August 05, 2005

Belmont Club's Wretchard made an informed opinion that the large death toll of Marines in the last week signalled that a major operation was underway in Iraq.
He elaborated on his theory more today:

There are probably many similar operations that are taking place along the river and to its north, as per the Di Rita briefing. One of them may have been undertaken by the US Marines at Haditha, during which 21 Marines were killed. One possible reason why this operation has been kept low key, despite its size, is that it may be literally ripping up the insurgent base of support along the upper Euphrates. If the LA Times article is accurate, the insurgents essentially took the whole population of Rawah with them; if the phenomenon is being repeated elsewhere, the displacement of the Sunni population must be huge. To the north there is the unsustaining desert; to the south across the river there is the sweep of the Marines; for the insurgents to leave the population in place would risk leaving intelligence in the hands of the Americans. This has got to hurt and it is only the beginning. The LA Times notes the abandonment of RPGs, sniper rifles, mortars -- stuff you wouldn't leave behind -- not willingly. The whole point of strangling the enemy lines of communication while building support bases is to set up the stage for pursuit. And they will be pursued. The focus of newspaper coverage in the coming days may abruptly shift from 'poor helpless Marines from Ohio' to 'we're slaughtering them! We're killers!' These are the hard choices of war, and as Hemingway once wrote "all stories, if continued far enough, end in death, and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you."

Turns out he was right again:
U.S. Launches Attacks in Western Iraq

About 1,000 U.S. Marines and Iraqi forces launched attacks in western Iraq in an operation aimed at disrupting insurgents and foreign fighters in the Euphrates River valley, the U.S. military said Friday.

The operation, dubbed Quick Strike, began Wednesday with Iraqi soldiers and Marines positioning their units, said a military statement. They focused on an area centered around the cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah, and Parwana, about 130 miles northwest of Baghdad.
[...]
The U.S. military has defended its operations in western Iraq, insisting it is reducing insurgent attacks, despite the deaths of the 14 Marines. The extremist Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed responsibility in a Web posting and said its fighters used two bombs to destroy the vehicle.
[God rest the souls of those brave, wonderful Marines.--Jen]
[...]
"We still have deaths. We still have suicide car bombs," he said. "But the numbers we see indicate (the insurgents) can't generate the same tempo, and I think that's because we've had some degree of effect in interdicting these forces."

[U.S. Brig. Gen. Donald] Alston cited figures showing there were 13 car bombs in Iraq last week - the lowest weekly number since April. "There's a clear indication to me that the tempo has decreased."
[Surely Gen. Alston knows what he's talking about.--J.T.]

U.S. troops have stepped up operations in recent months in Anbar, the center of the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgency and a major avenue for foreign fighters infiltrating the country from Syria.

Alston warned that militants will likely rally their forces in a concerted effort to derail the country's political progress, including a referendum on the constitution in October and an election in December.
[And then there's the completion of the new Iraqi constitution which is scheduled for August 15.]
[...]

U.S. leaders, who pushed hard for the committee not to seek an extension on completing the charter, considers the constitutional process vital to maintain political momentum, undermine the insurgency and pave the way for the Americans and their coalition partners to draw down troops next year.
[...]
Al-Jaafari announced a new 12-point security plan. He gave few details but said it included steps to improve intelligence, protect infrastructure and prevent foreign fighters from entering the country.

"We will not hesitate in saying this: We are in a state of war. It is one of the most dangerous types of war because it is not a conventional or a war of borders," he said.

When both al-Jaafari and President Bush say "We are at war." on the same day, you know that the war is well and truly with us.
(No pretending by the Liberals allowed anymore.)
It is key that the Iraqis write their constitution and do so in 10 days' time.
So far, they seem to be on schedule and doing fine.
al-Jaafari's meeting with (radical) Shi'a clerics today went well and it looks as if he talked them out of having hard-line Islam at the center of new Iraqi government (Hallelujah!):
Iraqi PM: Sistani doesn't oppose Iraqi federalism

Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric does not oppose federalism in the country, one of the key points of dispute in drafting a new constitution, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Friday.

The prime minister also hinted that the cleric wanted Islam to be the main source of legislation, something opposed by the Kurds and some Iraqi women activists.
[...]

"His eminence[Here, al-Jaafari is referring to Sistani.] is not against the principle of federalism, because it is the choice of the people," al-Jaafari told reporters. "The details of the process are left to the constitution."
[...]
Al-Jaafari later met with Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Saeed al-Hakim and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
[...]
Al-Sadr said every Iraqi should take part in the constitution but added that he will not take part in the planned Dec. 15 general elections because "I will not take part in the presence of occupiers but i will give the freedom to whoever wants to join."
[I'm so sick of this creep al-Sadr!
Al-Jaafari gives him far more respect than he deserves, but the scumbag can still create at least minor headaches, so I suppose it's a good thing to have him on board.--Jen]
[...]
Humam Hammoudi, chairman of the 71-member committee drafting the constitution, had called political leaders from the Kurdish, Sunni Arab and Shiite communities to meet Friday to see if they can forge compromises in order to finish the document by the Aug. 15 deadline. The meeting was rescheduled for Sunday.

All the reports from the MSM have indicated that Iraq was headed towards writing a constitution that would create a Shi'ite Islamic theocracy, too much like Iran for anyone's comfort.
If these reports are right, that's not going to happen. Thank God!
Keep your prayers going up that Iraq's "Founding Fathers" and Mothers pen the right founding document, keeping freedom and secular government at the forefront of their country's principles, rather than Taliban tyranny.
And continue praying for our soldiers as they face attacks from the terrorist bad guys determined to stop this from happening.

Bolton Gets Buddy-Buddy With U.N. Diplomats

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton used his new platform at the United Nations Thursday to issue a stern warning to two nations that President Bush has accused of destabilizing the Mideast and supporting terrorism.
[...]
"We call on all members to meet their obligations to stop the flow of terrorist financing and weapons, and particularly on Iran and Syria," he said.

Good to see Amb. Bolton hit the ground running!
We need him at Turtle Bay more than ever right now.
Another good one, President Bush.

[...]
And if Bolton's recess appointment Monday by Bush was supposed to make him a leper at the United Nations, the way Bolton opponents predicted, no sign of it was evident during his debut at the U.N. Security Council Thursday.

Several ambassadors, including those from Algeria, Argentina, France, Russia and China expressed welcoming wishes and expressions of enthusiasm to working with the former State Department undersecretary.

Excellent!
Good thing the denizens of the real world aren't partisan Democrats!

August 04, 2005

From Al-Guardian:
Iran sends in troops to crush border unrest

The Iranian government has deployed large numbers of troops in cities in the northwestern region which borders Iraq in an effort to quell three weeks of civil unrest that has left up to 20 people dead and more than 300 wounded, according to reports from dissident groups.

They said as many as 100,000 state security forces, backed up by helicopter gunships, had moved into the region to crack down on pro-Kurdish demonstrations.

The claims, from Kurdish groups in Iraq, could not be independently verified, and Iranian officials remained silent about the unrest.

The state-owned news agency IRNA said the trouble was due to "hooligan and criminal elements".

News agencies have reported trouble in the northern areas over the past two weeks, though the scale of the unrest has been unclear.
[...]
Iran is home to about 6 million Kurds - almost 10% of the population - who say they face discrimination and repression at the hands of the theocratic rulers in Tehran.

A UN report released last Saturday said authorities were denying basic amenities to Iran's ethnic and religious minorities and in some cases seizing land.

"Regions historically occupied by Kurds ... seem to suffer disproportionate inadequacy of services such as water and electricity and unsatisfactory reconstruction efforts," the report concluded.

But Tehran dismisses such charges and is extremely sensitive about any hint of ethnic unrest, particularly by the Kurds. Anti-government demonstrations are dealt with harshly.

How long can the mullahs hold power when the people hate them?
Look at the mayhem perpetrated by these oppressed souls with mere sticks and stones, literally.
It's distressing to hear about people hurt and killed by this repressive government, but it only shows that the freedom fever pervading Iraq is spreading to Iran.
Let Freedom ring in Iran!
(And if you think the mullahs are really 10 years away from having the Muslim Bomb, I'd like to have some of what you're smoking.)
Maybe if the mad mullahs have to commit their faithful cadres of soldiers to putting down revolts within their borders, they won't have many to spare for the Iraqi "insurgency."
I like the Kurds immensely and will cheer them on in almost anything they do, anywhere.

Go to the link for Drudge's scoop of how low the NYSlimes will sink to get some dirt on Judge John Roberts!

NY TIMES INVESTIGATES ADOPTION RECORDS OF SUPREME COURT NOMINEE'S CHILDREN

Remember the outrage the Left had when Ed Klein revealed in his book about Hillary that Chelsea was conceived when Bill raped her?
The outcry was "What about Chelsea and her feelings?!?"
Well, is Glen Justice of the Slimes worried about what effect this will have on those little toddlers?
Some parents wait decades to tell their children they're adopted.
The only good news we can glean from this slimy move is that the MSM can't find anything about Roberts as a judge or a person so they're having to stoop to picking on his little ones.
Revolting. Disgusting. Despiccable.
Remember, America!
This is supposed to be our "newspaper of record."

August 03, 2005

14 U.S. Marines Killed Near Syria Border - Yahoo! News

A Marine amphibious assault vehicle on patrol during combat operations near the Syrian border hit a roadside bomb Wednesday, and 14 Marines were killed in one of the deadliest single attacks in Iraq against American forces.

A civilian interpreter also was killed in the bombing, which came two days after seven Marines died in the same area during combat with insurgents...
[...]
The Marines killed Wednesday were assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), the military said. One Marine also was wounded in the attack.

The explosion occurred just outside Haditha, which is 140 miles northwest of Baghdad.

The Marines were riding in an amphibious assault vehicle, which is designed to carry troops from ship to shore and on land. It has a road speed of about 45 mph and can carry up to 25 Marines. It is not as heavily armored as the Bradley fighting vehicles that the army uses.
[...]
The latest losses come on the heels of the deaths of seven U.S. Marines in combat two days ago in the volatile Euphrates Valley of western Iraq, where American forces are trying to seal a major border infiltration route for foreign fighters.

One of the Marines died in a suicide car bombing in Hit, 85 miles northwest of Baghdad. The other six were killed Monday in Haditha, 50 miles from Hit, while battling insurgents. They all were attached to the same suburban Cleveland unit.
[There is going to be much mourning in Ohio today. Very sad.--Jen]

The American deaths come as the Bush administration is talking about handing more security responsibility to the Iraqis and drawing down forces next year.
[Time to stop talking about leaving and time to start focusing on winning this war!]

At least 39 American service members have been killed in Iraq since July 24 — all but two in combat. In addition, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said that since the beginning of April, more than 2,700 Iraqis — about half of them civilians — had been killed in insurgency-related incidents.

The extremist Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed responsibility for killing the six Marines on Monday.

Masked gunmen showed up in the Haditha public market Monday afternoon displaying helmets, flak jackets and other equipment they said were taken from the bodies of the dead Marines.
[They are such scum.--J.T.]

Fighting has intensified in recent weeks in Haditha, Hit and other dusty towns along the Euphrates River as American forces step up efforts to seal off the approaches to the Syrian border.

The Marines launched a series of operations in the region in May and June in hopes of pacifying the area so Iraqi military and civilian forces could assume effective control. But the insurgents have proven resilient.

President Bush, it's time to open a can of whoop-ass on Syria and let our fine soldiers take the gloves off!
And that goes for the Brits in Basra, too!
We've got a 2-pronged enemy here: Baathist Sunnis from Syria and leftovers from Saddam's regime and the radicalized Shi'a in the south.
The troops know who the bad guys are, so let's give 'em the green light to do their "kill people and break things" job!
Muslims don't respect weakness and talking about drawing down forces, making nice and handing over security to the Iraqis if they're not ready and when the police in Basra are becoming the New Taliban, is being perceived by the evildoers as weakness.
Give them a show of force and strength and I think we'll be delighted with the results.

God rest the souls of these fallen Marines and I send my prayers of condolence to their families and loved ones.

Palestinians Fire on Israeli Protesters - Yahoo! News

Palestinians fired rockets Tuesday at a gathering of thousands of Israeli settlers protesting the upcoming Gaza withdrawal, but missed, killing instead a 3-year-old Palestinian boy and wounding nine other Palestinians in Gaza.

This story sums up the whole problem, doesn't it?
The Paleos can't give up jihadi murder, but also there's the irony of the presence of the protesters, who are objecting to the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the dismantling of the Israeli settlements there.
In short, the security fence/wall is sorely needed, as is the withdrawal.
Heaven knows what the new "independent" Gaza will be like, but it's not going to be pretty.
They'll try to kill Jews again, even if they kill their own children doing it, so better to make it that much harder to do behind the fence.
The settlers were only targets, a reality that Sharon, who'd been the settlers' biggest supporter in the past, finally had to acknowledge.
If only these protesters would understand that, too, and put their support behind Sharon, instead of making the Gaza withdrawal more difficult than it has to be.

Israel's Haaretz tells it like it is:
U.S. writer killed in Iraq after criticism of Shi'ite fundamentalists

An American journalist and author was found dead after being shot three times in the chest in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a U.S. embassy official said on Wednesday.

Steven Vincent's death came four days after an opinion piece he wrote criticising the rise of Shi'ite Islamist fundamentalism in Basra was published in The New York Times.
[Read that piece here:
Switched off in Basra]
[...]
His Iraqi translator, Nouriya Ita'is, was shot four times and is in serious condition, the nurse said.
[Healing prayers going up for her!--Jen]

Vincent was the author of a book on post-war Iraq and was researching another about the history of Basra, where British troops are based.

The New York Times opinion piece criticised the failure of British forces to clamp down on what Vincent described as a city that was "increasingly coming under the control of Shi'ite religious groups, from the relatively mainstream ... to the bellicose followers of the rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr."
[...]
But residents say Shi'ite fundamentalists have been gaining control over the city since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in April 2003.

Christian alcohol sellers have been threatened and their shops damaged, residents say.

Sadr, who staged two violent uprisings against U.S. troops, is one of the Shi'ite clerics with followers and influence in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

Iraq has faced growing sectarian violence since January elections empowered Shi'ites for the first time and sidelined Arab Sunnis dominant under Saddam Hussein.

AP had more details about Vincent's killing in a related story:

[...]
Vincent was abducted along with his female translator at gunpoint Tuesday evening, police said. His translator, Nour Weidi, was seriously wounded.

They were seized by five gunmen in a police car as they left a currency exchange shop, police Lt. Col. Karim al-Zaidi said.

In an opinion column published July 31 in The New York Times, Vincent wrote that Basra's police force had been heavily infiltrated by members of Shiite political groups, including those loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Vincent quoted an unidentified Iraqi police lieutenant as saying that some police were behind many of the assassinations of former Baath Party members that have taken place in Basra.

Looks as if Vincent exposed Basra's dirty little secret and paid for it with his life.

Here's what Michael Ledeen had to say about the news of Vincent's death at NRO's TheCorner

This is to mourn the murder of the free lance journalist Steven Vincent, a victim of the Sadrist thugs (that is to say, the Iranian-sponsored terrorists) in Basra. His crime was to have written about the fanatics in Basra, who are attempting to create a mini-islamic republic in the south, to the shameful indifference of the British forces and Coalition commanders, and the so-called Left in this country and Europe. If there is ever a day of reckoning, those opinion makers who have remained silent in the face of the monstrous terrorist campaign against the Iraqi people will find it quite impossible to explain their de facto collusion with the terrorists.

Ominous news indeed.
My prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. Vincent who was a crack reporter on the Iraqi war front, writing both a book and a blog.

As for Basra, are British soldiers turning a blind eye to Islamist jihadi violence and oppression in Iraq in the same way that their fellow countrymen are willing to overlook similar terrorist activities back at home, in the name of multicultural "comity?"
I'm worried that this bodes ill for the new Iraqi constitution and government, if fundamentalist Shi'ites begin to dominate not just the Basra scene, but that of the whole country.
While the Shi'a are in the majority, there still remain the Kurds and the Sunni (and a few Christians and Jews and perhaps even atheists).
We didn't liberate Iraq to have it become a clone of the mullah theocracy in Iran!
Iraq's Shi'a need to remember what it felt like under Saddam when they were the oppressed "minority."
And I thought we'd taken care of Muktada al-Sadr!
Isn't he still wanted for murder in Iraq?
We've worried for years now about the terrorists being inspired by Al-Jazeera...now we find out they read the Gray Lady.
Strange, horrible days indeed.

Captain's Quarters Captain Ed Morrissey has all the dirt on how Air America founder, Evan Cohen, seems to have embezzled $875,000 in funds earmarked for poor kids in the Bronx and Alzheimer's patients.
The other salient point of the story, aside from the obvious, is that the MSM has virtually ignored (imposed a moratorium?) on the whole scandal, while continuing to harp on faux scandals like the Karl Rove/Valerie Plame Nadagate.
And while Al Franken could tell you about nefarious dealings between the Bush White House and Enron or Halliburton, he's appears to be MIA on this in-house happening.
Missing the Perfect Storm

Captain Ed's blog has more, natch, here.
As does Michelle Malkin's.
So does TheRadioEqualizer: Brian Maloney, the very canny blogger who found the tidbit of news in a seemingly unrelated story, recognizing it for the major political bombshell that is.
I nominate Brian for the next Golden Pajama Drawstring Award--this is citizen journalism/blogging at its best!
(Last year's went to joint Rathergate creators Powerline and LittleGreenFootballs.)

The DNC had targeted this Congressional race Big Time, even dubbing it a "bellweather" for the upcoming 2006 elections. Too bad they lost!
But they got a NYSlimes headliner anyway.
Breathe in the Liberal bias deeply:
Republican Edges Out Iraq Veteran for Ohio Congress Seat

A former Republican state legislator narrowly won a special Congressional election in southern Ohio on Tuesday, ending an underdog bid by her Democratic opponent to become the first combat veteran from the Iraq war
[Actually, Hackett was stretching the truth more than a bit to say he'd been in "combat."
They guy was a desk jockey, albeit one for the Marines in Iraq.--Jen]
to serve in Congress.

With all of the precincts reporting, Jean Schmidt, the Republican, had nearly 52 percent of the vote, edging out her challenger, Paul L. Hackett, a major in the Marine Forces Reserve, by about 4,000 votes.

"Voters declared that they support our president and approve of his leadership," Ms. Schmidt, 53, told supporters gathered at a suburban Holiday Inn late Tuesday evening. "They want us to stay the course so the enemies of freedom cannot bring their terrorism to our shores again."

But Mr. Hackett's showing was unexpectedly strong in this district, a Republican bastion that snakes along the Ohio River from affluent Cincinnati suburbs to struggling Appalachian hamlets. President Bush won the district with 64 percent of the vote last year, and Republicans have held its Congressional seat for two decades.

"Tonight was a victory for democracy," Mr. Hackett, 43, told supporters at a downtown Cincinnati theater. "People had a real choice." Mr. Hackett has said he expects to sign up for another tour of duty in Iraq, possibly next summer.

The race was to fill the seat vacated by Representative Rob Portman, who resigned this year to become Mr. Bush's trade representative, and it gained national attention not only because of Mr. Hackett's combat service but also because he harshly criticized President Bush.

Mr. Hackett called Mr. Bush a "chicken hawk" for failing to serve in Vietnam
[Sigh. Here they go again with the "chicken hawk" meme, which was extremely popular with the Dems 2 years ago.
President Bush volunteered to fly missions in Vietnam and was turned down by his higher-ups because they weren't using his type of planes there anymore for missions.--J.T.]
and "a cheerleader for the enemy" for challenging Islamic militants to "bring it on" against American troops. He also sharply questioned his policies on tax cuts and Social Security.
[Apparently, Mr. Hackett actually ran on a "more, higher taxes" platform.
And he wonders why he lost?]

But in a nod to Mr. Bush's popularity here, Mr. Hackett used a clip of the president praising military veterans in a television commercial, prompting the Republican National Committee to issue a letter of protest against his campaign.

Democrats had hoped that a victory by Mr. Hackett would not only be a sharp blow to Mr. Bush's national standing but also set a template for future campaigns by Democratic war veterans.
["Democratic war veterans..."--almost sounds like an oxymoron!
IOW, they ran this guy as John Kerry II.
Hackett was "reporting was duty," but as with Kerry, nobody wanted him for the mission.--Jen]
They had also hoped that the race would show the weakness of the Ohio Republican Party, which dominates state government but has been shaken in recent months by a widening scandal involving Gov. Bob Taft's administration and the state's workers compensation fund.

But Republicans viewed Mr. Hackett's attacks as a call to arms, and they poured money and resources into the district to ensure his defeat. Mr. Bush taped a telephone message to voters, and the National Republican Congressional Committee bought $325,000 in air time for a television spot this past weekend.
Perhaps most important, the Republican organization in Clermont County, Ms. Schmidt's base, turned out voters in greater numbers than expected, pushing her over the top. The returns showed that Ms. Schmidt won handily in most of the affluent Cincinnati suburbs, while Mr. Hackett won the district's more rural counties.

In the final days of the campaign, Ms. Schmidt accused the Hackett campaign of misleading voters by claiming that he would be the first Iraq war veteran to serve in Congress. In fact, the Schmidt campaign said, Representative Mark Steven Kirk, Republican of Illinois, has been serving in the Iraq war as a Navy Reserve officer.

But in an interview, Mr. Kirk said he had not gone to Iraq for the military, and instead worked one weekend a month in an intelligence unit at the Pentagon. Mr. Hackett spent seven months in Iraq leading a civil affairs unit in Ramadi and Fallujah before returning to Ohio in March.

Of course, the NYT does a marvelous job of helping the Dems save face in this bellweather loss.
Don't let them fool you: it wasn't only the GOP who
"poured money and resources into the district."
The DNC was rumored to have James Carville himself strategizing the campaign, while war vet Max Cleland went to Ohio to push Hackett and he was joined by austronaut John Glenn (every Baby Boomer's childhood hero).
If the ActBlue website is correct, that site alone raised over $450,000 for Hackett's campaign.
(I'd never heard of ActBlue until I found the link over at the über Lefty KosFiles.
They must have numerous 527 fundraising groups now, in addition to the usual ones like MoveOn.org, DU, the DNC, etc.)
Hackett ran a dirty campaign, which figures if Carville ran it, calling his Commander-in-Chief not only a "chicken hawk," but an SOB, too, even though, as even the NYTimes was forced to point out, his TV ad began with videotape of the President which made it look as if Bush endorsed him and vice versa.
Curiously missing from his ads was the fact that he was running as a Democrat, as if he were ashamed of it.
I can't guess why! (snicker)
This is another good win in the R column, but I do wish it hadn't been quite so close.
A "man" like this needs to be beaten like a red-headed stepchild.

PoliPundit and RedState have some interesting takes of their own on what this bellweather race means for both parties.

August 01, 2005

Bush appoints Bolton as U.N. ambassador

President Bush sidestepped the Senate and installed embattled nominee John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations today, ending a five-month impasse with Democrats who accused Bolton of abusing subordinates
[By speaking in a "raised" tone of voice while putting his hands on his hips! Ooooh.--Jen]
and twisting intelligence to fit his conservative ideology.
[Oh, no! He tries to make régimes like Castro's Cuba, Kim Jung-Il's, and the mullah's Iran look as if they're evil!
The nerve!]
    
"This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about UN reform," Bush said. He said Bolton had his complete confidence.
[...]
sh said that Bolton's nomination had been supported by a majority of the Senate but that "because of partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators, John was unfairly denied the up-or-down vote that he deserves."

There's nothing wrong with Bolton;
in fact, there's a lot right about Bolton.
This was nothing but partisan politics, which we now recognize as SOP for the Democrats.

    Bush had refused to give up on Bolton even though the Senate had voted twice to sustain a filibuster against his nominee. Democrats and some Republicans had raised questions about Bolton's fitness for the job, particularly in view of his harsh criticism of the United Nations.
[Heaven forbid that any of us think that U.N. isn't perfect, no many how many corrupt or failed projects they're responsible for!]
    
As Bush concluded speaking, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, praised the president for using his authority "to end the obstruction against John Bolton."
[We love Sen. Cornyn here in Texas!]
[...]

  But Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., sharply criticized the move.
    "The abuse of power and the cloak of secrecy from the White House continues," Kennedy said. "It's bad enough that the administration stonewalled the Senate by refusing to disclose documents highly relevant to the Bolton nomination. It's even worse for the administration to abuse the recess appointment power by making the appointment while Congress is in this five-week recess. It's a devious maneuver that evades the constitutional requirement of Senate consent and only further darkens the cloud over Mr. Bolton's credibility at the U.N."
[Great, Teddy.
Give the thugs of this world a reason not to take Ambassador Bolton seriously, why doncha?]
    
Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, "The president has done a real disservice to our nation by appointing an individual who lacks to the credibility to further U.S. interests at the United Nations. I will be monitoring his performance closely to ensure that he does not abuse his authority as he has in the past."
    Republican RINO Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, also said he was disappointed in the appointment.
[Did he burst into tears again?
That's always a crowd pleaser.]
[...]
Despite lengthy investigations, it was never clear that Bolton did anything improper. Witnesses told the committee that Bolton lost his temper, tried to engineer the ouster of at least two intelligence analysts and otherwise threw his weight around. But Democrats were never able to establish that his actions crossed the line to out-and-out harassment or improper intimidation.
[...]
In a letter released Friday, 35 Democratic senators and one independent, Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, urged Bush not to give Bolton a recess appointment.
[36 ain't a majority and it's not enough to block his appointment had a straight up-or-down vote been allowed to take place.]
    
"There's just too much unanswered about Bolton, and I think the president would make a truly serious mistake if he makes a recess appointment," Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview.

I'm delighted about this--Bolton is the very man we need in that den of jackals known as the U.N.!
I don't know if he can play an instrumental role in "reforming" the U.N.
Can anyone?
It's like Humpty Dumpty.
But if anyone can represent us with a strong, firm stance in the swamp of Turtle Bay, it's this man.
Now, we have to get through the nomination of John Roberts to SCOTUS.
Senate Dems promise more of the same kind of obstructionist, filibustering behavior, even though they're having to dig a lot harder to get any "dirt"
on Roberts.
That wuss Frist may have to use the "nuclear option" (I prefer the term "Constitutional option") to get Roberts in.
These Dhimmicrat potentates promised they wouldn't filibuster anymore.
(Remember the Grate Compromise of the 14?)
Well, that apparently didn't apply to Bolton.
But you can bet it will happen to Roberts.

The crumbling House of Saud
[Warning: Photo of hideous Fahd at the link!]

King Fahd, who died yesterday, was the Saudi leader who invited American troops into his kingdom to repel Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, but he was also the world leader most responsible for creating the monstrous world of militant Islamism. Fahd's creation has come to plague not only the West but, like a Frankenstein run amuck, the Arab world, including his own kingdom, as well.

Fahd's just-appointed successor, his 81-year-old half brother King Abdullah, has been the de facto Saudi ruler since a stroke debilitated Fahd in 1995. The issue, however, is not Fahd's immediate successor but the survival of the House of Saud as a whole.
[...]
The House of Saud is facing a similar point of no return that is unlikely to be staved off for long by King Abdullah. The Saudis will likely be forced to turn to a "Gorbachev," leaving only the question of whether he is able to control the pace of reform in a way that allows the ruling clan to retain some of its power, or whether the entire system collapses.
[...]
...If anything, Bush has been tirelessly undermining the premise of the Saudi monarchy, namely that "stability" can be obtained through the total denial of democracy and human rights.

The question now is how actively the United States will nudge the Saudi leadership. In his first term, Bush spoke forcefully about the need to advance freedom, particularly in the Middle East, but refrained from mentioning particular countries, raising the question as to whether "friends" like Saudi Arabia and Egypt were exempt.

In his second term, Bush started naming names. In his February "State of the Union" address, Bush said, "The government of Saudi Arabia can demonstrate its leadership in the region by expanding the role of its people in determining their future. And the great and proud nation of ,b>Egypt, which showed the way toward peace in the Middle East, can now show the way toward democracy in the Middle East."

n June at Cairo University, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke not just of the need for truly free elections in Egypt, but of the "brave citizens demanding accountable government" in Saudi Arabia. Rice continued her message to Riyadh, "many people pay an unfair price for exercising their basic rights. Three individuals in particular are currently imprisoned for peacefully petitioning their government. That should not be a crime in any country."

This sort of frank talk is revolutionary in the US-Saudi relationship. Yet it is barely a taste of what could be done. The Saudi human rights record, despite the image of having created a "modern state," is not dissimilar to that of the Taliban. The funding by Saudi "charities" of a global network of radical Islamist indoctrination continues. So does institutionalized anti-Semitism which, if it happened in place like Austria, would long ago have triggered an international boycott.

There is, in short, much to be done. Though the US has become blunter and bolder, it is still an open question whether America considers the House of Saud as the "devil it knows" and therefore preferable to most foreseeable alternatives.

Ultimately, however, the experience from the demise of the oddly-similar Soviet ideological gerontocracy indicates that collapse will come, even if the West foolishly tries to resist it. King Fahd's death may not mark the immediate end of an era, but it is a reminder that that end is coming.

Scary. Just what we need at this point in the Global War on Islamist Terror: the Fountainhead of the evil is ruled by a shaky oligarchy whose leader just died and the palace is filled with pro-jihadi factions.
Oh, and we're semi-dependent on them for our oil.
Gas prices rose sharply today on the news of Fahd's death, because he was king of OPEC, too.
I suppose the old boy couldn't live forever, but both CP Abdullah, the soon-to-be -crowned monarch, and now CP-to-be Sultan are octagenarians.
I thought that the resignation of Prince Bandar as SA's ambassador to the U.S. was rather ominous, perhaps signalling that "business as usual" between the U.S. and S.A. had come to an end, but maybe he rushed home to be around for the changing of the guard (?).
Stay clicked--this will be very interesting and have an impact on us here at home, although you wouldn't think a bunch of hopped-up Bedouins could accomplish that even 5 years ago!
We can only hope that one of the bad princes like Najef doesn't come into power--he controls one of their "security forces"(read "army") and backs violent jihad both at home and abroad.
Of course, noone will be happier than OBL if the Saudi royal House crumbles.
Meanwhile, British police are finding strong links between the lead 7/21 bomber
wannabe and the Kingdom of S.A. and Al Queda:
The trail of phone calls and money that lead to Saudi Arabia

POLICE are tracking the worldwide money trail behind the London bombers. They are also investigating the hundreds of telephone calls that the bombers made before the attacks.

Intelligence agencies are studying a series of disturbing communications from Britain to well-known al-Qaeda terrorists sheltering in Saudi Arabia to see if it leads to another terror cell sheltering in Britain.

The messages from Saudi Arabia include transfers of cash to Britain. At least one of the failed July 21 bombers spent time in Saudi Arabia.

If the Saudi royal family had taken their oil cash and invested it back in the Kingdom, they wouldn't be in such a precarious position today.
But nooooo.
They had to invest it globally in radicalized Islamist Jihad in mosques, madrassas and the funding of "martyrdom" operations.
"What you sow, you shall also reap."
King Fahd should count himself lucky that he died in his bed from old age.
His successor(s) may not have such good fortune.

London faces lockdown to thwart third terror strike

THOUSANDS of police marksmen will be on London’s streets and rooftops again today after warnings that another team of suicide bombers is plotting a third attack on the capital.

The new group is believed to be made up of British Muslims who were understood to be close to staging an attack on the Underground network last week. According to security sources the men are thought to be of Pakistani origin but born and brought up in this country. They have links with the Leeds-based terrorist cell that staged the July 7 attacks, in which 52 innocent people died.

Even with the transport system so heavily guarded, police and intelligence sources believe that the bombers are intent on once more attacking London’s bus and Underground network. Another multiple suicide strike is also intended to demonstrate how the network can call on more recruits. The men are said to have access to explosives.

US security sources
[Looks like we're providing big help to our British friends.--Jen]
said yesterday that this third group of would-be bombers met at Finsbury Park mosque in North London, where some of the July 7 terrorists are also known to have stayed.
[It's also the former "pulpit" of Islamist firebrand cleric, British welfare leach and hook-handed nasty Abu Hamza.--J.T.]
There are reports that this team originally planned to strike last Thursday, which is why more than 6,000 police, half of them armed, were present at Underground stations. Scotland Yard said at the time that this exercise, the biggest since the Second World War, was to test their resources and reassure a nervous public.

As commuters return to work today police chiefs say that the arrest of five suspected bombers in house raids in Birmingham, London and Rome has not ended this threat. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the anti-terrorist branch, said: “The threat remains and is very real.”

There is concern among ministers and police at how long officers can continue such an intensive operation to “lock down” London while a threat remains. Although reinforcements have been brought in and leave has been cancelled, resources are stretched to keep up the guard on the capital, which is costing £500,000 a day. Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, admitted that his officers were “very, very tired”.

While the priority is to thwart another strike, police are still investigating links between the attacks on July 7 and the botched operation a fortnight later. They are also hunting for what officers describe as “key logistical players” behind the attacks.

Seven more people — six men anda woman — were arrested in raids in Brighton yesterday, bringing the number of people under arrest in Britain to 18. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “This is a further indication of the fact this is a fast-moving investigation and we continue to progress. We are searching for other people in connection with this ongoing inquiry.

“There were quite a few other people involved in the incidents of the 7th and the 21st. It’s extremely likely there will be other people involved in harbouring, financing and making the devices.”

The major link between the two sets of bombers is that the alleged leaders of both groups attended Finsbury Park mosque. Experts are studying similarities between the bombs used on July 7 and 21.

Anti-terrorism officers are still questioning four of the failed bombers at Paddington Green police station while a fifth member of the team is being interrogated in Rome.

Hussain Osman, who tried to blow up a Tube train at Shepherds Bush, told Italian police that the devices were only meant to scare passengers, not injure them. Scotland Yard dismissed that claim as “nonsense”.
[Actually, his claims to his Italian Commiecrat defense lawyer were even more ludicrous:
he claimed that the 7/21 bombs were meant as a harmless "peace protest" against the use of British troops in Muslim lands!
Outrageous.]

The devices, hidden in rucksacks, were studded with razor sharp nails and only failed to explode because of a clumsy mistake by the bombmaker. Sir Ian Blair said that the bombs were designed to kill and that London had a lucky escape.

Ethiopian-born Hussain, 27, who has a British passport, claimed that the plot was orchestrated by another of those arrested on Friday, Muktar Said-Ibrahim. Hussain said that he had been recruited in an underground gym in Notting Hill.

Immigration officials are trying to find out how he managed to slip out of Waterloo station on a Eurostar train to Paris and make way to Italy where he met his brother, who lives in Rome. Officials want to know why Hussain, who says his real name is Hamdi Isaac and who has Italian citizenship, came to Britain posing as a Somali asylum-seeker in 1996.
[It's obvious that the U.K. has a very lenient--to the point of being laughable--asylum and immigration program like Canada's.
But then the U.S.'s can't stand up to scrutiny either.]

There were reports last night that Muktar Said-Ibrahim, the suspected ringleader of the July 21 plot, was seen in Rome several weeks before the failed attacks. A mother and daughter living downstairs from the suburban flat where Hussain Osman was arrested on Friday, said that they had recognised Said-Ibrahim from footage of his arrest in London.

Two of Hussain’s brothers who live in Italy are also being held. One is accused of sheltering him; the second was picked up yesterday in the northern town of Brescia.

Italian police say they are using Hussain’s phone records to unpick the international network that has been helping him. Alfredo Mantovano, an Interior Ministry official, said that the network “confirms the presence in our country of autonomous Islamic cells . . . which could represent a concrete threat.” Italy is worried that it is the next target for Islamic terrorists.

Just because we haven't had any attacks recently in this country doesn't mean that these people aren't here and aren't planning them, because they are.
Get a grip, Americans; this is going to be a long war.
And the sooner we roll up our sleeves and get down to work fighting the bad guys at home and abroad, the sooner it will end and the fewer of us will die.
I know it's a hassle to be searched if you live in D.C. or New York and use the public transport, but we know they've scoped them out for possible attack and that a successful attack on one of our subways would make the jihadis as happy as the one on London on 7/7.
Take care and keep your eyes peeled if you ride to work on one of our cities commuter trains or buses.