yesterday was the secret that came out that showed Iran had been helping both Sunni AND Shia in order to keep a civil was going in Iraq. From the NYSun:

WASHINGTON — Iran is supporting both Sunni and Shiite terrorists in the Iraqi civil war, according to secret Iranian documents captured by Americans in Iraq.

This "big secret" finding of evidence has Iraq the Model a little leery of the West's intelligence.

What concerns me here is that if it continues to take us this long to identify our enemies and figure out their ways and the shape of their networks we will be always allowing them to be a few steps ahead of us.
While America is facing difficulties in gathering intelligence but what concerns me more is that even what's being gathered is not being processed, interpreted and utilized in the right manner or mace.

Dear Omar,
Don't worry, it's just the press who are this blinded by the culture. They are the ones who insisted al-Qaeda couldn't be working with Saddam due to religious difference.
Sincerely
Terri

Omar also had this to say in regards to the new statue that Qaddafy is erecting:

The relationships between dictators and terror groups are complex and not the same as one can expect from normal states, take a look at Qaddafi who had also stood with Iran against Saddam, he is now building a statue to commemorate the dictator who used to call Qaddafi Qirdafi (means Monkey-Dafi)!

Monkey-Dafi! You mean to say that Saddam taunted others?

Jamil Hussein

Michelle Malkin has a nice cross section of blogs concerning the arrest of Jamil Hussein.

Bottom line - assuming the guy is real, NOW maybe we can get to the bottom of the six burned alive Sunnis. With the lack of names of these 6 victims and the lack of any sort of outrage in Iraq concerning them, I continue to doubt.

From Bill Faith via Michelle:

Bill Faith:
Color this old dog very, very skeptical. So, the Iraqi Police may or may not arrest some dude and claim he's Jamil, then they may or may not put him in a line-up where the AP people can claim "Yes we see him but we aren't going to identify him; must protect our sources, y'know," and we're all supposed to just forget about all those sole-sourced stories that still don't check out? And our source for all this new-found knowledge is ... the AP?

I'm with him.

Environmental Republican

This guy has a great blog that often has a unique perspective on things. He's a veteran, he's a business owner, a family man, a Republican who works closely with environmental stuff and he's smart and funny.

Congratulations Scott on your 50,000th page view!

Go see his post on the latest by Cindy Sheehan.

The LA Times

Patterico reminds us all why it makes such a good little dog trainer/bird poo dispenser by reviewing just 2006.

Eid sensitivities

"Don't you dare hang Saddam on the first day of Sunni's Eid!" "We're warning you, it's insenstive to our peacefulness!" Hmmmm, Captain Ed has found a different story about Eid and sensitivities.

Mohammed Iqbal told The Associated Press on Wednesday about 30 male relatives of his wife stormed into his mother's village home during the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, demanding vengeance for the "dishonor" the marriage had brought to their family.

Those relatives managed to maim a number of people in that family during the festival.

Douglas Wood

Writes his views of what's going on right now in Iraq. Rescued by Iraqi forces,

things changed when Nuri al-Maliki was elected Prime Minister of Iraq with the decisive support of terrorist turned politician, Muqtada al-Sadr.

(ht Tim Blair)

Gitmo/Saddam

No wonder the NYTimes thinks there is abuse at Guantanamo. It also think that those taunts from Saddam's audience was abuse.

Iraq to Review Abusive Acts at Hussein’s Execution

The Ghost of Jamil Hussein

Even the famous Eason Jordan can't find him!

If an Iraqi police captain by the name of Jamil Hussein exists, there is no convincing evidence of it - and that means the Associated Press has a journalistic scandal on its hands that will fester until the AP deals with it properly.
This controversy and the AP's handling of it call into question the credibility, integrity, and smarts of one of the world's biggest, most influential, most respected news organizations, the New York-based Associated Press.

from Instapundit:

UPDATE: Reader C.J. Burch emails: "I think I have a solution. The AP reports that Jamil is dead. Then Bob Woodward can interview him. That should clear up all the questions."

ROFL

I tell you what, that story about those 6 burned-alive Sunnis that the AP wrote with "Jamil's" help really turned my stomach. It was the closest I ever got to wanting to give up on Iraq. "Who can help these people?" It was apparently one big friggin fraud by the AP. My po'dness is big on this one. And think of all those people who haven't followed this nonstory? They still believe it really happened. But the AP just digs in it's heels. grrrrrrrr

Somalia

I loved this column by Ralph Peters regarding the retreating Islamists in Somalia. Here's the end, read the whole thing!

For now, it's worth popping that leftover bottle of champagne. Somalia's homegrown fanatics and their al Qaeda allies are on the run; the Ethiopian military is hunting down wanted terrorists (including several implicated in the bombing of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania), and our enemies have lost a safe haven, a money-laundering capital, a smuggler's paradise and a launching pad for subversion.
The ideal of a perfect, eternal victory - to which the media hold those who battle terrorism - is an unfair standard. A win that overthrows a terrorist regime, whether in Afghanistan or Somalia, is worth the fight, even if the enemy can't be completely eradicated. Desperate terrorists struggling for survival are always preferable to a terrorist regime in the capital city.
There's plenty more trouble to come in the Horn of Africa. But the good guys won this round, and nay-saying pundits can't put the terrorists back in power in Mogadishu.

And as long as you're reading, here is a man on the street article from Mogadishu out of the LATimes. (yes, it's hard to know what's true in these)
Anyway it sounds like the top guys in that Islamic Courts ran away and didn't bother telling the boots on the ground. Those boots aren't very happy. From a woman who took up arms to assist her husband fighting for the Islamists.

She too blamed Siad, the Islamists' security officer, for ordering his troops into battle and then fleeing the country. She and others called him a traitor who was possibly working with the Ethiopians to undermine the courts.

"Now we hate him more than the invaders," she said. "If we see him, we will cut him to pieces."

Interesting that they allow her to "cut him to pieces" but not while showing a cheekbone.

Iraq

This NYTimes article is titled "Chaos Overran Iraq Plan in '06, Bush Team Says".

It's peppered with sayings like

He ended the year closeted with his war cabinet on his ranch trying to devise a new strategy, because the existing one had collapsed.

and

as optimism collided with reality,

or

The Bush administration was jolted on Feb. 22 when Al Qaeda blew up the Askariya Mosque in Samarra,

I'm not sure what exactly a person can "expect" in wartime. I expect chaos. I expect re-planning the original plan constantly. I expect surprise attacks. I expect in a situation like this where two countries are trying to work together but where both have different strengths, ways of thought, histories etc that it would be tricky.

I would never expect that "the plan" for 2006 would go just right and never re-thought. I suspect that the NYTimes must think the US Govt runs everything just right and hence if the results aren't smooth, then it must be because of lack of planning.

I suspect that that premise is wrong.

2 "Does Goods"

It must be a Happy New Year!

Bush does Good

The president has tripled direct humanitarian and development aid to the world’s most impoverished continent since taking office and recently vowed to double that increased amount by 2010 — to nearly $9 billion.

The moves have surprised — and pleased — longtime supporters of assistance for Africa, who note that because Bush has received little support from African American voters, he has little obvious political incentive for his interest.

Imagine that.
(via Bloodthirsty Liberal)

LA Does good

And works at returning water to the Owen's Valley.

But in one of the largest river restoration efforts in the West, water is again flowing along a 62-mile stretch of the Owens River after a dry spell of nearly a century.

Cool.

"Come back here! ... I'll bite your legs off!"

Yes I was reminded of Monty Python's Black Knight this morning when reading this story about Somalia.

Islamic officials said they still had fighters in the capital and were ready for warfare.