On Friday, Vets for Freedom PAC released an advertisement featuring Iraq war veteran Sergeant Garrett Anderson. The ad points out that Senator Obama was unwilling to meet with Illinois veterans, has never met with General Petraeus, and hasn't visited Iraq in over two years. The facts are the facts, and the ad speaks for itself.
Predictably, the ad sparked fierce opposition from anti-war elements (here,here & here) who accused us of being a "right-wing 527 attack organization." Except, they forgot to do their research. Vets for Freedom is not a 527, nor an attack organization. Our 24,000 members and 50 state chapters comprise a cross-section of America's veterans-Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, and liberals-all of which are interested in one thing: victory in Iraq, Afghanistan, and overall the War on Terrorism.
Today, we are releasing a second ad, featuring Iraq war veteran and Vets for Freedom member, Specialist Kate Norley. Kate, who served 16 months on the front lines as a combat medic, asks Senator Obama two simple, but powerful, questions:
1) Senator Obama, when will you finally decide to go back to Iraq, to see the progress first hand?
2) And when will you finally decide to meet one-on-one, unconditionally, with General Petraeus?
The ad also talks about the incredible progress that has been made since Senator Obama last visited Iraq in January 2006: violence down 70%, civil war over, Al Qaeda decimated, political progress occurring, and the Iraqi Army taking the lead. The fact is-the surge has worked, and has moved America closer to overall success in Iraq.
It's important that veterans ask the tough questions of our prospective leaders. Vets for Freedom PAC has no interest in attacking Senator Obama; we just want to know why he seems so uninterested about what is actually happening on the ground.
This is my first 'personal' post here at ANO from my heart. I have posted numerous posts at ANO, but this is the first from my heart....There is not enough space here to put all that I would like to say, plus I would probably be locked up by the PC police! I am not good at expressing myself so let me began....I first want to thank the other members of ANO for covering for me on the ATW show the last few weeks. I have been very busy at work and home.
I do not know where to begin....First let me give you a little background of myself. I am a single father of two wonderful kids. I was raised in Bradenton, Florida where my father ran two radio stations. My family was somewhat of a liberal family on the inside but a conservative family on the outside. Not that my family supported liberal policies but they did not stand up against the liberal 'madness' nor did they teach me about liberal or conservative views!
During my High School years I was a long haired 'hippie' wannabe. The only thing I was concerned about was where the next party was going to be on Saturday night. My life changed on 9/11/01! I will never forget that dreadful day. I was home in bed after working the midnight shift....My wife came running in the bedroom and woke me and said, Bob....the World Trade Center is on fire....I said to her, Robin that's old footage from the 90's....she said NO! its on live....I jumped out of bed and as soon as I made it to the TV, the second plane hit. I have never felt so much terror and sorrow in my life. I grabbed the phone and called my mom at her work. They were seeing the same as I was seeing. My mom was dumb-founded. Keep in mind this was in Bradenton. President Bush was at a school in Sarasota. My daughter was at her school which was a couple of miles from where Air Force One was at the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport. I wondered to myself out loud, why would people fly planes into buildings. I wondered, what could we have done to make people do this? I thought to myself, was it that we were such a terrible people? What could we have done to cause this!?! For MANY weeks, I watched the rescue workers pick through the rubble of Ground Zero looking for any survivors...The months following the attacks on America and the free world I could still not understand, WHY!?!
I NOW understand! I learned more after that miserable day than I learned throughout all my years in school. That's FUCKING pitiful! What has this Nation become!??! What has this Nation become when more Americans vote for some schmuck on American Idol than in the Presidential Elections!??! What has this Nation become when more Americans are more worried about getting home in time to watch their favorite TV show, than who leads this Nation in OUR most trying time!??! What has this Nation become when MILLIONS of babies have been aborted since the start of Operation Iraqi FREEDOM!??! What has this Nation become when more people complain about gas prices than about how many people have been slaughtered by the Islamo-Fascist's, THIS WEEK!??!
WHAT HAS THIS NATION BECOME!??!
I am really scared and worried about what must happen to WAKE AMERICA UP!!!
How many more of our fellow Americans must be slaughtered before the masses WAKE UP!??!
God Help Us All!!!
GOD BLESS THE ONES THAT HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THE 'SHIT-HEADS' HERE THAT ARE NOT WORTHY OF FREEDOM!!!!
Yesterday, General Petraeus was back on Capitol Hill to testify before Congress. Senator Barack Obama was there too, but not for long. He stayed in the committee meeting long enough to ask one question, before ducking out to head back to the campaign trail. This wouldn't normally be a big deal, except ...
Senator Obama has never sat down, one-on-one, with General Petraeus. Even worse, he hasn't visited Iraq, and our brave troops on the ground, in over two years. And on April 8, when two-dozen Illinois veterans went to his office for a meeting, Senator Obama was unwilling to meet with them. He was in his office, just wouldn't come out.
Sergeant Anderson was one of the 12 veterans denied a meeting with Senator Obama. And like his fellow veterans, Sergeant Anderson would like to ask Senator Obama a few questions: Why hasn't he met with General Petraeus? And why won't he visit Iraq? And why would Senator Obama rather talk about meeting-unconditionally-with Iran, instead of meeting with veterans and commanders? America deserves to know.
Vets for Freedom PAC will continue to ask questions like these, all the while extolling the incredible progress the surge has fostered in Iraq. America deserves victory in Iraq, and Vets for Freedom PAC will be leading the way.
Regards, Pete Hegseth Vets for Freedom PAC Iraq war veteran
Damn. I knew this from Day One. I knew this when the very first communist backed "peace activists" first reared their ugly heads within weeks of 91101. I knew this when it became clear that if the political status quo were to remain in place in the aftermath of 91101, the Leftinistra would not have a chance to regain the Almighty Political Power.
Think back, if you have the mental capacity, the moral fortitude to do so, when it was that the Leftinistra mantra of Bush Lied was first endorsed by the likes of Al Gore and his pathetic company of similar anti-Americanists. It isn't hard. However, this report is interesting.
Congressman admits Democrats "stretched the facts," misled anti-war supporters about supposed plans for ending War
Imagine that. So, I suppose the mantra should now be reversed? The Democrats Lied and Thousands Died? The Democrats Aided and Abetted The Enemy? I could come up with hundreds more. Please pay attention here...
[...] "I'll tell you my impression. We really in this last election, when I say we...the Democrats, I think pushed it as far as we can to the end of the fleet, didn't say it, but we implied it. That if we won the Congressional elections, we could stop the war. Now anybody was a good student of Government would know that wasn't true. But you know, the temptation to want to win back the Congress, we sort of stretched the facts...and people ate it up." [...]
Simply amazing. So, who was it that played on whose fears? Who was it that lied and thousands died? How many men have been killed - American Service Members - as a DIRECT result of the enemy being emboldened by our own enemies within all in the name of political power? This is the utmost example of treason and the penalty of treason is death. HANG THEM ALL...after the trial, naturally.
One cannot make this stuff up...
I hate every single member of CONgress that has played political football with the lives of our troops and our very existence just so they can win an elected position.
Absolutely unacceptable. Whatever good they may have done or have wanted to do, is far overshadowed by this travesty. Now that the cat is out of the bag, where do we go from here?
If the pussies within the GOP don't act on this forthwith and "attack" with a vengeance and without mercy, they, too, can go straight to hell where they ultimately deserve to be.
As most with at least a reasonable facsimile of a rational mind know that the Leftinistra have a kindred spirit with the elements which comprise the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Association, and have repeatedly doled out accolades upon the group. I will find it curious as to how they will react to this recent proclamation seeing that the Leftinistra cannot ever repsond but opt to react instead.
And this is "news" to whom and why? Have "we" not warned of this for years and years? Will the Leftinistra believe this announcement coming from their beloved IAEA? I doubt it. Nevertheless, we must remain vigilant regardless to the defeatist attitudes of the home-grown anti-Americanists and those anti-Americanists abroad.
Terrorists are trying to obtain nuclear material in a bid to cause widespread chaos at the Beijing Olympics, it has been claimed.
The International Atomic Energy Authority warned that terrorists may try and use dirty bombs to disperse radioactive materials during the high-profile event.
The UN nuclear watchdog issued the stern warning as it staged its biggest ever security training exercise in the Chinese capital. [...]
Well, imagine that. I am quite sure that Barack Obama would "Rather" speak to these "terrorists" first and see if we were to have any common ground of which to participate in friendly chats around the Knights of The Round Table.
Then again, anything that provides proof that the terrorists are indeed a dangerous group is considered Fear Mongering but when Barack claims that there are Arab-Americans being "rounded up without the benefit of an attorney" is not. Also, the Global Warming Myth is also Fear Mongering but, the Leftinistra cannot be labeled as such because it isn't nice pointing out their "udder" stupidity, is it?
As Barack Hussein Obama and John McCain thrash it out over how they would deal with Iran, voices from inside Iran are weighing in with an unusual message: If the United States strikes hard and fast, we will support you.
Emissaries from inside Iran have been meeting with Iranian exiles in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere in recent weeks to deliver this provocative message, which they claim comes from pro-U.S. dissidents at the upper-most levels of the regime.
"U.S. airstrikes must be powerful and sustained enough to break the myth of the regime's absolute power and reveal the weakness of the leadership," a former official who traveled outside of Iran recently said.
The United States should target the office of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards Corp, the offices of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and that of his predecessor and rival, Mullah Hashemi-Rafsanjani, Iranian sources say.
The goal should be to carry out sustained airstrikes over a 48-72 hour period that would "decapitate" the regime.
Read the rest of Kenneth Timmerman's article HERE.
In other Iranian news:
Israel's Army Radio is reporting that President Bush intends to launch a military strike against Iran before the end of his term.
The Army Radio, a network operated by the Israeli Defense Forces, quoted a government source in Jerusalem. The source disclosed that a senior official close to Bush said in a closed meeting that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney believed military action against Iran was now called for.
Bush concluded a trip to Israel last week, where he said, "The objective of the United States must be to .... support our strongest ally and friend in the Middle East."
The Radio report, which was quoted by the Jerusalem Post, disclosed that the recent turmoil in Lebanon, where the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah had seized virtual control of the country, was encouraging an American attack.
Hezbollah's aggression in Lebanon is seen as evidence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's growing influence, and the U.S. official said that in Bush's view, "the disease must be treated, not its symptoms," according to the Post.
I was going through my files and came across this speech that was given by RJ Del Vecchio of the 'Vets to Washington Project' at the 'Operation America Rising' rally on 7/7/07 here in North Carolina. It was a very moving speech to hear in person. There were many speeches given that day but this one was by far the best. We had someone at the event filming the entire rally but unfortunately the tape was left in his car and ended up melting, losing most of the footage from that day. That day the temperature was nearly 100 degrees but that did not keep the hundreds of people from leaving the 6 hour rally.
Enjoy!
Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon.
Let me begin by registering some thanks to people. First, to Tina Medlin, who was given the challenge, with zero experience, of putting together this tribute to our troops. To do this, she fulfilled the Marine Corps motto "adapt and overcome", and she deserves great credit for the time, effort, and love she put into this.
Next, I thank the Founders of this nation, whose foresight, courage, sacrifice, and wisdom brought into being the greatest hope for mankind that this world has ever known. And I thank my grandparents, for having the gumption to leave the world they knew, the world of their ancestors, to take the tough trip across the sea to Ellis Island, become Americans, and work hard to make the American dream of a better life for their children and grandchildren.
I thank the many WW2 and Korean veterans I grew up learning from, and the refugees from Hungary, Cuba, and other communist countries who really contributed to my understanding ever more about how precious liberty is.
And I thank all of you for coming today, to show our strong support for those who are in harm's way on our behalf, even as we enjoy all the good moments of a great summer weekend.
Lastly, yet most of all, I thank those men & women who are out there for us now, for every day they spend away from home, for every hour with burning heat and sand in their eyes, for every second of racing pulse when their vehicle starts down the perilous highway, or they go through that door into the shadowy hallway, not knowing what is waiting there for them. And for the times of pain and sorrow when they see their friends bleeding or lying silent and still. I have known those times, and how they leave scars on your heart, and sometimes guilt in your mind, for being the one who survived.
There are many aspects of today's events that can be discussed, and no shortage of controversy about how we got into Iraq and how the war has been handled. But dwelling on those controversies is not useful to understanding where we are now, the prospects before us, and what the possibilities are for the future.
Often we hear about comparisons between the war in Iraq and the past war in Viet Nam. Many of those comparisons are inaccurate or misleading, and I hope to bring some clarity to the reality of the different wars.
In Viet Nam we fought an enemy whose intense focus was simply on taking over the free South and bringing it under the control of the communist politburo of Hanoi. Yes, they were also a tool of international communism in the Cold War, but that was of no real importance to Ho Chi Minh and his faithful supporters. They did not hate us just for being Americans, they were perfectly satisfied to simply get us out of the war so they could overwhelm the South using the massive support of the Soviet Bloc. While the fall of Saigon was a tragedy and subsequent events in Cambodia and Laos were even more appalling, in a way it was like Vegas. What happened in Southeast Asia pretty much stayed in Southeast Asia, with the exception of the VN Boat People who came to our shores as refugees seeking a new life and freedom. Some live here in the Raleigh area, and I am proud to have them as friends; they have become Americans, and many of their grown children have served and are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of those children have already paid in blood for their citizenship in this, their adopted country.
But Iraq is different in critically important ways. However it started, it has become a hinge point in the conflict between the West and the strangely diverse wave of jihadist Islam. This is a complex movement, sometimes coordinated, often not, based on narrow and totally intense religious fanaticism combined with social/cultural drives founded on myth, systematic brainwashing, and a value system centered more on death than on life. The simple contrast between them and us is that their young people are urged to volunteer to very deliberately kill themselves in order to kill and maim the maximum number of other human beings whom they do not know, most of whom are innocent bystanders. While our men & women in uniform put themselves at risk of dying in the effort to help the Iraqi and Afghan people progress into a stable, secure, and free way of life, and in that way help ensure the safety and security of our way of life.
The Vietnamese communists were our enemy, but primarily because we were in the way of their conquest of the South. The jihadists are radically different, they do not just want us out of the Middle East, they don't want to extort money from us, or achieve economic domination over us, or anything else. Regardless of the hype they put out about the supposed wrongs we have committed against them, going all the way back to the Crusades, in truth they do not hate us for what we do, they hate us for what we are.
In times past people used the phrase "mortal enemy", but we don't hear that phrase much anymore. What it means is not just a particularly tough or nasty enemy, what it means is an enemy whose goal is extremely simple and direct- your death is what he wants, all that he wants, and nothing less will satisfy him. That describes Osama Bin Laden and all the hundreds of thousands of his followers across the world. They do not care what it takes to achieve their fantasy goal of "restoring the Caliphate", that is, world domination of fundamentalist Islamic rule. The deaths of millions of people including any and all Moslems who oppose them in the least way, or even total innocents whose deaths serve their strategy of terror and destabilizing societies, are just a tiny detail to them in their blind and hateful fanaticism.
This is the harsh, ugly, and very scary reality that we in America, and in fact every Western society, need to face. The jihadist mentality has been growing for almost 30 years now, it has achieved a great deal of momentum, and its effects are seen even in Moslem communities that have existed and flourished in Western countries for a couple of generations. It will not go away on its own, and while it would be comforting to think of it as a temporary phase that will wither away in time, to believe that is a pleasant self deception that we cannot afford. It is a kind of communicable mental illness that will continue to spread until some form of countering it becomes truly and widely effective.
Iraq and Afghanistan are complicated struggles in many ways. Tribal and sectarian differences contribute to the chaos, as well as the support from those with their own agendas for gaining power, especially the theocratic regime of Iran. The longstanding conflict over Israel is another major factor that keeps the Middle East at low boil and adds to the growth of blind hatred for the West and the US in particular.
There is no simple answer to eliminating the underlying factors of jihadism. We have no easy way of making it go away. But what we do have is a simple challenge to not encourage it, to deny it key victories that would accelerate its growth and increase its power. Iraq and Afghanistan are now the testing ground for jihadism, for the forces of destruction, for the drive to dominate and ignite more and more of Islam in the flames of cruel and relentless fanaticism.
What happens if we cut and run, as so many politicians and antiwar activists recommend? After all, they say, we got out of Viet Nam and nothing really bad happened, and now it’s a pretty good place, we get along fine, and it's a really cheap place to go for a great vacation. Doesn't that tell us how stupid we are to continue to spend our blood and billions in faraway countries that have their own problems to deal with?
Well, in the first place, plenty of really bad stuff happened in Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Laos after we abandoned the South Vietnamese to their inevitable conquest by the totally militarized North with its endless ocean of supplies from the Soviets. And we get along fine with them now because our leaders, for the sake of business priorities, choose to take little if any notice of the blatant suppression of human rights that goes on there. Yep, it's nice to visit as a tourist, but it was nice to visit Germany in 1936 too, as long as you didn't want to stop by any synagogues or that nice little re-education camp up in Dachau.
But that aside, the very first consequence of bugging out of Iraq would be the instant proclamation across the world by every fundamentalist cleric in all of Islam that Bin Laden is proven correct, the infidels are weak and corrupt and total victory will assuredly be ours. They will scream in joy that Moslems need only to rise up more and more, purge any of their neighbors who won't join the jihad, raise more money, plant more bombs, create more riots, send more of their young people to massacre innocents in every transport station, sports stadium, and shopping mall in the West, and in time all will be theirs.
The inflow of donations from the rich oil sheiks will jump steeply, as will the number of volunteers for the terrorist training camps, and from there the downhill run into more horrors will begin.
Meanwhile, Iraq will dissolve into total bloody chaos, with all sorts of groups committing massacres for all sorts of reasons, the Syrians will try to take influence with the Sunni, the Iranians will do the same with the Shia, and there will be no safety anywhere for anyone. Just how it will go after that is impossible to predict, but it will be guaranteed to be about as awful as Cambodia was, and the whole Middle East will continue to destabilize. And best of all, who do you think will be blamed for it all? You know the answer- it will be the USA. And those who hate and despise us will have a field day with it, we will be condemned by half the UN, and our ability to exert any influence in the world will be damaged very, very badly.
This is why I believe it is essential for our support to the troops to be as vigorous and continuous as possible, because they stand between the world and those terrible events.
So whether or not everyone appreciates what their service and sacrifice really mean, our people are over there, doing their duty, sometimes devotedly, sometimes doggedly, on repeated tours that weary the spirit, and we can only pray for them, and let them know in every way we can that we respect and appreciate them and everything they do for us. That is why we are all here today, to raise our voices on their behalf, to say as clearly as possible, Thank You, Thank You, and God Bless.
When we came back from Viet Nam, a few of us were subjected to terrible treatment, many of us went through lesser levels of harassment and nastiness, and most of us experienced no feeling of being welcomed, indeed we very often felt unappreciated, and even alienated. I think I speak for all Vietnam vets today when I say NOT THIS TIME! Our troops must hear from us, while there and when returning, that we appreciate and honor them, no matter what other feelings we have about the fight that they are in. They are not there for pay, or glory, or imperialistic conquest. They are there for us.
In conclusion, I would like to give to you the words of one of those who went to safeguard us.
Back on the 14th of November, 2005, in an action along the Syrian border with Iraq, a Marine Major, Ray Mendoza, gave his life in service to his country and his Corps. He left behind a wife and two children. His wife, Karen, wanted the kids to have some more understanding of their father, who and what he was. So she turned eventually to the letters his comrades wrote about him.
Of these, the foremost was by his close friend of all the years together in the Marine Corps, Major Doug Zembiec. Another devoted Marine, famous among his men in Iraq as the Lion of Fallujah because of his stalwart performance in that major battle.
Here is what he wrote...
His letter to the children of a fallen comrade-in-arms: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Kiana and Alek,
Ray and I had a conversation late May in 2004 while we were deployed to Iraq. He spoke of why he fought. He fought to give the people of Iraq a chance. He fought to crush those who would terrorize and enslave others. He fought to protect his fellow Marines.
The last thing he told me that day was, "I don't want any of these people (terrorists) telling my kids how to act, or how to dress. I don't want to worry about the safety of my children." Kiana and Alek, your father fought for many things, but always remember, he fought for you.
As you fight this battle we call life, you will find your challenges greater, your adversity larger, your enemies more numerous. The beautiful thing is, you will grow stronger, smarter, faster, and you will overcome the obstacles in your way.
No one could've better prepared you than your father. In the month and a half your family stayed with me in Laguna Niguel, Calif., while waiting for base housing to open up, I saw how, with the help of your incredible mother, he instilled in you the essentials to life:
Live with integrity, for without integrity we deceive ourselves, we live in a house of cards. Fight for what you believe, for without valor, we lose our freedom. Be willing to sacrifice, for anything worthy in life requires sacrifice. Be disciplined, for it is discipline that builds the foundation of your success.
You will encounter misguided people in your life who may question America's attempt to help the people of Iraq and the Middle East. These pathetic windbags, who have nothing so sacred in their lives that they would be willing to fight for it, will argue and debate endlessly on what we should've done.
While they criticize, they forget the truth, or conveniently overlook the fact that it takes men and women of action, willing to make a sacrifice, to free the enslaved, to advance the cause of freedom.
Our great nation was built on the shoulders of men like your father. While the nay-sayers and cowards hid in the shadows sniveling that nothing was worth dying for, men like your dad carved our liberty away from the English, freed the slaves and kept the Union together, saved Europe from the Germans twice; rescued the Pacific away from the Japanese, defeated communism, and right now, fight terrorism and plant the seeds of democracy in the Middle East.
Your father was a warrior, but being a warrior is not always about fighting. He was patient with those he led, and he understood people make mistakes. He cared about the men he led as if they were his own family. To him, they were. His work ethic was tremendous. But he made time for his family, to enjoy life. He was balanced, at equilibrium. He was an inspiration. He was my friend.
In your future, when you are pushed against a wall, in a tight spot, outnumbered and seemingly overwhelmed, it may be tempting to give up, or even use the absence of your father as a crutch, as an excuse for failure.
Don't. Your father's passing, while tragic, serves as an endless source of your empowerment. Your father would not want you to wallow in self-pity. I know you will honor him by living your life in the positive example he set. Respect and remember him. Drive on with your lives. Serve something greater than yourself. Enjoy all the good things that life has to offer. That is what he would want.
Kiana! I have never met a more capable young lady in my life. You are the most well-read, articulate, disciplined young person I know. Often I tell people of the arm-bar you demonstrated on me in your parents' garage. When you become a worldwide Judo champion, I will say with great pride, "that woman nearly torqued my shoulder out when she was 11 years old!"
If my daughter grows up with a quarter of the strength of your principles, determination and intelligence, she will be an incredible human being. Like your mother, you are a beautiful woman, a fact of which you should be proud.
Alek! You are blessed with your father's strength of character and his unbreakable will and his broad shoulders. Your mother gave you her determination and unwavering mental toughness.
Your mother told me the story of you hanging up the sign, "Be a leader, not a follower." My eyes well up every time that I think of you doing that. My eyes fill not with tears of sadness, but of pride, to know you grasped the mindset your father passed on to you. This mindset will allow you to be a leader and protector like your father, and one day, to raise an upright, solid-as-a-rock family of your own.
When I look in your eyes, I see your father. Courageous, determined and resolute, your father embodied all that is virtuous in a warrior. Even now, you strive to embody his same character. Remember, there will never be any pressure for you to be exactly like your father. Be your own man, but build your character in his image.
Many people may be concerned about your future because of the early passing of your father. I don't worry at all. Your dad gave you all you ever need to become a great woman and a great man. I know your father would have told you to be your own hero/heroine. Don't wait for someone to rise up and lead you to victory, to your goals. If you do, you might wait for a very long time.
Ray died as a warrior, sword in hand, in service of his country, his comrades and you, his loved ones. His spirit and example give us all hope, reaffirms our faith. Your father reminds us there are men willing to fight for people that they don't even know so that all may live in peace.
I joined the Corps to serve beside men like your father. There is no other Marine I'd rather have protecting my flank in combat than your dad. Even now, as I write this letter in Iraq, I will honor him on the field of battle by slaying as many of our enemies as possible, and fight until our mission is accomplished.
You will always be in our lives. Please stay in touch. We will always be in your corner for assistance, advice or just conversation. Pam and I plan to retire in Idaho and would love for you to visit us so we can take you white-water rafting and mountain climbing.
Very Respectfully, Doug
The sad final note to this wonderful letter is that its author has gone to join his friend. Marine Maj. Doug Zembiec was killed May 11 leading a raid on Baghdad insurgents.
I am honored to have been able to read these words to you, and I will always honor the memory of men like these two Marine officers. They represent the best of America, and it is bitter indeed for us to have lost them and what else they might have brought to our nation in the future. When our country was founded, it was said that the Tree of Liberty must be watered from time to time with blood... the blood of tyrants and patriots. That's a hard view to take, but I think it was valid then, and it is valid still. Let us all be thankful for having still amongst us those who will serve, and serve well, for us.
As previously reported here and many other places, the Iraqi Army was mistaken. They captured a guy with a similar name. US Forces have confirmed that Abu Ayyub al-Masri has not been captured.
Consider this a retraction until such time that we retract the retraction. More details to follow as they trickle in.
AQI Leader, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir was nabbed by Iraqi Troops Thursday in Mosul, Iraq. Al-Masri took over al-Qaida in Iraq after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed June 7, 2006 in a U.S. airstrike.
U.S. officials said al-Masri joined an extremist group led by al-Qaida's No.2 official. He later joined al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan in 1999 and trained as a car bombing expert before traveling to Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
The AP also says this:
The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday. Mohammed al-Askari said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province.
There was no immediate confirmation or comment from U.S. forces. "The commander of Ninevah military operations informed me that Iraqi troops captured Abu Hamza al-Muhajir the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq," al-Askari told The Associated Press by telephone.
I remember a time when the War In Iraq was treated as a separate war in the greater Global War On Terror. Naturally, those of us that were not playing political football with our troops knew this simply was not true. However, during the electioneering of 2005 through 2006, all we heard from the leftist politicians and the leftists they catered and pandered to was Iraq, Iraq, Iraq, and Iraq. Now, one has to practically knock them to the ground, pin them down and begin extracting teeth with a pair of needle nose pliers to get them to talk about Iraq. All of a sudden, nearly out of the blue, if they do talk about the GWOT, somehow the conversation turns to Afghanistan. The reason(s) is(are) clear as to The Why that is.
The War In Iraq, the one of many fronts in the GWOT, is a clear success story albeit at one time that certainly was not the case. Despite all of the efforts of the socialist democrats and republicans - giving birth to the coined phrase "Leftinistra" - the Armies of the Socialist Liberal - to lose the War In Iraq in order to gain a gotcha political victory, General Petraeus turned the tide in Iraq. Anbar Awakened and turned on Al Qaeda and other associates reeking madness and mayhem within Iraq. All of 2007 was dedicated to lose the War In Iraq for political gain...the score was America 41, Democrats 0.
Since the plethora of successes in Iraq far overshadow the doom and gloom yammering of the likes of Senator Reid and his clique of disingenuous sycophants of one George Soros, the attention is more aimed at Afghanistan where NATO forces are clearly not up to speed in dealing with the enemy there. It has taken some United States Marines recently deployed to southern Afghanistan to show NATO how the job in Afghanistan needs to be done. Seeing that the fight in Afghanistan has not necessarily faltered but the advances are not what they once were, the Leftinistra are all too happy to talk about Afghanistan. Why? Clearly, it is because Afghanistan could be lost, and nothing would please the Leftinistra more, especially in an election year. The lust for power in the Democrat Party is far more important than actually winning a war we did not start. The same principles that awakened the once wild, wild west of Iraq must be applied to Afghanistan.
When the decision to apply the same Awakening Principles to Basra and Sadr City as was applied to Al Anbar Province, the same Leftinistra proclaimed the efforts to be similar to the Fall of Saigon. Clearly, that has not been the case nor shall it be - Basra's citizens have said that they feel safer now that their city has fallen to friendly forces with those forces being American and Iraqi. Sadr City has awakened and the citizens have openly expressed a hatred and distrust of the Mahdi Army and have come to accept and trust the Iraqi Army and the United States Armed Forces. If we could only win the hearts and minds of the American Leftinistra, that would be yet another victory on one more front in the GWOT, would it not?
However, it is apparent that the Leftinistra have no heart, have no soul and what is left of their minds is a subject of medical discussion as Dr Lyle H Rossiter, Jr., M.D. has so explained in his book The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness. I am sure that Captain Kirk (the character and not the liberal actor Shatner) would consider the liberal mind as the place where no man has gone before and for good reason. It certainly must be scary in there.
From Times Online: United States is drawing up plans to strike on Iranian insurgency camp
The US military is drawing up plans for a "surgical strike" against an insurgent training camp inside Iran if Republican Guards continue with attempts to destabilize Iraq, western intelligence sources said last week. One source said the Americans were growing increasingly angry at the involvement of the Guards' special-operations Quds force inside Iraq, training Shi'ite militias and smuggling weapons into the country.
Despite a belligerent stance by Vice-President Dick Cheney, the administration has put plans for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities on the back burner since Robert Gates replaced Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary in 2006, the sources said.
However, US commanders are increasingly concerned by Iranian interference in Iraq and are determined that recent successes by joint Iraqi and US forces in the southern port city of Basra should not be reversed by the Quds Force. [...]
[...] Seems to be yet another sign of growing US confidence in Iraq -- it seems we've been afraid to do this previously, fearing the response of the Iraqi Shiites. But with Maliki now getting tough with Iran, and apparently with public support, it's now on the table.
The report says that Iran may escalate the conflict if we strike their territory. I can only hope so. [...]
I agree, seeing that there has been a state of war between the USA and Iran since Jimmy Carter's Defective Administration and Iran has been fighting a proxy war with the USA in Iraq for several years now.
Cuffy at Perfunction has the video from the Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln that has arrived off the coast of Iran. It is said that they already have targets programmed - SOP - but still on the ready. Cuffy also shares links to Iranian news media which are apparently in panic mode and that they laud the socialist democrats in the USA...go figure.
This has been brewing for decades folks and it is soon coming to a head. The diplomatic efforts through the years has resulted in one thing and one thing only - the delaying of the inevitable.
~Robert~
On Friday, Vets for Freedom PAC released an advertisement featuring Iraq war veteran Sergeant Garrett Anderson. The ad points out that Senator Obama was unwilling to meet with Illinois veterans, has never met with General Petraeus, and hasn't visited Iraq in over two years. The facts are the facts, and the ad speaks for itself.
