The assessments about troop needs came as the top American commander in the region, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has been working to complete a major war strategy review, and as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, described a worsening situation in Afghanistan despite the recent addition of 17,000 U.S. troops ordered by the Obama administration and the extra security efforts surrounding the presidential election.

A credible election result is important for the country and for U.S. President Barack Obama, who has made stabilizing Afghanistan a top foreign policy priority.

Obama already plans to increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to about 68,000 by year’s end, more than double the 32,000 the United States had there at the end of 2008.

Mullen declined to comment on U.S. media reports that McChyrstal might recommend additional increases of 15,000, 25,000 or 45,000 troops.

He said the United States faced a multi-year effort to establish security and enable Afghan forces to maintain it.

“I don’t see this as a mission of endless drift. I think we know what to do, we’ve learned a lot of lessons from Iraq, focusing on the Afghan people,” Mullen said.

Asked about an exit strategy, Mullen said: “I’ve said from a military perspective I believe we’ve got to start to turn this thing around from a security standpoint in the next 12 to 18 months.”

“And I think after that we’d have a better view of how long it’s going to take and what we need to do.”

Lt. Brian Brennan was severely wounded in Iraq and faced unbeatable odds but, as David Martin reports, he made a remarkable recovery with a little help from a special Cherokee word.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry fired up an anti-tax “tea party” Wednesday with his stance against the federal government and for states’ rights as some in his U.S. flag-waving audience shouted, “Secede!”

An animated Perry told the crowd at Austin City Hall — one of three tea parties he was attending across the state — that officials in Washington have abandoned the country’s founding principles of limited government. He said the federal government is strangling Americans with taxation, spending and debt.

Perry repeated his running theme that Texas’ economy is in relatively good shape compared with other states and with the “federal budget mess.” Many in the crowd held signs deriding President Barack Obama and the $786 billion federal economic stimulus package.

Later, answering news reporters’ questions, Perry suggested Texans might at some point get so fed up they would want to secede from the union, though he said he sees no reason why Texas should do that.

“There’s a lot of different scenarios,” Perry said. “We’ve got a great union. There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we’re a pretty independent lot to boot.”

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama declined to answer reporters’ questions on Thursday on a hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia, where a U.S. ship captain is being held captive by pirates.

Obama was asked to comment on the situation several times by reporters at a White House event on refinancing for homeowners. Obama, however, stuck closely to the script and replied that he wanted to remain focused on housing.

From Michelle Malkin:

Introducing the Obama Suckers Mutual Fund

Turn your head away from your computer screens upon reading:

U.S. Imagines the Bailout as an Investment Tool

Wait, wait. It gets better:

During World War I, Americans were exhorted to buy Liberty Bonds to help their soldiers on the front.

Now, it seems, they will be asked to come to the aid of their banks — with the added inducement of possibly making some money for themselves.

As part of its sweeping plan to purge banks of troublesome assets, the Obama administration is encouraging several large investment companies to create the financial-crisis equivalent of war bonds: bailout funds.

The idea is that these investments, akin to mutual funds that buy stocks and bonds, would give ordinary Americans a chance to profit from the bailouts that are being financed by their tax dollars.

Seriously. They are still plying the line that our trillions of dollars’ worth of taxpayer “investments” are going to make money. And under the guise of democratizing the returns, they are trying to persuade Main Street “investors” who have been forced to invest in failing banks, other financial institutions, auto companies, and life insurers to “invest” again in trash.

Behold the Obama Suckers Mutual Fund:

The funds, the thinking goes, would buy troubled mortgage securities from banks, enabling the lenders to make the loans that are needed to rekindle the economy. Many of the loans that back these securities were made during the subprime era. If all goes well, the funds will eventually sell the investments at a profit.

But, as with any investment, there are risks. If, as some analysts suspect, the banks’ assets are worth even less than believed, the funds’ investors could suffer significant losses. Nonetheless, the administration and executives in the financial industry are pushing to establish the investment funds, in part to counter swelling hostility against the financial industry…

…Perhaps more important than the money would be the political bonus of having thousands or even millions of taxpayers — whose portfolios have nose-dived during the crisis and whose tax dollars are financing bank bailouts and stimulus packages — profit from the toxic asset plan.

FYI: No one else wants to buy up banks’ bad assets. Why should you?

Team Obama is trapped in the Land of Make Believe and they can’t get out.

A military judge in Guantanamo Bay has denied the Obama administration’s request to delay proceedings for 120 days in the case of a detainee accused of planning the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole warship, an al-Qaeda strike that killed 17 service members and injured 50 others.

The decision throws into some disarray the administration’s plan to buy time as it reviews individual detainee cases as part of its plan to close the U.S. military prison at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. The Pentagon may now be forced to withdraw the charges against Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi citizen of Yemeni descent. …

But Judge James Pohl, an Army colonel, said he found the government’s reasoning “unpersuasive.”

“The Commission is unaware of how conducting an arraignment would preclude any option by the administration,” said Pohl in a written opinion, portions of which were read to The Post. “Congress passed the military commissions act, which remains in effect. The Commission is bound by the law as it currently exists, not as it may change in the future.”

66 years to the day, we look back at one of the worst events in the history of this country . Some of us had relatives that were at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, or maybe they called to serve their country immediately after. Today we look back at the “Greatest Genration” and say thank-you:

The 7 December 1941 Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor was one of the great defining moments in history. A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke removed the United States Navy’s battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire’s southward expansion. America, unprepared and now considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant.

Eighteen months earlier, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had transferred the United States Fleet to Pearl Harbor as a presumed deterrent to Japanese agression. The Japanese military, deeply engaged in the seemingly endless war it had started against China in mid-1937, badly needed oil and other raw materials. Commercial access to these was gradually curtailed as the conquests continued. In July 1941 the Western powers effectively halted trade with Japan. From then on, as the desperate Japanese schemed to seize the oil and mineral-rich East Indies and Southeast Asia, a Pacific war was virtually inevitable.

By late November 1941, with peace negotiations clearly approaching an end, informed U.S. officials (and they were well-informed, they believed, through an ability to read Japan’s diplomatic codes) fully expected a Japanese attack into the Indies, Malaya and probably the Philippines. Completely unanticipated was the prospect that Japan would attack east, as well.

The U.S. Fleet’s Pearl Harbor base was reachable by an aircraft carrier force, and the Japanese Navy secretly sent one across the Pacific with greater aerial striking power than had ever been seen on the World’s oceans. Its planes hit just before 8AM on 7 December. Within a short time five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sunk or sinking, with the rest damaged. Several other ships and most Hawaii-based combat planes were also knocked out and over 2400 Americans were dead. Soon after, Japanese planes eliminated much of the American air force in the Philippines, and a Japanese Army was ashore in Malaya.

These great Japanese successes, achieved without prior diplomatic formalities, shocked and enraged the previously divided American people into a level of purposeful unity hardly seen before or since. For the next five months, until the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May, Japan’s far-reaching offensives proceeded untroubled by fruitful opposition. American and Allied morale suffered accordingly. Under normal political circumstances, an accomodation might have been considered.

However, the memory of the “sneak attack” on Pearl Harbor fueled a determination to fight on. Once the Battle of Midway in early June 1942 had eliminated much of Japan’s striking power, that same memory stoked a relentless war to reverse her conquests and remove her, and her German and Italian allies, as future threats to World peace.

The United States Of America fought in her darkest hours with a resolve to never give up. She had but one goal, victory, and in the end, she achieved it. The battles fierce, the days unending, but she never gave up.

46 years ago, John Kennedy spoke these words:

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. 4
This much we pledge”and more.

Those words stand the test of time.

Here’s a new report on the “winds execute” message and what the US did and didn’t know.

We honor all those that serve their country!

Michelle has more

“Today, our nation pays tribute to those veterans, 25 million veterans who have worn the uniform of the United States of America. Each of these men and women took an oath to defend America — and they upheld that oath with honor and decency. Through the generations, they have humbled dictators and liberated continents and set a standard of courage and idealism for the entire world….

….On Veterans Day, we also remember the troops who left America’s shores but did not live to be thanked as veterans. On this Veterans Day, we honor the courage of those who were lost in the current struggle. We think of the families who lost a loved one; we pray for their comfort. And we remember the men and women in uniform whose fate is still undetermined — our prisoners of war and those missing in action. America must never forget their courage. And we will not stop searching until we have accounted for every soldier and sailor and airman and Marines missing in the line of duty.”

]]> http://rightvoices.com/2008/11/11/on-this-veterans-day/feed/ 7 http://rightvoices.com/2008/09/01/today-anbar-is-no-longer-lost-to-al-qaeda-it-is-al-qaeda-that-lost-anbar/ http://rightvoices.com/2008/09/01/today-anbar-is-no-longer-lost-to-al-qaeda-it-is-al-qaeda-that-lost-anbar/#comments Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:41:44 +0000 Pam http://rightvoices.com/?p=9205

Here’s how President Bush described the development of the  security in Anbar Province being  transferred to Iraqi civilian authorities:

Today in Iraq, responsibility for security in Anbar Province was transferred to Iraqi civilian authorities. Iraqi forces will now take the lead in security operations in Anbar, with American troops moving into an overwatch role. Not long ago, Anbar was one of the most dangerous provinces in Iraq. Al Qaeda was in control of almost every major population center, and its leaders intended to turn Anbar province into a safe haven from which to plan and launch further attacks against Iraqis and others in the region, as well as here at home.

Today, Anbar is no longer lost to al Qaeda – it is al Qaeda that lost Anbar. Iraqis – like countless other Muslims across the world – witnessed al Qaeda’s brutality first-hand and rejected it. As a result, Anbar has been transformed and reclaimed by the Iraqi people. This achievement is a credit to the courage of our troops, the Iraqi Security Forces, and the brave tribes and other civilians from Anbar who worked alongside them.

Mark reminds us of these various quotes that show just how much confidence the Democrats and MSM have in our Military:

Elected Officials

Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE): “Even with the surge of troops, in a city [Baghdad] of 6 million people you’re talking about a ratio that would still be roughly above one to 100. It’s bound to draw down support that we need in other parts of Iraq, including Anbar province. Just thinking that somehow 30,000 forces are going to change the circumstances : what does that do to change the dynamic in Anbar province?” (Senator Joseph Biden, Conference Call With Reporters, 12/26/06)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV): “It’s interesting. We have had, this week, the colonel in charge of Anbar Province say that it’s a civil war; it’s been lost.” (PBS’s “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer,” 9/13/06)

“The situation on the ground has not changed in Iraq. I say that without equivocation. It’s changed in Anbar province, but that’s all.” (Senator Harry Reid, Senate Press Conference, 9/12/07)”Well, it’s changed in one province, one area of Iraq. Of course it’s changed there. But it’s like the big balloon that you push on one side, and it comes out someplace else.” (Senator Harry Reid, Senate Press Conference, 9/12/07)

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA): “It’s worse today than it was six months ago when I spoke out initially. When I spoke out, the garbage wasn’t being collected, oil production below pre-war level – all those things indicated to me we weren’t winning this, and it’s the same today, if not worse. Anbar Province. There’s not one project been done in Anbar Province. Two million people live there. They have no water at all, no oil production, they have no electricity at all in that province where is the heartland of the defense. The first six months we went in there, no – there – not a shot was fired, so it shows you how it’s changed.” (Congressman John Murtha, NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 6/18/06)

Senator Jim Webb (D-VA): “Gen. Petraeus was advancing the success in Anbar Province as evidence that the surge is working and I thought it was very important in terms of the facts of the matter to point out that the successes in Anbar are:began well before the surge and my son’s battalion the first 6th Marines basically took Ramadi back block by block and street by street [in] September, October, November, December of last year and not to in any way diminish the command perspective of Gen. Petraeus but it’s wrong to say that was due to the surge.” (Senator Jim Webb, C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers,” 9/16/07)

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY): “Now, some have argued that the surge in Iraq is working. But, Mr. President, all you have to do is look at the facts to know that that is not the case. The President went to Anbar Province, which at the moment he is touting as a place of success, but we all know what’s happening in Iraq. Many other provinces are in terrible shape. In Iraq you get the certain sense that when you push on one end of the balloon and make things a little better, something pops out at another end.”  (Senator Charles Schumer, Congressional Record, 9/5/07)

“And the fallacy of the President’s new policy is just amazing. Are we placing our faith in the future of Iraq in the hands of some tribal leaders who at the moment dislike al Qaeda more than they dislike us? Make no mistake about it. They’re no friends of Americans. ”

“We’ve heard of success stories every six or eight months. This province, this town, this city. ‘They’re cleared, they’re safe.’ And then because of the basic facts on the ground, we revert to the old situation. And let me be clear: the violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge.”

“And as I said, Mr. President, we’ve heard about successes in the past. They’re temporary. They’re not based on any permanent structural change or any permanent change in the views of Iraqi citizens. We’ve heard about success in Baghdad and we’ve heard about success in Fallujah and they vanish like the wind.”

“So now, at a time when the American people are crying out for a change in course, some are pointing to a temporary situation in one province – Anbar – based on a few warlords, who don’t believe in democracy and who don’t like America, as a way to continue the present misguided policy? It makes no sense. It makes no sense because the fundamentals in Iraq stay the same. There is no central government that has any viability. The Shiites, the Kurds and the Sunnis dislike one another far more than they like or want any central government, and these two facts doom the administration policy for failure. “

Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI): “The number of attacks have increased with our presence there. In al-Anbar province, which is, people say, this is a civil war, a sectarian war – no, that’s all Sunni. Fallujah, Ramadi – that isn’t a civil war situation, it is just a situation where our presence – even our generals have suggested this – is a stimulant to terrorist activity.” (Senator Russell Feingold, Remarks To The National Press Club, Washington, D.C., 5/8/06)

MEDIA

MSNBC: Keith Olbermann: “The message is, stay the course. But in the huge Anbar Province, word from our military is that we’ve already lost there politically. (MSNBC’s “Countdown,” 9/12/06)

CNN: Michael Ware: “Wolf, it’s absolutely nightmarish and the Washington Post story is an old one. U.S. military intelligence has been saying this about Ramadi for a year and a half. I’ve been going out there since 2003. I’ve watched the steady decline.  Quite frankly, America is not committed to the fight. It is known – it is a stated fact that this is the headquarters of al Qaeda in Iraq, yet American commanders privately off camera will tell you that we only have a third of the troops there that are needed to even begin to make a dent in al Qaeda – Wolf.” (CNN’s “The Situation Room,” 9/11/07)

“Well, it’s not losing military. The boys out there are just simply holding the line. But they’ve been put into the meat grinder for the sake of concentrating troops in Baghdad. Politically it’s an absolute disaster out there. The potential American allies out there are essentially the Baath Party and the Sunnis. Now these Sunnis – I spoke to one of these insurgents this morning. I spoke to some Ramadi sheiks, and I spoke to Iraqi police in Ramadi, as well as American commanders.”"The best that they say they can hope to do is disrupt al Qaeda : What does this do : This does two things. One, it allows al Qaeda to breathe and arguably become stronger.

CNN: Miles O’Brien: “Winning the battle but losing the war, that is the dire assessment contained in a secret U.S. military report about Iraq’s Al Anbar Province. That report saying a shortage of U.S. troops a large part of the problem there.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 9/12/06)

CNN: Jamie McIntyre (voice-over): Iraq’s sprawling Anbar province west of Baghdad is insurgent territory and headquarters for al Qaeda in Iraq. Anbar is also lost politically, according to a classified analysis by a Marine colonel summarized in the “The Washington Post” by Tom Ricks:” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 9/13/06)

NBC: Jim Miklaszewski: “That’s [Anbar Province] the no-man’s land in western Iraq that has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war, in places like Fallujah, Hit and the provincial capital Ramadi, which the US military has never controlled.  The top secret report by a Marine Corps intelligence officer says there’s no chance the US military can end insurgent violence in al Anbar. There’s no viable government institutions or chance for political progress any time soon. Even more ominous, al-Qaeda has been rushing in to fill that political vacuum. And military officials say that al-Qaeda’s also recruiting increasing numbers of Iraqi Sunnis to join that terrorist group.” (NBC’s “Nightly News” 9/12/06)

“Now the top US commander in Iraq said today there has been some military and economic progress, but for the first time it appears that the US is preparing to eventually concede a large piece of Iraq to the enemy and leave it entirely up to the Iraqis themselves to sort it out.”

The Washington Post: “The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for securing that country’s western Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there.”  (Thomas E. Ricks, “Situation Called Dire in West Iraq, Anbar Is Lost Politically, Marine Analyst Says,” The Washington Post, 9/11/06)

“Another person familiar with the report said it describes Anbar as beyond repair; a third said it concludes that the United States has lost in Anbar.”"[N]ot only are military operations facing a stalemate, unable to extend and sustain security beyond the perimeters of their bases, but also local governments in the province have collapsed and the weak central government has almost no presence.”

“It’s hard to be optimistic right now,’ said one Army general who has served in Iraq. ‘There’s a sort of critical mass of tough news,’ he said, with intensifying violence from the insurgency and between Sunnis and Shiites, a lack of effective Iraqi government and a growing concern that Iraq may be falling apart.”

Here is what Biden had to say just this very morning:

“The only guy in America in a position of some authority who is out of sync with the whole rest of the world is John McCain,” he told a small group of relatives and old family friends. “This Administration, the Iraqis, NATO, the Europeans, our friends around the world, the vast majority of the American people, the Democratic-controlled Congress, Republicans in Congress ” they all agree. Barack Obama was right, and John McCain was wrong.”

http://www.causegreater.com

CauseGreater.com is a site set up by the McCain campaign to help deliver aid to those in need who are affected in the gulf coast.

I suppose it does represent distress!

Others blogging:

• Good Thing Democrats Know Which Side Is Up | McCain Blogs
• Pirate’s Cove
• Good Thing Democrats Know Which Side Is Up : Stop The ACLU