The radical Muslims declared war on the USA 25 years ago and haven't stopped since then. After 8 years of listening to our prior president telling us that if and when the terrorists are caught they'll be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. What a joke, the truth is he didn't have the testicular fortitude to do anything for fear someone wouldn't like him. I agree that Iraq hasn't gone the way I had hoped for either but it's better than doing nothing.
I see it the exact same way as Shadow/Rene! I honestly don't know if this is the right course, but clearly SOMETHING had to be done! We couldn't just sit back. Did we open a hornets nest? You bet! Is it worth it? I really don't know. Only history will decide.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Thank you to everyone who has sent boxes and cards recently, and for the e-mails I received on September 11th. If you get nothing else from this long e-mail, you should see that HOME is a place worth fighting for. Take care everyone
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The above is the closing paragraph from a young lady, who flys Blackhawks in Iraq, to her family back here. She recently came home for 2 weeks and enjoyed the luxuries of our daily lifestyle.
The radical Muslims declared war on the USA 25 years ago and haven't stopped since then
the religious war is 1000's of years old.......the greed war is 1000's of years old.....it has all been mixed up now,, so that now we say "God has blessed us, look at all we have."
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
It appears that we are in Iraq for the long term. As long as it takes.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Tuesday, October 2, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Arguing it is unfair to continue to pass the cost of the war in Iraq to future generations, three senior House Democrats Tuesday offered a longshot plan to raise taxes to pay for the $150 billion bill for the war in 2008.
At the same time, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee announced they would delay action on the White House's war request for next year, saying he refuses "to continue the status quo."
The tax plan, unveiled by Reps. David Obey, D-Wis., John Murtha, D-Pa., and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., would require low- and middle-income taxpayers to add 2 percent to their tax bill. Wealthier people would add a 12 to 15 percent surcharge, Obey said.
Sponsors of the tax plan appeared more interested in making a point -- getting people to focus on the cost of the war -- than offering it as a serious proposal.
Top Democrats immediately shot down the idea, and it came under scathing assault from Republicans for linking funding for U.S. troops overseas with tax increases.
"Just as I have opposed the war from the outset ... I am opposed to a war surtax," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"If the new majority has proven one thing this session, it's that no piece of legislation is immune from being converted into a vehicle to raise taxes," said Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the GOP whip.
The tax surcharge sponsors said the idea is similar to policies put in place to pay for the Vietnam War and World War II. For Vietnam, surcharges equal to between 5 percent and 7.5 percent were in place between 1968 and 1970.
The move to defer action on President Bush's $189 billion war funding request until next year, also announced by Obey, appears to reflect frustration over Democrats' inability to force Bush to roll back the U.S. mission in Iraq. Obey chairs the Appropriations panel, which is responsible for war funding, and his stance seems to ensure that a stand-alone Iraq bill won't pass this year.
Murtha, chief author of the Pentagon appropriations bill, said that that measure will instead contain enough money to fund the war until February or March. Democrats hope to send that bill to Bush before a stopgap funding measure expires on Nov. 16.
The war in Iraq is costing about $10 billion a month, with Afghanistan and other missions running about $2 billion a month.
Democrats hope their chances of winning a battle with Bush on the war will be better next year, as the election season heats up and public support for Bush's war stance continues to lag.
"The showdown is going to be in January or February," McGovern said.
Democrats have also been seeking in recent weeks to contrast the approximately $190 billion cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars with the far smaller increases that they want in domestic programs. Bush has threatened to veto numerous domestic spending bills over Democratic-sought budget increases totaling $23 billion.
The war will cost future generations billions of dollars in taxes that we're shoving off on them, and it is devouring money that could be used to expand their educational opportunities, expand their job training possibilities, attack our long-term energy problems and build stronger communities," Obey said. The House on Tuesday passed legislation, by a 377-46 vote, that would require President Bush to report to Congress in 60 days, and every 90 days thereafter, on the status of its redeployment plans in Iraq.
The bill was cast by its co-sponsors, Democrats John Tanner of Tennessee and Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, as the first bipartisan compromise on the war. Republicans agreed to swing behind it because they said it encourages Pentagon contingency planning already under way and does not mandate troop withdrawals.
Also Tuesday, a group of Democratic allies, including unions and liberal advocacy groups such as MoveOn.org and Americans United for Change, announced grassroots and advertising campaigns urging Republicans to override Bush's promised veto of a bill expanding a popular children's health insurance program known as SCHIP.
The $3 million to $5 million campaign will be expanded to upcoming battles over domestic spending, including a measure boosting spending on education, health research and job training programs.
Democrats have been reluctant to wage a battle involving many appropriations bills and have instead pressed for negotiations. But Bush is spoiling for a fight to impress core GOP voters he is a budget hawk.
The Democrats' liberal wing is cheerleading for such a battle, believing voters will support additional money for popular initiatives such as education, health research and homeland security. Congressional leaders seem to now believe one can't be avoided.
"SCHIP and the battle over spending priorities is the most important fight since the showdown over privatizing Social Security," said Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "I don't think we need to remind Bush who won that battle."
Just got this e-mail. Can't tell where the exact source is.
Quoted Text
Iraqi Islamic Party says, "Al Qaeda is Defeated." O1 November 2007 Iraqi Islamic Party: "Al Qaeda is Defeated"
"Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated," according to Sheik Omar Jabouri, spokesman for the Iraqi Islamic Party and a member of the widespread and influential Jabouri Tribe. Speaking through an interpreter at a 31 October meeting at the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters in downtown Baghdad, Sheik Omar said that al Qaeda had been "defeated mentally, and therefore is defeated physically," referring to how clear it has become that the terrorist group's tactics have backfired. Operatives who could once disappear back into the crowd after committing an increasingly atrocious attack no longer find safe haven among the Iraqis who live in the southern part of Baghdad. They are being hunted down and killed. Or, if they are lucky, captured by Americans.
Colonel Ricky Gibbs, the American brigade commander with responsibility for the Rashid District in south Baghdad today told me, "So goes South Baghdad goes Baghdad." General Petraeus had told me similar things about the importance of South Baghdad. In fact, Rashid is quickly developing into what might be one of the final serious battlegrounds of the war.
During the meeting, another member of the Iraqi Islamic Party said that al Qaeda has changed its strategy now that fomenting civil war between Sunni and Shia has backfired. Al Qaeda has shifted targets, now trying to generate friction between tribes. This time, however, the tribes are onto the game early, and they are not playing.
Sheik Omar, who has gained the respect of American combat leaders for his intelligence and organizational skills, said the tough line against al Qaeda is also enforced at the tribal level. According to Sheik Omar, the Jabouri tribe, too, is actively committed to destroying al Qaeda. So much so, that Jabouri tribal leaders have decided they would "kill their own sons" if any aided al Qaeda. To underscore the point, he went on to say that about 70 Jabouri "sons" had been killed by the Jabouri tribe so far.
In addition to brigade commander Colonel Ricky Gibbs, four of his battalion commanders were also present: Lieutenant Colonels James Crider, Patrick Frank, Stephen Michael and Myron Reinehe. Sheik Omar expressed deep gratitude for their assistance.
Omar's influence extends beyond tribal and party levels, to include important channels within the Iraqi government and the US military in Baghdad, as evidenced by the agenda of the hours-long meeting. But for the talk about al Qaeda, the focus was mostly on other topics, such as returning displaced persons to their homes, efficiently delivering basic services and jumpstarting the economy. In fact, more and more meetings in Iraq are turning to day-to-day business, and less time is required on military and security topics like targeting and addressing intelligence-type matters, which until recently monopolized most meetings across Iraq.
Michael Yon does not receive funding or financial support from Fox News, or from any network, movie, book or television deals at this time. He is entirely reader supported. He relies on his readers to help him replace his equipment and cover his expenses so that he may remain in Iraq and bring you the stories of our soldiers. If you value his work, please consider supporting his mission.
Late last year, violence was rising in Iraq and President Bush was on the defensive. He’d made serious mistakes in the war, and he had taken too long to admit them and change course. Finally, Bush shook up his military leadership and ordered a new strategy: a surge of troops to Iraq in what looked to be a last-ditch effort to tamp down the violence. It’s working. By every measure, life is improving in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. The signs of progress are undeniable. Now it seems like Democratic leaders in Congress are trapped in a time warp. They said a year ago the surge was doomed to fail. They were wrong, yet even in light of recent military success, they still demand the president set a timetable for troop withdrawal. They’re still trying to enshrine that in law. --Chicago Tribune
Armed American Troops Force Iraqis to Seesaw Until They Talk!
Iraqi Child Bites GI In Self Defense After Obvious Torture!
GI Falls Asleep On Duty While Using Iraqi Child As Body Armor!
GI Overheard to say "Talk or I'll tickle you till you pee!" More Evidence Of Failed US Intelligence Policy.
Soldier Attempts to Eat Iraqi Child !
Clear Evidence of Forced Labor by Troops!
Iraqis Grateful That American Forces Did Not Open Fire During Soccer Game!
Soldier Caught At "Tickle-Torture" To Extract Intelligence!
GI Forces Iraqi Child To Hang By Fingertips!
No comment here. There's nothing funny about this one.
May the good Lord bless every one of our troops wherever they are!
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
Pray for our Marines, soldiers, sailors, coast guard, and airmen..
"Dear Heavenly Father, Hold our troupes in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.
Please stop a moment and say a prayer for our troupes (land, air, and sea) in Afghanistan, Kuwait , Iraq and all around the world. This can be very powerful.... .
Of all the gifts you could give our U.S.. Military, Prayer is the very best one!
Because the liberal media will no way show this information. It just may make the reps look good! God forbid!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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