US INTERVENTION UNJUSTIFIED

US INTERVENTION IN WWI, WWII, DEEMED UNJUSTIFIED

A secret US Congressional committee that has been meeting since 2 September 1945 has determined that US intervention on behalf of Europe in both WWI and WWII was completely and utterly unjustifed and in violation of international law.

US returns Austria, Sudetenland, Bohemia, Moravia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Yugoslavia, Crete, Libya, and Egypt to Germany, as well as apologizing and returning Albania to Italy.

The US State Department released a statement that given the illegality of US actions in Europe and the subsequent illegality of the Dutch Parliament, the findings of the Dutch Committee of Inquiry on Iraq was quite frankly irrelevant and it was waiting to hear what the Third Reich thought.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8453305.stm

Also quite frankly, the Dutch can go pound sand!

~Finntann~

Michael Totten: Dispatch from Iraq

Michael Totten is an excellent indy war correspondent with high journalistic standards. He loves the troops, but he's never sugar-coated anything. He returned to Baghdad recently after a two year absence. Here is his report.

Iraq Death Toll Debunked

Remember Dr. Gilbert Burnham and his outrageous (and baseless) claims that over a half a million Iraqis had died in the three year aftermath of the US invasion?

Remember how no responsible journalist challenged him? Well, finally, the American Association for Public Opinion Research has thrown the BS flag, and Dr. Burnham stands with nary a factual fig leaf to cover his intellectual nakedness. Incredibly, this comes courtesy of the BBC.

Like all Bush Derangement Syndrome manifestations, his fevered imaginings were a combination of liberalism, fantasy, and crap: Libfantacrap. And the press, a great consumer and purveyor of libfantacrap, spread it liberally across the globe, where citizens of the world gleefully and unquestioningly lapped it up.

To paraphrase Lenin: Libfantacrap is the opiate of the left.

Cowardly Exercises In Freedom

The shoe throwing incident could not have happened under the previous Iraqi regime. A reporter exercises his new found freedom by attacking the man responsible for bringing him that freedom. Yes, the Middle East is a complicated place.

This was not a brave act; it was a cowardly act. It's like the religion haters in the US who harass anti-gay marriage churchgoers or dunk a crucifix in a jar of urine and call it art. Try that in Europe with a Koran and see how far you get. These are not brave acts of free speech. Christians are easy targets because they don't cut heads off and burn down cities in a fervid rampage, foaming at the mouth and screaming all the while like a flaming pack of hemorrhoids.

No, Christians just shake their heads and move on. The Judeo-Christian God is too big to be insulted. As Cecil B. DeMille once said, "Man cannot break God's law, he can only break himself against God's law."

So throwing a shoe at President Bush was too easy. The president displayed some lightning quick reflexes, shook his head, and moved on. That Saddamite reporter will not suffer the fate of Iraqi reporters before him. He will not find himself chained to a lamppost in his neighborhood, bleeding out from the mouth because the government cut his offending tongue out. No, he will live to throw shoes another day. And that makes me happy. I am proud that we have carved out a place in a cauldron of hatred where people can express themselves without being killed for it.

Now, if that reporter, or any liberty lover, really wants to speak truth to power he could do it in lands uncontaminated by President Bush's hand. Let's see him throw a shoe at Egypt's Pharaoh Hosni Mubarak, Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad, or any member of the Iranian theocracy. That would be a brave statement.

More Iraq Success: Anbar Transferred to Iraqi Control

I found this buried under a pile of obviously more important news:




RAMADI, Iraq — The American military handed over responsibility for the security of the western province of Anbar, once a stronghold of the Sunni insurgency and one of the most violent regions in Iraq, to the Iraqi government on Monday, a long-delayed milestone.

“You have lost a lot of blood and life to reach this day,” said Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq’s national security adviser. “This would have been a dream tow or three years ago. This was the cradle of Al Qaeda.”

Read more here...

Women Drivers in Baghdad

More signs of normalcy in the beleaguered but recovering Iraqi capital. As the anti-woman jihadis retreat, women drivers are reclaiming their place in the drivers seat.

Samira Hussein, 36, walks out of the supermarket and slips behind the wheel of her car in the Karrada Maryam area of Baghdad near the heavily protected Green Zone.

It is a scene that is played out day after day in countries all around the world, but in Iraq, even simple tasks for women such as running errands and driving are deeply significant. Hussein, a mother of four, stopped driving in late 2003 as security in Baghdad deteriorated – but got behind the wheel again earlier this year.

“A car driven by a woman was like a goat chased by wolves,” she said. “The gangs who kidnapped and car jacked [citizens] were running everything.”

"[Now] I’m comfortable driving my car because I have more freedom. The streets are well protected and security forces are deployed everywhere.”

In the last few years in Baghdad, women have feared leaving their homes – let alone getting in a car alone – as militias struggled for power in the city.

While Baghdad still faces serious security concerns, signs of normalcy have returned to the capital, including women getting behind the wheel. While there are continuing threats and attacks, Baghdad has lately witnessed its lowest levels of violence since 2004.

We'll know they're finally over the hump when every Iraqi TV commercial features smart, savvy women and wimpy, clueless men.

UN Back to Iraq

More good news from Iraq:

Earth Times reports that Iraq and the United Nations signed "a landmark agreement for reconstruction, development and humanitarian assistance."


We've cleaned out the bad neighborhood, time for the international social workers to come in. This is another positive milestone that shows our military efforts are bearing fruit. The international community getting involved gives it a stake in the country's success, which means the bad-mouthing and sniping from them should slow down.

"The strategy signals a real moment of opportunity in Iraq, with greater stability, a clear will to recover, a growing UN presence and better access to many areas," said David Shearer, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Iraq.

"We plan to see faster implementation on the ground and stronger policy guidance in Baghdad." Iraq's Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation Ali Babab, said the agreement represents an important step in Iraq's recovery process. "It brings the whole UN organization together in partnership with Iraq and its people, to reduce poverty, foster growth and consolidate democracy in our country," he stated.

I slam the UN all the time, but this is the kind of feel-good stuff they are good at: Rebuilding societies and their institutions, fostering political and social reconciliation, handing out medicine and aid. But they can't do it without our military success. We should be proud, even if they give us no credit.

So we should wholeheartedly support the UN's efforts in Iraq. Just keep them away from the women and children... and any deals involving oil or food.

Iraq Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them

Here is the McCain quote that the Dems and the Obama Fan Club (aka the press), are using to simplistically claim that McCain is changing his position and agreeing with Obama, "proving" Mr. Obama right:

“He said it’s a pretty good timetable based on conditions on the ground,” Mr. McCain said. “I think it’s a pretty good timetable, as we should — or horizons for withdrawal. But they have to be based on conditions on the ground. This success is very fragile. It’s incredibly impressive, but very fragile. So we know, those of us who have been involved in it for many years, know that if we reverse this, by setting a date for withdrawal, all of the hard-won victory can be reversed.”

LIE #1: Obama was right all along about withdrawing:
Obama and his Iraq 16-month timetable "plan" is like a three year old playing with crayons who accidentally spells the word "cat" among his random scrawlings. "Oh, Look honey, our little wonder kid is a genius!"

Responsible adults have known all along that at some point in time we would be 16 months (or 12 months, or 2 years) away from withdrawing. Unlike Mr. Obama, responsible adults have also said that a departure must be based on conditions on the ground.

Mr. Obama has been all timeline all the time: withdraw, pull-out, retreat, regardless of conditions on the ground. His reasoning seems to be that we are just making the situation worse. The surge has eroded the basis for that thinking, but some still cling to it.

Mr. McCain's position has been stay in it to win it. The surge has made it possible to now envision Mr. Obama's 16 Month timeline. Obama is the blind squirrel that found an acorn.

LIE #2: The Surge had nothing to do with the Sunni Awakening:
The Sunni Awakening had tenuous fits and starts before the surge, but it was not solidly consolidated until American firepower rolled in and convinced the Anbar Sunnis we were serious about a protective partnership. Google the news and you will see that even after the surge started early in 2007, nervous tribal chiefs were backing away and threatening to rejoin our enemies because they initially doubted our sincerity.

LIE #3: The Mahdi Army defeat was a "truce" that had nothing to do with the surge:
If we had followed Obama's timeline, we would now be out of Iraq. Does anybody seriously think the Mahdi Army would not now be doing the Jihadi Jig all over Iraq, drilling holes in the heads of their infidel Sunni enemies and seizing control of government? The Mahdi army got a good old fashioned butt whoopin' at the hands of the Iraqi Army we trained and now support.

Iraq is also meeting 15 of the 18 benchmarks congress set for them. Looks like the Iraqis are standing up as we stand down. Hmmm... Where have we heard that before?

Conclusion
McCain has agreed with Gen Petraeus all along that we should leave based on conditions on the ground. Policies developed by Gen Petreaus and boosted by McCain have brought Iraq to a point where we may just be able to pull much of our forces out in 16 months.

Meanwhile, during the last year and a half as this was playing out, Obama has been scrawling "16-months" with his crayon and saying the surge would fail. And now, Mr. Obama and his Hallelujah Choir in the press claim that he is right on Iraq?

That's Audacity!

Obama Hits the Bullseye Blindfolded

For Mr. Obama, all the world is a stage, with a fawning press cheering him on. Grim theaters of battle where America's bravest fight and die to bring order out of chaos are but dramatic backdrop.

It's been a breathless torrent of dispatches since Mr. Obama departed on the overseas tour that will magically bestow foreign policy credentials upon him.

Obama backers and the press (but I repeat myself) insist that Iraqi PM Maliki's apparent embrace of a 16 month timeline proves that Obama was right all along. This assertion is illogical and selective. Obama has been relentlessly pushing the 16 month timeline for over a year. Was he right when he first proposed it, insisting at the time that the surge would fail?

Obama is like the man who, day and night, continues to loudly announce (wrongly), "It's eight p.m.!" and when the clock finally strikes eight, he shouts, "Aha! I told you it was eight pm!"

Of course, the O-Man is too polished to shout, his press lackeys do that for him.

Meanwhile, Maliki spokesmen have tried to back down from the comments that appear to support Obama's position: Excerpt from CNN:

But a spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks "were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately."

Der Spiegel stands by its story, pointing out that the translating was done by Maliki's own guy. Here's what they and all reporters leave out: Arabic is much more difficult to translate than German or French. It is a very subtle language and its speakers often express themselves in flowery circumlocutions, stating what they wish reality was while downplaying unpleasant truths.

This also explains the apparent schizophrenic poll results from Iraq. Everybody wants the US out. But they want us to stay. The simple explanation is that Iraqis don't like foreigners on their soil, which they express loudly, but they know deep down that a too-rapid departure would quickly bring a descent into hell on a greased rail.

John McCain brass-knuckled the Pentagon and the White House into accepting a strategy change, and our brilliant military machine made it happen. Obama spoke some words that had no effect on strategy. He opposed the surge and now wants to claim he is "right" on Iraq.

That's Audacity.

Iraq Foils Nefarious Oil Stealing Plot

Hey! Those blasted Iraqis are selling the oil we went to war to steal from them! Breitbart reports that Iraq is making oil contracts with various companies, including state owned companies from six different nations.

This comes on the heels of news that the Iraqi government is playing hardball with us over negotiations on our future military presence in that country. They better watch out. They risk angering Vice President Cheney by foiling his Halliburton oil-stealing plan. Don't the Iraqis know that Dick Cheney shot a man in Reno just to watch him die?

Hear that hissing noise? It's the air slowing leaking out of the left's Anti-Iraq War balloon. The surge has worked. From Basra to Sadr City, the Iraqis are standing up and we are standing down. The government is taking bold action, sometimes in defiance of the US. These are all good signs. Let's pray the progress continues.

Iraq Progress

Fred Kagan wrote an article detailing Iraq progress. Kagan is "dreaded neocon" and big booster of the surge, so keep that in mind when you read it.

Meanwhile, Joe Klein at Time ponders “Iraq Progress… And what to do about it.” I imagine that’s the question on many Dems’ minds these days. Can’t have Iraq success stories messing up the narrative during campaign season. Klein grudgingly verifies Kagan’s article. Joe’s a lib, but he’s an honest one. One more sign that things really are progressing.

Yes, We Are Safer!

John Hinderaker over at http://www.blogger.com/www.powerlineblog.com has written a piece showing that, despite what some presidential candidates are telling you, we are safer than before the Iraq invasion. Please follow the link and give it a read.

- Enjoy!

Even the NY Times Says it's Good News

I have a rule of thumb when judging how things are going in Iraq: No news is good news. If something bad is happening our press is sure to report it. They always seem to be off doing something else when there's good news to report.

Which brings me to a second rule of thumb: If the NY Times reports good news, the news must really be good. Here's a good news story about Iraqi Army gains in Sadr City.

Enjoy!

Media Ignores Iraq Progress

I'm a big Ralph Peters fan. He really lays the wood to the media for (purposefully?) ignoring good news or any progress in Iraq.

" Want a real "inconvenient truth?" Progress in Iraq is powerful and accelerating."

Read it here.


Enjoy!

Basra, Iraq: Even the NY Times Says it's Good News

It must be good news: Even the New York Times admits the Basra operation, undertaken by Iraqi forces, is looking like a success. The Iraqi military could not have pulled this off a year ago. It's another sign of progress. Let's pray it continues.
Read the Story

Iraq Perspective from Michael Yon

Violence is up in Iraq. Michael Yon tells us why it is not necessarily a bad sign. Like Michael Totten, Mr. Yon practically lives in Iraq, providing valuable eyewitness accounts from neighborhoods all over the country. Here's an excerpt:

"We are taking more casualties now, just as we did in the first part of 2007, because we have taken up the next crucial challenge of this war: confronting the Shia militias."

He is cautiously optimistic and breaks down the situation for us in simple, straightforward language. This is real journalism. Check it out!

CENTCOM Happenings: Ralph Peters Analysis

I like Ralph Peters. He's a retired Army Intel Officer who as a civilian has spent a lot of time in Iraq looking things over for himself. He is not a blind cheerleader: He really laid the wood to the Bush administration over their pre-surge ineptitude. He is a big fan of the surge, and can expertly explain why. Here he explains the personnel changes going on in CENTCOM and why they bode well for our efforts the Middle East. General Petreaus's star keeps rising. A good read.
Enjoy!