December 25, 2003

From the Greatest Jeneration to you and yours, "may your days be merry and bright...and may all your Christmases be white."
And special season's greeting go out to our Coalition forces with my personal thanks and prayers for the sacrifices you're making to defend Freedom.
"God Bless us every one."

December 24, 2003

CHILLING NEW WEB THREATS

Alarming messages published on known al Qaeda Web sites are claiming the terror network is about to launch its biggest strikes ever - and are warning Muslims to leave the cities of New York, Washington and Los Angeles.

The statements monitored by U.S. government agencies, as well as by a Washington-based terrorist research group, are part of the alarming increase in "chatter" among terrorist operatives in recent weeks that played a role in the Bush administration's decision to raise the nation's threat alert to high (orange).

Counterterrorism expert Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, said her organization has recently found and translated statements on al Qaeda Web site Al-Lewa - Arabic for "The Banner" - that are promising new attacks on U.S. soil in the coming weeks.

Katz said a posting two weeks ago quoted an al Qaeda spokesman identified as Abu Issam al-Yamani as saying, "The next al Qaeda attacks will be most violent and will target the U.S." and urged Muslims "to leave the country if they don't wish to die as a result of a Jihadist operation."

A second message was posted on the same Web site last Thursday, from a group calling itself the Islamic Bayan Movement.

"Our Muslim brothers in America, this is our final warning. We ask you, as fast as you can, to leave the following cities immediately: Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles," the message said.

Katz said she noticed al Qaeda's stepped-up cyber propaganda began Nov. 15 after the terror bombings in Istanbul, Turkey when a known al Qaeda group warned in a communiqué that the "death cars will not stop."

Katz said the electronic vitriol has continued almost daily, and just last night a message was published in which al Qaeda's mouthpiece, the Global Islamic Media Society, took delight that Americans are now "living in a state of anxiety and constant fear."

It ended with, "You will forget about Manhattan events. Be prepared."

U.S. government officials say it is impossible to determine whether the message writers may be involved in plotting attacks.

But these officials told The Post last night that the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency consider the messages "pieces of the overall puzzle."

I'm thinking that the idea they the evildoers "took delight...that Americans are now living in a state of anxiety and constant fear" is what it's all about.
I think they're bluffing--hope I'm right.
If you do live in these cities, though, keep your eyes open and stay alert while you do your last-minute Christmas errands and holiday socializing.
The 9/11 attacks were enough for me and everyone else.
(Al Queda desperately needs another successful big attack, however, to continue being a "player" on the world scene or so their sick thinking goes.)
Happily, they don't know what Christmas is like here...!
I'm so tired and preoccupied with what I still need to do for the Big Day, that I don't have the time or the energy to get all worked up about new attacks.
I was happy to learn that with the upgrade of the current Terror Alert to High/Orange, that concrete measures were being put into place by our local, state and federal officials.
We are learning from our past mistakes and it looks as if Homeland Security is trying to earn its tax dollars.
Given that the Islamist killers have indicated that they'll try to use our airplanes again to stage their attacks, one of the cautionary measures put into place is this:
Christmas is in the air, & F-16s, too
I pray to Heaven that our military won't ever have to shoot down a civilian airliner, but if the situation comes to that and the terrorists re-try 9/11-type attacks, it makes me feel a little more secure to know that the Air Force is up there patrolling the skies.
We've also deployed surface-to-air missiles in Washington, D.C. and DHS has implemented other security precautionary measures.
Bottom line: "Bring them on."
We're as ready as we're gonna be, so let's have our Merry Christmas!

December 23, 2003

We were kept in the dark over deal with Libya, says France

France congratulated Britain and America yesterday for persuading Libya to surrender its weapons of mass destruction and admitted it had been kept in the dark throughout the talks.

Dominique de Villepin, the foreign minister, took his hat off to London and Washington's "exemplary" diplomatic efforts over the past few months that led to the Libyan leader Col Gaddafi's surprise announcement on Friday, calling it a victory for "the entire international community".

But he was forced to admit in Le Figaro that France knew nothing of the nine months of secret negotiations.

"We were not kept informed," M de Villepin said. His disclosure underlined the continuing mistrust in relations between the English-speaking powers and France, which made much of its opposition to war in Iraq.

M de Villepin sought to gloss over the differences, describing the relationship as one of "extremely active and < b>fertile co-operation".
[Sounds sexshul and kind of icky! LOL--Jen]

His words contradicted those of Michele Alliot-Marie, defence minister, who claimed on Sunday that France was "perfectly informed of the negotiations" several months ago.

Bizarrely, Mme Alliot-Marie denied there was any discrepancy between the two accounts, suggesting the foreign ministry was not as involved as her department.

M de Villepin rejected suggestions that France lost face by being kept out of the diplomatic loop, arguing that it was a perfect example of his vision of an interdependent, multi-polar world at work.
[I think Dominique is more bi-polar than he is "multi-polar." That goes for the rest of France, too!]

"It is only natural that those who are best placed at a given moment to use their capabilities to the common good do so, as long as their action is of an unquestionably multilateral nature." He cited the recent diplomatic success of France, Britain and Germany in helping to persuade Iran to open its nuclear facilities to inspection.
[Which we've yet had the liberty to inspect, BTW.--Jen]

He faced much the same difficulty as domestic critics of George W Bush and Tony Blair in seeking to explain away the apparent link between the effect of the allied invasion of Iraq and Col Gaddafi's sudden surrender.

Even the normally pro-government Le Figaro described the Libyan deal as a "semi-failure" for France, which has been against tough action against rogue states.

Annick Lepetit, the Socialist party spokesman, said it signified "the isolation of France and French diplomacy in an area where it is traditionally influential".

In a further sign that France is still paying the price of its anti-war stance in Iraq, one of President Chirac's closest aides yesterday accused certain members of the American administration of seeking to "isolate" Paris on the international scene.

France is acutely sensitive to hints that it is being punished for its stance on Iraq. The latest target is the French aim to host an international experimental thermo-nuclear reactor in Cadarache.
[This reactor dealie, which is supposed to replicate the engine of the sun for God's sake!, sounds scary! If it's gonna blow up, I'd rather it take the French with it rather than one of the nicer countries of the world.]

Pierre Lellouche, the French representative at the talks, said: "If at the end of the day the difficulties turn out not to be technical but political, we'll all have to draw our own conclusions."

He added: "I know very well that within the American administration some people intend to pursue a deliberate strategy of isolating France."

Negotiations ended without agreement after America, along with South Korea, threw its weight behind Japan's bid to host the reactor. Russia and China voted for France.

Commentators also agreed that the deal has weakened France's hand in compensation talks over the 1989 bombing of a French passenger plane that killed 170.

You know, France doesn't need any help: they pretty much isolate themselves on the international scene if you ask me, always taking the "contrarian" position no matter what they're involved in.
I find it funny that the press caught their talking heads De VILEpin and Alliot-Marie contradicting each other and having their lies exposed.
I think France is finding out the hard way that Schadenfreude is a door that swings both ways, eh, mes amis?
Strangely enough, the first European leader to hear from Momar Gaddafi was Silvio Berlusconi back in April of this year:

A spokesman for Mr Berlusconi said the prime minister had been telephoned recently by Col Gaddafi of Libya, who said: "I will do whatever the Americans want, because I saw what happened in Iraq, and I was afraid."

That also gives the lie to the Liberal Left's claim that Gaddafi was won over from the Dark Side by the UN and other international sanctions that had no teeth in them to force Gaddafi to behave properly.
What the Colonel "saw happen in Iraq" was Operation Iraqi Freedom and the forceable régime-change of Saddam Hussein, largely because of his inveterate and continuing violation of WMD sanctions.

December 21, 2003

Better not mess with Clark

Moments after praising his opponents in the Democratic presidential race as worthy running mates, Wesley Clark said, in no uncertain terms, how he would respond if they or anyone else criticized his patriotism or military record.

"I'll beat the s--- out of them," Clark told a questioner as he walked through the crowd after a town hall meeting Saturday. "I hope that's not on television," he added.

It was, live, on C-SPAN.

The campaign's traveling press secretary, Jamal Simmons, was with Clark at the time.

"If anyone tries to question Wes Clark's character, integrity or his commitment to this country or its security, they're going to be in the biggest fight they've ever had," Simmons said.

I find this amusing.
In fact, I find watching the DNC implode great entertainment which I am already loving and I'm going to pull up a lawn chair and make popcorn so that I can really enjoy the show.
First there was John F***ing Kerry and now we've got Gen. Weasley Cluck cussin' and the election is still 10 months away.
Things really haven't been going their way this past week or really this past millenium, have they? (Snicker.)
I perhaps could understand Clark's bad language if he had been in the Navy (Just kidding, swabbies! "Swearing like a sailor" is just an expression.), but now I understand why Clark's boss in the Clinton Administration, Defense Sec. Bill Cohen, told Wussley to "get his
f***ing face off TV!"
(Making Cohen another Dimocrat potty-mouth, too, although I think that RINO claims he's a "Republican." As if.)
So, in honor of their toilet tongues, I'm considering the notion that I should call the Donks "Damocrats" from now on instead of Dimocrats.

Oh, and on that issue of questioning Wesley's "character," another former superior of his, Gen. Hugh Shelton has already done it.
So Jamal and Gen. Cluck had better sort him out. (Like they could or would!)

'BUSH' WITH BUTCHER IN SOLITARY

Saddam Hussein is a psychologically broken man - muttering curses and spending his days staring at a portrait of President Bush hung in his jail cell, according to the chief civilian administrator in Iraq.

Too funny!
Especially when you consider that this POS made 25 million Iraqis stare at his puss everywhere every day for 30 years!

Be polite to Mr Saddam

BARMY [Britspeak for "crazy!"--Jen] BBC bosses have banned reporters from calling tyrant Saddam Hussein a former dictator.

Instead, staff must refer to the barbaric mass murderer as “the deposed former President”.

The astonishing edict was seized on by MPs last night as more proof of a Left-wing bias inside the BBC against the Iraqi war.

Labour MP Kevan Jones, of the Commons Defence Select Committee, said: “This shows the crass naivety of the BBC. Such political correctness will be deeply hurtful to many of our servicemen serving in Iraq.

“It amply demonstrates elements of the BBC have got a clearly anti-war and anti-Government agenda.”

Labour MP Ann Clwyd, who chairs the Indict group which has dossiers on the crimes of Saddam, his sons and henchmen, was astounded at the BBC’s stance.

She said: “It’s frankly ridiculous. Saddam Hussein is a despot, a murderer and a torturer. He will have to answer charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.”

Tory Party chairman Liam Fox also slammed the Beeb — which was accused during the war of giving too much weight to Iraqi propaganda.
He said: “To afford this level of politeness to a tyrant, torturer and murderer is deeply offensive to the Iraqi people.

“It is also an insult to the Coalition forces who have sacrificed so much to liberate Iraq from the evil of Saddam.”

The BBC said the email spelling out the instruction was sent to reporters on its online website, which serves a global audience.

A spokeswoman said: “This was reiterating existing guidelines to remind BBC News Online journalists of the need to use neutral language.”

Later she said the ban on calling Saddam a dictator did not apply to domestic services.
But a BBC insider said: “This is our daftest order ever.”[Note to readers: "Daft," like barmy, also means nutzy-cuckoo in England!--Jen]

Saddam has been put on a drip since his capture. Medical experts believe he became dehydrated and malnourished during his eight months on the run.

Aren't we thoughtful, putting Saddam on a replenishing IV?
Instead of the horrible torture, maiming, cruelty, death and suffering that he had inflicted on thousands, he receives humane, civilized medical care.
Most of us in possession of our sanity and reason have known about the BBC and its Leftist bias for some time--This stance of theirs reminds me of the platform and views of Dimocrat prezodential candidate Howard Dean: It's moronic, it's idiotarian, but they're gonna "dance with the one they brung," so they stick to their inane defence of unconscionable behavior.
I wouldn't want to be a BBC reporter for all the tea in China.
I suppose they forgot they are subsidized by the revenue of the British taxpayer.
But getting de-funded should be less a worry than being the apologists for Saddam's mass murder.
It is an affront and an insult to not only the thousands of Iraqis (and Kuwaitis and Israelis and Iranians) that Saddam had killed, but also to the soldiers in both Gulf War I and Operation Iraqi Freedom who have given the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom.
Fie on the Beeb!

Libya’s fatal blow to axis of evil

THE end of the threat posed to world peace and secure oil supplies by the “axis of evil” is emerging this weekend as the real prize that Tony Blair and George Bush have secured for Christmas.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi took the decision to renounce all weapons of mass destruction (WMD) on Friday night, but while at first it was thought this only had implications for Libya it is now clear that his decision has scuppered a secret partnership between Libya, Iran and North Korea formed with the intention of developing an independent nuclear weapon.

New documents revealed yesterday show that the three were working on the nuclear weapons programme at a top-secret underground site near the Kufra Oasis of the Sahara in southeastern Libya. The team was made up of North Korean scientists, engineers and technicians, as well as some Iranian and Libyan nuclear scientists.

North Korea and Iran, originally dubbed by Bush as the axis of evil along with Iraq, avoided detection by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inspectors by each member farming out vital sections of its projects to its fellow members.

Iran, which is now in the final stages of uranium enrichment for its program, is badly hit, having counted on fitting into place key parts of its WMD project made in Libya. North Korea may also be forced to scale back the production of nuclear devices as well as counting the loss of a lucrative source of income for its Scuds and nuclear technology.

Yesterday, Tripoli acted swiftly to prove its commitment to the world at large when the head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, met a senior Libyan official in Vienna to discuss eliminating the programme.
[Do you think it's killing old ElBaradei to see his fellow Muslims once so bellicose and threatening become so pliant and tractable?--Jen]

Almost 15 years to the day since Gaddafi’s agents brought down a PanAm jet over Lockerbie [I thought this was close myself as I seem to remember those poor college kids from Syracuse University on that plane being killed at Christmastime.--J.T.] and eight months after US and British troops toppled Saddam Hussein, the Libyan leader has now opened the prospect of an end to sanctions and a return of US oil firms.

The news has delighted three American oil companies, Marathon, Amerada Hess, and ConocoPhillips whose Libyan leases were about to expire. They all pulled out of Libya in 1986 after the US imposed strict sanctions against the regime.
[Viva Ronaldus Magnus! He was the one who started putting Gaddafi in his place!]

Tripoli’s announcement on Friday was the culmination of secret talks with Britain and the US launched around the time of the Iraq invasion. The initial approach to discuss how to bring Libya in from the cold was made by Libya’s chief of intelligence, Musa Qusa, who contacted the British government in March, amid preparations for war on Iraq.

“You could say that these discussions followed on from the Lockerbie contacts,” a spokesman for Blair said yesterday. It was in March that the deal was done by Libya to settle with the families of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103.
[Plus, there was the added motivation Momar had of watching on his TV as over 250,000 armed and equipped men and women amassing on Iraq's borders!]

Months of secret diplomatic activity followed which led to the clandestine three-week visit to at least 10 sites in Libya. British and US weapons experts who inspected laboratories and military factories in October and early December established that Libyan scientists were “developing a nuclear fuel cycle intended to support nuclear weapons development.” The British team also saw “significant quantities of chemical agent” and “bombs designed to be filled with chemical agent.”

Following the visit, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Blair’s national security adviser, and Condoleezza Rice, Bush’s national security adviser, held intense negotiations with Libyan officials in the days leading up to Friday’s declaration.

Blair had his first-ever telephone conversation with Gaddafi on Thursday, in which they discussed the declaration.
[...]
The breakthrough capped a week of positive developments for London and Washington that began with the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and followed with a pledge from Iran to submit to unfettered inspections of its nuclear industry.
[I'm still not sure we can rely on the Iranians to keep their word, such as it is, but this "surrender" of Gaddafi's makes the inspections that much more likely!]

Bush implied in his remarks at the White House on Friday that there would now be reciprocity. “As the Libyan government takes these essential steps and demonstrates its seriousness, its good faith will be returned. Libya can regain a secure and respected place among the nations, and over time, achieve far better relations with the United States.”
[This probably means also, "We won't invade your country, unless you make us, as Saddam did."]

What a week! It was only a week ago at about this time of the morning (3:30 AM Dallas time) that news of Saddam's capture was beginning to break...
Of course, I was initially thrilled to hear of Momar's capitulation to the West on WMDs because it simply meant that it would be one less rogue state in the world that would harbor Islamist terrorists and/or provide the money, political support and actual WMDs for Islamofascist killers.
If this story proves true--and I'm betting that it will--that Libya was aiding and abetting both the NorKs and the Iranian mullahs proliferate nuclear weapons, as well as providing technical support for chemical and biological weaponry and that now Tripoli will no longer be doing that, then this is a huge and stunningly wonderful development!
It's plain that Momar was none too keen to dig a spider hole and hope that US Special Forces didn't find him, should his bellicosity have brought things to that state of affairs as it did his old buddy and ally Saddam.
If Gaddafi's decision to disarm also stops the NorKs and the Iranians in their tracks on their way to having the bomb (or more accurately bombs), not to mention ICBMs that can deliver chemical and biological weapons to Europe, Israel and even the USA, this is very, very good news.
I say God bless Momar Gaddafi for having the wisdom and courage to get out of lockstep with his Arab/Islamist brothers and to make this most wise decision!
As President Bush said, "You are either with us or you're with the terrorists." and it seems Mr. Momar wants the world to know that he is now decidely and publicly with us.
May peace and blessings be upon him and also upon Mssrs. Bush and Blair!
The Bush Doctrine works.