Kabul still not "Baghdad"

KABUL (Reuters) - While President Hamid Karzai may have narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in central Kabul on Sunday, in many ways the Afghan capital is remarkably calm and orderly for a city in the midst of war.

With the winter past and spring sunshine bathing the surrounding mountains and tree-lined streets, one could be forgiven for thinking a healthy ceasefire was in force if it were not for the checkpoints, very occasional gunfire, and heavy security surrounding government buildings and embassies.

Sunday's dramatic attack by a group of Taliban militants on a military parade, killing three and alarming Karzai and invited foreign dignitaries, was a powerful reminder of the deadly threat insurgents can land in the heart of Kabul.

But by comparison with Baghdad, that other capital at the centre of a war zone where U.S. and British forces are trying to quell an insurgency, Kabul feels far more stable and at ease considering the years of conflict it has suffered.

For foreigners in Kabul, the fact they can jump in cars and drive around, take walks in the evening and go out to restaurants

-- even though a five-star hotel was hit by a suicide attack in January -- immediately sets it apart from Baghdad.

In Iraq, the threat of kidnapping or car bombings -- which also occur in Kabul -- makes venturing outside a potentially lethal exercise that most avoid except under the most pressing of circumstances.

Baghdad has become a city of concrete, with 14-foot (four meter) anti-blast walls surrounding many buildings, offices and ministries, blocking off whole streets or districts, and turning even straight-forward journeys into confusing mazes.

It is not uncommon to see heavily armed U.S. troops, backed by armored vehicles and low-flying helicopters, carrying out raids in central Baghdad, fingers nervously on triggers.

By contrast in Kabul, Afghan security forces are the major presence on the streets, politely manning checkpoints, running night-time checks on drivers and even enforcing traffic regulations, although many locals still ignore them.

"Having lived in both Kabul and Baghdad, I can say with certainty that it's very, very different," said a British diplomat, explaining how it would be inconceivable to drive oneself around Baghdad or meet an Iraqi contact at a restaurant, both of which are eminently doable in Kabul.

"People here live in a very normal way. They have dinner parties, they drive or walk around. You can live without excessive levels or security, without a small army having to protect you, as is the case in Baghdad."

RED IS FOR STOP

A surprising recent development on a busy junction in one well-off district of central Kabul has been the installation of a traffic light. As far as long-term residents of the city know, it is the first to be installed in the past six years.

At first no one paid any attention to it. But with a little strict monitoring by whistle-blowing traffic police, the light is now enjoying some success, to the amusement of Kabulis.

The light even has an electronic display telling drivers how long they have to wait until it turns green again, and pedestrians how long they have to cross the road before the onslaught of traffic resumes. For the record, it's 53 seconds.

In Baghdad, the traffic lights that do exist have long since fallen into disrepair or been shot to bits. One resident of the city says her eight-year-old son learned about traffic lights in kindergarten, "and has always dreamed since of seeing one."

To a large extent the difference in the security situation between the cities is explained by the nature of the conflicts.

The Taliban have always had, and continue to have, a strong presence across southern Afghanistan, but have struggled to gain a foothold in the capital.

In Baghdad, Sunni and Shia Muslims both have large populations in the city, fuelling the sectarian side of the conflict, with the city now divided up by competing factions.

The possibility of more intense violence in Kabul -- like Sunday's attack and a suicide bombing on a luxury hotel in January -- always remains. But for the moment, at least, it is a city enjoying the bounties of spring with relative calm.

(REUTERS)

US Marines take on the Taliban!!

OUTSIDE GARMSER, Afghanistan - U.S. Marines in helicopters and Humvees flooded into a Taliban-held town in southern Afghanistan's most violent province early Tuesday, the first major American operation in the region in years.

Several hundred Marines pushed into the town of Garmser in predawn light in an operation to drive out militants, stretching NATO's presence into an area littered with poppy fields and classified as Taliban territory.

Helmand province is the world's largest opium poppy growing region and has been a flashpoint of the increasingly violent insurgency the last two years. British troops — who are responsible for Helmand — have faced fierce battles on the north end of Helmand.

U.S. commanders say Taliban fighters had been expecting an assault and were setting up improvised explosive devices. It wasn't known how much resistance the Marines would face in Garmser, where the British have a small base at the town's edge but whose main marketplace is closed because of the Taliban threat.

Maj. Tom Clinton, the American commander at Forward Operating Base Dwyer, a British outpost 10 miles west of Garmser, said the Taliban had undoubtedly seen the Marines moving into the area in recent days.

But he said the fact that the Marines were assaulting the town by helicopter and were moving through by foot was likely a surprise.

"There's all kinds of reports of (Taliban) commanders telling their guys to grab their stuff and get out there" to fight, said Clinton, 36, of Swampscott, Massachusetts. "It's no secret they know we're here. It's just a question of when and where" an assault would happen.

The Marines' mission is the first carried out by U.S. forces this far south in Helmand province in years. An operation late last year to take back the Taliban-held town of Musa Qala on the north end of Helmand involved U.S., British and Afghan forces.

The assault — backed by U.S. artillery in the desert and fighter aircraft in the sky — is the first major task undertaken by the 2,300 Marines in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which arrived last month from Camp Lejuene, North Carolina for a seven-month deployment. Another 1,200 Marines arrived to train Afghan police.

Most U.S. troops operate in the east, along the border with Pakistan. Britain, with 7,500 troops, and Canada, with 2,500 troops in neighboring Kandahar province, have not had enough manpower to tame the south.

More than 8,000 people died in insurgency related violence last year. Militants set off more than 140 suicide bombs. Taliban fighters have been increasingly relying on roadside bombs and suicide attacks after being routed in force-on-force battles in the past.

Many of the men in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit served in 2006 and 2007 in Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province in western Iraq. The vast region was once al-Qaida in Iraq's stronghold before the militants were pushed out in early 2007.

One Marine in Charlie Company, Corp. Matt Gregorio, a 26-year-old from Boston, alluded to the fact the Marines have been in Afghanistan for six weeks without carrying out any missions. He said the mood was "anxious, excited."

"We've been waiting a while to get this going," he said.

(AP)

Shillary, not Hussein, leads McCain by 9 points.

AP Poll: Clinton leads McCain by 9 points
Be careful of what you wish for....

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton now leads John McCain by 9 points in a head-to-head presidential matchup, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that bolsters her argument that she is more electable than Democratic rival Barack Obama. Obama and Republican McCain are running about even.

The survey released Monday gives the New York senator and former first lady a fresh talking point as she works to raise much-needed campaign cash and persuade pivotal undecided superdelegates to side with her in the drawn-out Democratic primary fight.

Helped by independents, young people and seniors, Clinton gained ground this month in a hypothetical match with Sen. McCain, the GOP nominee-in-waiting. She now leads McCain, 50 percent to 41 percent, while Obama remains virtually tied with McCain, 46 percent to 44 percent.

Both Democrats were roughly even with McCain in the previous poll about three weeks ago.

Since then, Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary, raising questions anew about whether Obama can attract broad swaths of voters needed to triumph in such big states come the fall when the Democratic nominee will go up against McCain. At the same time, Obama was thrown on the defensive by his comment that residents of small-town America were bitter. The Illinois senator also continued to deal with the controversial remarks of his longtime Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

"I don't think there's any question that over the last three weeks her stature has improved," said Harrison Hickman, a Democratic pollster unaligned in the primary. He attributed Clinton's gains to people moving from the "infatuation stage" of choosing the candidate they like the most to a "decision-making stage" where they determine who would make the best president.

Added Steve Lombardo, a GOP pollster: "This just reinforces the sentiment that a lot of Republican strategists are having right now — that Clinton might actually be the more formidable fall candidate for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that Obama can't seem to get his footing back."

The AP-Ipsos poll found Clinton and Obama about even in the race for the Democratic nomination. Underscoring deep divisions within the Democratic Party — and a potentially negative longer-term impact — 30 percent of Clinton supporters and 21 percent of Obama supporters said they would vote for McCain in November if their preferred candidate didn't win the nomination.

Obama leads Clinton in pledged delegates, but she has the advantage among superdelegates with about a third yet to make up their minds.

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that one of the two must drop out of the race after the primary season wraps up in June so Democrats can unite before the late-summer convention and the fall campaign.

He also urged undecided superdelegates — members of the Democratic National Committee as well as Democratic governors and members of Congress — to side with either Clinton or Obama before the August convention so the party can come together to take on McCain. The Arizona senator clinched the GOP nomination last month and has been campaigning freely since.

Also on Monday, the head of the Republicans' House campaign committee said the party would rather face Obama in November because the GOP believes Clinton would be more of a threat to McCain among moderate voters.

Said Tom Cole, a congressman from Oklahoma: Obama "is by any definition very liberal, to the left of Hillary Clinton, in a center-right country. That is very, very helpful to us."

Nearly half the people in the AP-Ipsos poll said the protracted Democratic primary will hurt their party's chances in November; more Obama supporters than Clinton backers said they had that fear.

Overall, people said they trusted Clinton and Obama about the same to handle Iraq and the economy; McCain got similar ratings on Iraq but trailed both Democrats on the economy. And while roughly the same percentage of people said they trusted both Democrats to understand their problems, fewer trusted McCain.

When pitted against McCain, Clinton now wins among independents, 50 percent to 34 percent, when just a few weeks ago she ran about even with him with this crucial group of voters. Clinton also now does better among independents than Obama does in a matchup with McCain.

Clinton has a newfound edge among seniors, too, 51 percent to 39 percent; McCain had previously had the advantage. And, Clinton has improved her margin over McCain among people under age 30; two-thirds of them now side with her. McCain leads Obama among seniors, while Obama leads McCain among those under 30 but by a smaller margin than Clinton does.

She also now leads among Catholics, always an important swing voting group in a general election, and improved her standing in the South as well as in cities and among families making under $25,000 a year. But she lost ground among families making between $50,000 and $100,000; they narrowly support McCain.

The poll, taken April 23-27, questioned 1,001 adults nationally, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. Included were interviews with 457 Democratic voters and people leaning Democratic, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.6 points, and 346 Republicans or GOP-leaning voters, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5.3 points.

From the AP: Bush tweaks candidates at correspondents' dinner

US President George W. Bush (R) delivers humorous remarks at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, April 26, 2008. Also pictured are US Vice President Dick Cheney (3rd L) and Jennifer Loven of Associated Press (2nd L).

WASHINGTON - President Bush poked fun at his potential successors Saturday night, expressing surprise that none of them were in the audience at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner.

"Senator McCain's not here," Bush said of GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain. "He probably wanted to distance himself from me a little bit. You know, he's not alone. Jenna's moving out too."

Bush then referred to scandals that have dogged the campaigns of the two remaining Democratic candidates, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, in explaining their absence: "Hillary Clinton couldn't get in because of sniper fire and Senator Obama's at church."

During the ongoing campaign, Clinton mistakenly claimed to have landed under sniper fire in Bosnia as first lady. Obama's longtime Chicago pastor has been criticized for his negative comments about America.

The president admitted to being "a little wistful" in his final appearance at the dinner, showing video clips of his routines from previous years. He finished by conducting the U.S. Marine Band in a medley of patriotic marches.

Bush was followed by Craig Ferguson, the host of CBS' "Late Late Show."

The Scottish-born Ferguson found middle ground between the tepid impersonations of last year's entertainer, Rich Little, and the merciless satire that Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert delivered in 2006.

Ferguson, who became a U.S. citizen in February, asked Bush what he was going to do after leaving office, then suggested, "You could look for a job with more vacation time." The president has drawn criticism for the amount of time he has spent away from the White House during his presidency.

Vice President Dick Cheney, Ferguson said, "is already moving out of his residence. It takes longer than you think to pack up an entire dungeon."

The guest list for the dinner included plenty of VIPs from outside the Beltway: Actors Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, John Cusack, Pamela Anderson and Claire Danes, singers Ashlee Simpson and the Jonas Brothers and author Salman Rushdie were among the invitees. Washington's power elite was still well represented, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in attendance.

During the event, the White House Correspondents' Association presented its annual awards, announced earlier this month, to:

• Deb Riechmann of The Associated Press and Ed Henry of CNN, the Merriman Smith Award, the top journalism award for White House reporting under deadline pressure.

Riechmann, the winner in the print category, won for her coverage of President Bush's trip to Iraq's Anbar province last September. Henry won for reporting on the Bush administration's contradicting assertions that top Iranian officials had authorized sending improvised explosive devices to Iraq.

• Alexis Simendinger of the National Journal, the Aldo Beckman Award for sustained excellence in White House coverage. The judges recognized her for breaking the story about the use of Republican National Committee e-mail accounts by some White House officials.

• Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporters Paul Shukovsky, Tracy Johnson and Daniel Lathrop, the Edgar A. Poe Award for excellence in coverage of news of national or regional significance. In a series of articles, "The Terrorism Trade-Off," they revealed a major shift by the FBI away from white-collar crimes as it ramped up its pursuit of suspected terrorists.

The White House Correspondents Association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the press and the president. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner.

The Importance of the Bush Doctrine!

Destroy Iran's nukes to save our cities
One of the most terrifying possibilities the world faces is that al-Qa'eda, or some other Islamist group, gets hold of a nuclear bomb. Islamist terrorists are certainly trying to obtain one: Osama bin Laden has issued a document entitled "The Nuclear Bomb of Islam", which insists it is "the duty" of Muslims to acquire a nuclear bomb in order to use "as much force as possible to terrorise the enemies of God".

The Foreign Office's senior counter-terrorist official has "no doubt at all" that Islamist terrorists are actively seeking a nuclear device. "There are people" he adds dryly, "for whom exploding a nuclear bomb in a city would be a triumph for the cause."

A 10 kiloton nuclear bomb would be a relatively small one by today's standards, but a 10 kiloton explosion in a city would mean that, from the centre of the blast for a distance of one third of a mile, every structure above ground level would be obliterated and every person would be killed instantly.

For the next third of a mile, the city would look like the weird moonscape which Berlin had become by the end of World War Two, after almost a year of Allied bombing raids.

And for a third of mile beyond that circle of hell, buildings and people would burn, both with flames and the effects of radiation.

To consider that outcome is to realise that it must be prevented. But how? Deterrence - the threat that if you detonate a nuclear bomb in our country, we will retaliate in kind on yours - has so far prevented nuclear war between nations. The only time nuclear bombs have been used, it was against a country without the capacity to retaliate.

Deterrence, however, depends on your enemy having cities and a population that can be threatened with obliteration.

The problem is that terrorist organisations have neither. They are simply groups of individuals with no responsibility for, and no control over, a state or its population.

Deterrence breaks down as a consequence. If they could get hold of a nuclear bomb, Islamist terrorists would have every incentive to use it to cause as much destruction as possible in an "enemy" country such as Britain or America - and there's no threat we can brandish to stop them.

Which means that the over-arching aim of the civilised world must be to ensure that they cannot get hold of a nuclear bomb, because that is the only way we can protect ourselves against nuclear terrorism.

The most powerful argument against allowing nuclear proliferation is that the more countries that have the bomb, the more likely it is that one will end up in the hands of terrorists.

Nuclear bombs are still, mercifully, beyond the capacity of terrorist groups to engineer for themselves: a terrorist organisation would have to get one from a government.

When the governments trying to acquire the technology for making nuclear bombs are known to train and supply Islamist terrorist groups - as Syria and Iran, for example, certainly do - the importance of preventing them obtaining the capacity to make such bombs is overwhelming.

That is why the Israelis destroyed Syria's "not for peaceful means" nuclear facility last September, and why the rest of the world acquiesced in the destruction, which broke international law and had no United Nations resolution.

It is also why the US continues to send signals to Iran that it will not oppose, indeed might even join in, any attempt by Israel to hit Iran's fledgling nuclear facilities: sending precisely that signal must have been at least part of the point of last week's very public announcement that the Israeli raid on Syria's putative nuclear bomb factory had been successful.

Governments can perhaps be deterred from leaking nuclear weapons to terrorist groups by the thought of what the Americans would do to them if there were a nuclear explosion in an American city and the construction of the fatal bomb could be traced back to, say, Iran or Syria.

The Americans have not been shy about letting those governments know what would happen. As one US official put it to me: "We would totally obliterate the country responsible" - a phrase echoed by Hillary Clinton when she said the US would "totally obliterate" Iran if that country was responsible for a nuclear attack even on Israel, never mind America.

Governments, however, are not always able to control all their members. Some members of the Iranian administration might not be deterred by the prospect of nuclear armageddon (indeed, some seem to welcome it). Which means that the only way to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists it to keep them out of the hands of national governments who might give them to terrorists.

If Iran builds a nuclear bomb factory, you can be sure that Israel will try to destroy it. You can also be sure that, when it happens, the rest of the world will not object.

Patriot Guard Welcomes Home Matt Maupin

From PatDollard.Com: An American Hero Comes Home

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

VIDEO: U.S. NAVY - War on Terror - MUST SEE

Iraqi Army rescues captured journalist in Basra

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi military says a British journalist kidnapped two months ago in the southern city of Basra has been rescued.

Basra security commander Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Fireji says the journalist was rescued and a group of kidnappers were captured in an afternoon raid.

CBS has said the journalist worked for the television network but has not otherwise identified him.

The journalist and his Iraqi interpreter were kidnapped in mid-February in Basra. The interpreter was later released.

(Source)

REUTERS: Iraq to seek parliamentary approval for long-term U.S. pact

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will seek parliamentary approval for a strategic agreement being negotiated with the United States even though it expects heated debate over the deal, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said.

U.S. and Iraqi officials began talks last month on a strategic framework agreement that defines long-term bilateral ties and a separate "status of forces" deal outlining rules and protections governing U.S. military activity in Iraq.

The issue has become highly charged in Washington, with members of Congress saying it could tie the hands of the next administration by locking the United States into a long-term military presence in Iraq and arguing Congress should give its consent.

Zebari, speaking to Reuters on Sunday, said the first round of negotiations had been completed.

U.S. and Iraqi officials in Baghdad have said they aim to finish negotiations by July, well before the next U.S. president is elected on November 4.

"There isn't any hidden agenda here. This agreement will be transparent, it has to be presented to the representatives of the Iraqi people, the parliament, to ratify it," he said.

"I'm sure there will be some heated political debate when we come to that but I think on the other hand there is a strong will by the mainstream leadership in this country that this is for Iraq's good. We need that continued engagement."

The deal is sure to be rejected by the movement of anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which has 30 seats in the 275-member parliament. Sadr pulled his movement out of the government last year over Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's refusal to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has repeatedly said it will keep Congress informed about the negotiations but not ask for its agreement.

Both Republican and Democrat senators said last week they may try to force the White House to seek its approval.

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, told Congress last week that the deal would not establish permanent bases in Iraq nor specify the number of forces to be stationed in Iraq.

Zebari said both sides hoped to meet that deadline, adding talks would resume soon. The first round was highly technical, he said, without giving details.

U.S. forces operate in Iraq under a United Nations mandate that expires at the end of 2008. Iraq does not want that mandate extended, so the two governments must agree guidelines to allow U.S. forces to remain beyond the end of this year.

(Reuters)

FASHION round-up.

 
Hey, anyone remember the Limelight Pendant Necklace from Dior? It's so last year but it's the cutest thing ever. It's up on Vivre and it reminds me of why I love Dior so much: It's so damn glamorous.
Anyway, Urban Decay's glitter liner is so tacky, but seventeen year old kids keep wearin' it! C'mon kids! We all know that mixing five thousand pounds of glitter with fifteen layers of make-up foundation is a risk no one should take. The end result can be extremely unattractive. Haven't you learned anything from Xtina's disastrous Viva Glam campaign?


Ya know, folks like Cher and Xtina Aguilera aren't exactly the style gurus we should be lookin' up to. Unless you think drag queens are lovely.

Tank tops
 
So there's this weird Butterfly Tank by Borbonese. I'm not sure what to think about it... butterflies sure are purdy, but the other winged creatures featured on the shirt make my skin crawl. I wouldn't drop $450 for this one. As for Kai Milla's Knotted Rope Tank, I know it's trying to be different... but it's just not working. That ropey thing doesn't make it worth $390 bucks either.

How Britain and Canada treats its heroes...

They serve the same Queen, fight the same foe and lay down their lives with equal valour and sacrifice.

But when the fallen heroes of Canada and Britain come home, the welcome is very different.

At airbases in both countries there is only sombre respect.

But today The Mail on Sunday publishes extraordinary pictures that contrast the final road journeys: in Canada, there is a police escort and crowds line the route; in Britain, the hearses are denied outriders and go unremarked.


Shameful: In Canada, (above), roads are cleared and police stand to attention to welcome home fallen heroes. In Britain, (below) hearses carrying our war dead routinely get stuck in traffic without even so much as a police escort


Coffins carrying the Canadian soldiers' bodies are driven 107 miles from the airbase at Trenton, Ontario, to a coroner's office in Toronto; in Britain the trip is 50 miles from RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire, to the morgue at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

In Canada the road is cleared and a police escort of several squad cars ensures a smooth passage as onlookers pay tribute and police and fire officers salute.

But in Britain most of the journey is spent ignored and stuck in traffic – because Thames Valley Police refuse to provide an escort as they "focus on community safety rather than ceremonial roles".

Last night MP Quentin Davies, who is heading a Ministry of Defence study into strengthening public support for Britain's Armed Forces, labelled the failure to provide an escort for our war dead "despicable".

Other Service personnel and police from other Forces concur.

The intensely moving pictures of the Canadian repatriation are being emailed among British soldiers and have been posted on the internet.

Canada currently has 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and has so far lost 82. Britain has lost 91 from a total of 7,800.

The series of pictures includes emotional scenes last year when six Canadian soldiers were flown home.

Captain Jefferson Francis, 36, Captain Matthew Dawe, 27, Master Cpl Colin Bason, 28, Corporal Cole Bartsch, 23, Corporal Jordan Anderson, 25, and Private Lane Watkins, 20, were killed together in their armoured vehicle by a massive roadside bomb near Kandahar.

Along the entire route, on 50 motorway bridges, at roadsides, intersections, on the sides of roads, in fields and even on the central barrier of the busy motorway, local people, firefighters and police stood to attention, Royal Canadian Legionnaires lowered flags and whole families proudly waved "We support our troops" placards.

The spectacle was so striking that the highway, part of which was known as the Queen Elizabeth Way, has now been renamed the Highway of Heroes.

Since then, every body travelling along the Highway of Heroes has been greeted by hundreds of ordinary Canadians who often wait for hours in the bitter Ontario winter to show their respect and support.

Lieutenant Colonel Jim Legere, Provost Marshal for the 1st Canadian Air Division Headquarters, wrote of one such journey in a letter to a Toronto newspaper.

He said: "Although words cannot possibly do justice to this heart-wrenching experience, I thought it important for you to be aware of the overwhelming – and I mean overwhelming – support provided by law enforcement, fire services, ambulance services and, indeed, the public at large, for this very solemn occasion.

"I could not believe my eyes as we made the solemn journey from Trenton to the coroner's office in Toronto.

"Every on-ramp had a police vehicle blocking traffic, with members standing by the vehicles saluting.

"Entire police detachments stood along the route, saluting in front of their vehicles.

"Fire halls had their trucks out, with their members in full dress uniform out front paying respects to our comrades.

"People stopped their cars along the side of the road, got out and saluted or held their hands over their hearts.

"As we neared downtown, the streets were lined with crowds waving Canadian flags and paying their respects.

"The outpouring of support for our fallen heroes and their families was beyond belief."

Lt Col Legere's letter concluded: "Never before have I been as proud to wear this uniform."

More at the Daily Mail...

Iraqis rising against Iranian militias

Washington Times:
Iraqi militias feeling pushback

Tribal leaders in southern Iraq are starting to push back against Iranian-supported militias in Basra, cracking their hold over the economically crucial province, Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker said yesterday at two separate roundtable interviews with reporters.

The militia led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr "is something that has to be dealt with," said Gen. Petraeus at a meeting with reporters at the Pentagon.

"The population has turned against the militia in most areas in Basra. Interestingly, it has turned against them in a number of areas in Baghdad as well," the top U.S. commander in Iraq said, though he cautioned that turning against the militias does not necessarily mean that the population "will act on it."

Mr. Crocker said he had returned from a recent visit "sobered by the extent ... the militias had free rein in Basra."

The U.S. envoy added that he got "an earful" of complaints from southern sheiks about the behavior of the militias, who are believed to be influenced and supplied by Iran.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "tapped into this" frustration and the Iraqis now are "standing up tribal lines as contract security forces" to help battle the Shi'ite militias, Mr. Crocker said, although he did not say whether these tribal forces had participated in the battles in Basra in the last two weeks.

Meanwhile, in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, gunmen yesterday killed a senior aide to Sheik al-Sadr, a pro-Iran cleric who nominally controls militias from Basra to Baghdad that are clashing with U.S. and coalition forces.

The aide, Riyadh al-Nouri, was killed as he drove home after attending prayers. Authorities in Najaf immediately announced a citywide curfew and deployed security forces on the streets, the Associated Press reported.

other news
Petraeus' 'Anaconda'
The Anaconda chart is a complex graphic that depicts an intricate, multidimensional war. It's tough to describe even with a copy in front of you. However, the strategic concept behind Gen. Petraeus' chart (titled "Anaconda Strategy versus al Qaeda in Iraq") is dirt simple: Squeeze and keep squeezing.

A commercial artist would certainly describe the chart as "too busy," but war isn't an exercise in aesthetics.

The Anaconda Strategy identifies six routes of attack on al Qaeda in Iraq:

(1) Kinetics (which includes combat).

(2) Politics (which includes countering ethno-sectarian pressures and Iraqi political reconciliation).

(3) Intelligence (operations from air recon to intel assessment).

(4) Detainee ops (which includes counterinsurgency in detention facilities).

Clinton Portrays Herself as a Pro-Gun Churchgoer

lol! I think this comment from a poster said it all:

Well, her husband was the first Black president, she was half Mexican when she was in Texas, and against NAFTA when in Ohio, so we should not be surprised to learn she is also a gun totting Church goer too…under sniper fire.

— Posted by x32792

VALPARAISO, Ind. - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton managed to co-opt Mr. Obama’s message of hope and optimism, beginning a speech in Valparaiso, Ind., by talking about how positive and “fundamentally optimistic” Americans are.

“We don’t get bogged down and looking back – we’re always looking forward,” she said, as heavy applause nearly drowned out her words. “Whatever obstacle we see, we get over it. Whatever challenge we have, we meet it. We’re the problem-solvers, we’re the innovators, we’re the people who make the better future.”

For the third time since Mr. Obama’s remarks were made public Friday night, Mrs. Clinton criticized him at length, saying his comments seemed “kind of elitist and out of touch.”

“I disagree with Senator Obama’s assertion that people in our country cling to guns and have certain attitudes about immigration or trade simply out of frustration,” she said.

She described herself as a pro-gun churchgoer, recalling that her father taught her how to shoot a gun when she was a young girl and said that her faith “is the faith of my parents and my grandparents.”

Source: The Caucus

other shillary news
Hillary '99: Clinton Appeals For Gun Control Lobbying

Alicia Keys- Conspiracy theorist?

From PatDollard.Com

NEW YORK (AP) - There’s another side to Alicia Keys: conspiracy theorist. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter tells Blender magazine: “‘Gangsta rap’ was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. ‘Gangsta rap’ didn’t exist.”

Keys, 27, said she’s read several Black Panther autobiographies and wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck “to symbolize strength, power and killing ‘em dead,” according to an interview in the magazine’s May issue, on newsstands Tuesday.

Another of her theories: That the bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled “by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing.”

Keys’ AK-47 jewelry came as a surprise to her mother, who is quoted as telling Blender: “She wears what? That doesn’t sound like Alicia.” Keys’ publicist, Theola Borden, said Keys was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Though she’s known for her romantic tunes, she told Blender that she wants to write more political songs. If black leaders such as the late Black Panther Huey Newton “had the outlets our musicians have today, it’d be global. I have to figure out a way to do it myself,” she said.

The multiplatinum songstress behind the hits “Fallin’” and “No One” most recently had success with her latest CD, “As I Am,” which sold millions

Obama f*cks up again!

REUTERS: Clinton attacks Obama for small-town voter remarks

..."You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama was quoted as saying by the Huffington Post.

"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he said.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton criticized presidential rival Barack Obama on Friday for describing small-town Pennsylvania residents as bitter and said she would help economically struggling communities, not look down on them.

Clinton, whose once big Pennsylvania lead over Obama in opinion polls has been shrinking ahead of their April 22 primary election showdown, said residents in small towns suffering from job losses across the state were resilient and optimistic.

"Pennsylvania doesn't need a president who looks down on them," she said at a rally in Philadelphia. "They need a president who stands up for them, who fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your families."

Obama, an Illinois senator, was reported to have told a crowd at a San Francisco fundraiser earlier this week he understood why the struggles of residents in towns hard hit by manufacturing job losses would make them bitter.

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama was quoted as saying by the Huffington Post.

"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he said.

Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, once led Obama by double digits in Pennsylvania, the next battleground in their hard-fought battle for the Democratic nomination to face Republican John McCain in November's presidential election.

That lead has slowly dwindled to about 4 to 6 points in several recent polls in a state that has struggled from job losses and has a big population of blue-collar voters who have been Clinton's biggest backers.

APRIL 22 PRIMARY

A loss in Pennsylvania would almost surely doom Clinton's uphill race to catch Obama, who leads in delegates who will select the nominee at the August convention.

A McCain aide, Steve Schmidt, also criticized Obama for the comments, telling Politico newspaper "it shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking."

The Obama campaign did not comment on their candidate's remarks, but responded to both attacks by saying Americans are upset with politicians for saying anything but failing to fight against special interests.

"And if John McCain wants a debate about who's out of touch with the American people, we can start by talking about the tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans that he once said offended his conscience but now wants to make permanent," spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

Clinton, whose father is from Pennsylvania, said in Philadelphia she had a lot of affection for the state and enjoyed traveling through it.

"It's being reported that my opponent said that the people of Pennsylvania who faced hard times are bitter. Well, that's not my experience," she said.

"As I travel around Pennsylvania, I meet people who are resilient, who are optimistic, who are positive, who are rolling up their sleeves. They are working hard everyday for a better future, for themselves and their children," she said.

The Huffington Post reported Obama said the loss of jobs in states like Pennsylvania had continued in the 1990s through the administration of Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.

"They fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate, and they have not," he said.

Clinton said she heard her opponents make a lot of negative comments about the 1990s, generally a time of strong economic growth in the United States.

"What about the 1990s didn't they like?" she asked. "The peace or the prosperity?"

AP: McCain erases Obama's lead

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. John McCain has erased Sen. Barack Obama's 10-point advantage in a head-to-head matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates in an Associated Press-Ipsos national poll released Thursday.

The survey showed the extended Democratic primary campaign creating divisions among supporters of Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and suggests a tight race for the presidency in November no matter which Democrat becomes the nominee.

McCain is benefiting from a bounce since he clinched the GOP nomination a month ago. The four-term Arizona senator has moved up in matchups with each of the Democratic candidates, particularly Obama.

An AP-Ipsos poll taken in late February had Obama leading McCain 51-41 percent. The current survey, conducted April 7-9, had them at 45 percent each. McCain leads Obama among men, whites, Southerners, married women and independents.

Clinton led McCain, 48-43 percent, in February. The latest survey showed the New York senator with 48 percent support to McCain's 45 percent. Factoring in the poll's margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, Clinton and McCain are statistically tied.

The last month has been challenging for Obama. The Illinois senator suffered high-profile losses in the Texas and Ohio primaries that encouraged Clinton, who pushed on even harder against him. Obama's campaign also suffered a blow with scrutiny of incendiary sermons delivered by his longtime pastor. The candidate responded by delivering perhaps the biggest speech of his campaign to call for racial understanding.

Obama is also facing almost daily critiques from Clinton and McCain, questioning whether the freshman lawmaker has the experience to be a wartime leader.

Despite all the conflict surrounding Obama, the Democratic contest is unchanged from February with Obama at 46 percent and Clinton at 43 percent. But the heated primary is creating divisions among the electorate — many Clinton and Obama supporters say they would rather vote for McCain if their chosen Democrat doesn't win the nomination.

About a quarter of Obama supporters say they'll vote for McCain if Clinton is the Democratic nominee. About a third of Clinton supporters say they would vote for McCain if it's Obama.

Against McCain, Obama lost ground among women — from 57 percent in February to 47 percent in April. Obama dropped 12 points among women under 45, 14 points among suburban women and 15 points among married women.

He also lost nine points or more among voters under 35, high-income households, whites, Catholics, independents, Southerners, people living in the Northeast and those with a high school education or less.

Although the race between Clinton and Obama remained unchanged, there were a few shifts in whom voters are choosing:

• The gender gap has mostly disappeared, with Clinton losing her advantage among women. In February, 51 percent of Democratic women supported Clinton while 38 percent were for Obama. Now they're statistically tied at 44 percent for Clinton, 42 percent for Obama. That is partially offset by a decline in male support for Obama, down 7 points to 50 percent, while Clinton gained 10 points among men. She is now at 42 percent.

• Obama and Clinton are now statistically about even among households earning under $50,000. In late February, Clinton led 54 percent to 37 percent, but now it is just 48 percent to 41 percent.

• Obama now leads Clinton among self-described moderate Democrats, 51 percent to 35 percent. Previously they were 45 percent Clinton, 40 percent Obama.

The poll questioned 1,005 adults nationally. Included were interviews with 489 Democratic voters and people leaning Democratic, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 points; and 369 Republicans or GOP-leaning voters, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5.1 points. WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. John McCain has erased Sen. Barack Obama's 10-point advantage in a head-to-head matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates in an Associated Press-Ipsos national poll released Thursday.

The survey showed the extended Democratic primary campaign creating divisions among supporters of Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and suggests a tight race for the presidency in November no matter which Democrat becomes the nominee.

McCain is benefiting from a bounce since he clinched the GOP nomination a month ago. The four-term Arizona senator has moved up in matchups with each of the Democratic candidates, particularly Obama.

An AP-Ipsos poll taken in late February had Obama leading McCain 51-41 percent. The current survey, conducted April 7-9, had them at 45 percent each. McCain leads Obama among men, whites, Southerners, married women and independents.

Clinton led McCain, 48-43 percent, in February. The latest survey showed the New York senator with 48 percent support to McCain's 45 percent. Factoring in the poll's margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, Clinton and McCain are statistically tied.

The last month has been challenging for Obama. The Illinois senator suffered high-profile losses in the Texas and Ohio primaries that encouraged Clinton, who pushed on even harder against him. Obama's campaign also suffered a blow with scrutiny of incendiary sermons delivered by his longtime pastor. The candidate responded by delivering perhaps the biggest speech of his campaign to call for racial understanding.

Obama is also facing almost daily critiques from Clinton and McCain, questioning whether the freshman lawmaker has the experience to be a wartime leader.

Despite all the conflict surrounding Obama, the Democratic contest is unchanged from February with Obama at 46 percent and Clinton at 43 percent. But the heated primary is creating divisions among the electorate — many Clinton and Obama supporters say they would rather vote for McCain if their chosen Democrat doesn't win the nomination.

About a quarter of Obama supporters say they'll vote for McCain if Clinton is the Democratic nominee. About a third of Clinton supporters say they would vote for McCain if it's Obama.

Against McCain, Obama lost ground among women — from 57 percent in February to 47 percent in April. Obama dropped 12 points among women under 45, 14 points among suburban women and 15 points among married women.

He also lost nine points or more among voters under 35, high-income households, whites, Catholics, independents, Southerners, people living in the Northeast and those with a high school education or less.

Although the race between Clinton and Obama remained unchanged, there were a few shifts in whom voters are choosing:

• The gender gap has mostly disappeared, with Clinton losing her advantage among women. In February, 51 percent of Democratic women supported Clinton while 38 percent were for Obama. Now they're statistically tied at 44 percent for Clinton, 42 percent for Obama. That is partially offset by a decline in male support for Obama, down 7 points to 50 percent, while Clinton gained 10 points among men. She is now at 42 percent.

• Obama and Clinton are now statistically about even among households earning under $50,000. In late February, Clinton led 54 percent to 37 percent, but now it is just 48 percent to 41 percent.

• Obama now leads Clinton among self-described moderate Democrats, 51 percent to 35 percent. Previously they were 45 percent Clinton, 40 percent Obama.

The poll questioned 1,005 adults nationally. Included were interviews with 489 Democratic voters and people leaning Democratic, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 points; and 369 Republicans or GOP-leaning voters, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5.1 points.

(AP)

President GWB gives Medal of Honor to Navy SEAL

God bless you, hero!
WASHINGTON - Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor had fast thinking to do when a live grenade came out of nowhere to bounce off his chest: Take the clear path to safety that he had but his comrades didn't, try to toss it safely away, or throw himself on top of it.

With barely an instant's hesitation on that Iraqi rooftop, Monsoor took the last course, sacrificing his life to save the men around him. For that, President Bush on Tuesday awarded him the Medal of Honor.

In an East Room ceremony, Bush presented the nation's highest military honor to Monsoor's still-grieving parents, Sally and George Monsoor. About 250 guests, including his sister and two brothers, fellow SEALS, other Medal winners, many friends and GOP Sen. John McCain and other members of Congress, looked on quietly.


"The Medal of Honor is awarded for an act of such courage that no one could rightly be expected to undertake it," Bush said. "Yet those who knew Michael Monsoor were not surprised when he did."

Bush has awarded the medals to 10 people during his presidency. Monsoor is only the third from the Iraq war, and Bush's lip trembled and tears streamed down his cheeks as the official citation was read with the details of his bravery.

The emotional proceedings at the White House came as the top U.S. general and diplomat in Iraq opened two days of testimony across town on Capitol Hill on the status of the war, which has killed more than 4,020 U.S. military personnel.

Gen. David Petraeus said security in Iraq is still too fragile to allow announcements of troop levels going below 140,000 before September. Bush is giving a speech on Thursday to announce whether he accepts Petraeus' recommendation to suspend troop withdrawals for 45 days after the current round completes in July. He is expected to do so.

In brief remarks, Bush told the story of Monsoor's service-oriented upbringing and determined youth.

Monsoor became a Navy SEAL, the military's most elite fighting force, in 2004.

"His teammates liked to laugh about the way his shiny Corvette would leave everybody in the dust," Bush said. "But deep down, they always knew Mike would never leave anybody behind when it counted."

By spring 2006, Monsoor was deployed to Ramadi in Iraq's dangerous, then-al-Qaida dominated Anbar Province, as an automatic weapons gunner and communications operator — a double assignment that often landed him more than 100 pounds of gear to carry in the hot desert.

In May, Monsoor ran through heavy enemy fire to pull a wounded SEAL to safety. He earned a Silver Star, the third-highest award for combat valor, for that action.

It was only four months later, on Sept. 29, 2006, that Monsoor and his two American teammates, plus members of the Iraqi Army, were on a rooftop in a Ramadi residential area known as a stronghold for the Sunni insurgency. They were providing early warning and sniper cover for a mission aimed at trying to clear the neighborhood.

After a long day of back-and-forth engagement and evidence that the enemy was closing them off, Monsoor and the two other SEALS moved to a confined outcropping of the roof for a better lookout position. An unseen insurgent lobbed a grenade, which hit Monsoor in the chest and landed on the floor in front of him. He yelled a warning, but quickly saw that his fellow SEALS, not positioned near the exit like he was, wouldn't be able to get clear in time. Monsoor fell onto the grenade just as it exploded, absorbing the blast with his body and dying from the injuries about 30 minutes later. Others suffered shrapnel wounds, but no one else was killed.

The Garden Grove, Calif., native, was only 25 years old.

"Mr. and Mrs. Monsoor: America owes you a debt that can never be repaid," Bush said. "This nation will always cherish the memory of your son."

(AP)

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Check out these awesome pencil skirts from Victoria's Secret. It's soo Tyra Banks. I love it.

 

Man of the Year!

Michelle Obama needs "more white people"

Michelle Obama speaks at presidential rally in Skibo Gym

Only a week after her husband drew throngs to Soldiers and Sailors, Michelle Obama wooed a small crowd at Skibo Gymnasium on Wednesday.

Skibo’s risers were packed with community members and students from many of Pittsburgh’s universities. The rally was staffed by volunteers from a number of Carnegie Mellon student organizations, including Carnegie Mellon Students for Barack Obama, Student Senate, AB Political Speakers, and College Democrats.

Helping Students for Obama lead the crowd in cheers of “Ready to go” was Steve Sovern, a professional mediator from just outside of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who got excited enough about the campaign to travel to Pennsylvania and rally for Mrs. Obama. Sovern, alongside student volunteers, built up a palpable excitement around Mrs. Obama’s speech.

“I’ve been here since 11 a.m. setting up and it’s been amazing. It feels like [Barack] Obama is coming,” said sophomore social and decision sciences major Rotimi Abimbola, a leader of Students for Obama who had only a few days to coordinate the event.

While the crowd was indeed diverse, some students at the event questioned the practices of Mrs. Obama’s event coordinators, who handpicked the crowd sitting behind Mrs. Obama. The Tartan’s correspondents observed one event coordinator say to another, “Get me more white people, we need more white people.” To an Asian girl sitting in the back row, one coordinator said, “We’re moving you, sorry. It’s going to look so pretty, though.”

“I didn’t know they would say, ‘We need a white person here,’ ” said attendee and senior psychology major Shayna Watson, who sat in the crowd behind Mrs. Obama. “I understood they would want a show of diversity, but to pick up people and to reseat them, I didn’t know it would be so outright.”

Mrs. Obama was introduced by Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of former Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry (D–Mass.), who endorsed Mr. Obama’s candidacy in South Carolina last January. Heinz Kerry stressed the similarities between Mr. Obama and her late husband John Heinz III, the popular senator from Pennsylvania. She remarked that she has become friends with Mrs. Obama, mainly from exchanging messages on their Blackberries.

Mrs. Obama spoke about her husband’s triumphs over adversity throughout his life, focusing on the decisions he had made that, she said, set him apart from his opponent, Hillary Clinton. As the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review, Mrs. Obama said, Mr. Obama could have been successful in the private sector, but chose to go into community organization instead.

“When you’re given the gift of advocacy, you don’t sell it to the highest bidder,” Mrs. Obama said. Mrs. Obama stressed how her husband has relied on “regular folks” instead of big donors.

Instead of thousand-dollar donations, the Obama campaign has raised millions on small checks of $20 to $50. Mrs. Obama sees this participatory attitude as a new trend.

“Folks have been engaged in a way they have not been before. People sit around the TV with their 5-year-olds watching debates.”

Mrs. Obama was careful to note that the Obamas, both of whom are Harvard-educated lawyers and who together own a million-dollar home in Illinois, grew up under difficult conditions.

“In my house, there were no miracles. All I saw was hard work and sacrifice,” Mrs. Obama said, speaking of her youth. “My father did not complain and went to work every single day.”

Most of Mrs. Obama’s statements were met with cheers and enthusiastic support, especially the televised crowd, many of whom were long-time fans of Mr. Obama.

One attendee, Joanne Plummer, a resident of Wilkinsburg, has been waiting a long time for an Obama presidency.

“Four years ago, when I first saw him speak for Kerry, I just knew — this man will be president,” Plummer said.

other Obama news
Obama on billionaires' row.
So much for "change"!

Men of Valor: Blackwater guards

Blackwater Facts:
Poland Decorates Blackwater Men for Valor - First Awards to Foreigners Since World War II


General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan crocker with Blackwater security men.
The government of Poland has bestowed its Silver Star and Bronze Star combat medals on foreigners for the first time since World War II - and Blackwater security men were the recipients.

Polish Ambassador to Iraq Edward Pietrzyk (fourth from right) presented the awards on behalf of his government in a January, 2008 ceremony to recognize the Blackwater guards for evacuating him by helicopter after an October 2007 assassination attempt. Poland is one of the most important NATO allies in Iraq.

The State Department's internal State Magazine has the story in its April, 2008 issue. The award ceremony was considered so important that US Ambassador Ryan Crocker (third from right) and General David Petraeus (left) attended and posed for pictures with the contractors. The above photo, picturing some of the Blackwater men, appears in the magazine.

Here's how the State Department describes the event:

"On January 25, Poland's ambassador to Iraq, Edward Pietrzyk, honored the heroism of 18 members of the US Embassy in Baghdad's regional security office who helped rescue his motorcade when it came under attack in Baghdad in October.

"The motorcade was struck by four roadside bombs and a barrage of small-arms fire from more than two dozen assailants. One member of the Polish Special Forces security detail was killed, several were wounded and Pietrzyk was severely burned.

"During the midday attack, the Polish security detail contacted the RSO's tactical operation center, which dispatched two helicopters. The arriving personnel found the motorcade group sheltering in a residential compound and provided first aid while evacuating the wounded. Ambassador Pietrzyk was flown to a combat surgical hospital and later to Poland. After several months of treatment, he returned to Iraq.

"In the award ceremony, with gloves still protecting his badly burned hands, the ambassador pinned on the shirts of his rescuers Poland's Silver and Bronze Star medals, the first time these awards had been given to foreigners since World War II.

"Attending were US Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Forces - Iraq. Ambassador Crocker noted the long history of Polish-US mutual assistance.

"The award recipients are employees of the contractor Blackwater and work with the RSO to protect Mission Iraq staff."

Currently reading...

In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton. From Amazon.com: On July 26, 1945, the heavy cruiser Indianapolis steamed into port at the Pacific island of Tinian, carrying a cargo that would end World War II: the uranium that would be dropped on Hiroshima just three weeks later. Having delivered its load without incident, Indianapolis moved on toward the Philippines to join the great armada moving in on Japan. Though intelligence reports assured Captain Charles McVay that the route from Guam to Leyte was safe, there were Japanese submarines active in the area. On the night of July 29, having detected with sonar the clinking of dishes aboard the Indianapolis from a distance of more than a dozen miles, the submarine I-58 sank the American ship, killing nearly 900 sailors in the explosion and its terrible aftermath.

Captain McVay was quickly court-martialed for having failed to follow evasive maneuvers, "the first captain in the history of the U.S. Navy," Doug Stanton observes, "to be court-martialed subsequent to losing his ship in an act of war." Although the sailors under his command would insist that McVay had been scapegoated, and although I-58's commander testified before the court that "he would have sunk the Indianapolis no matter what course she was on," McVay was never able to clear his name. He committed suicide in 1968.

Stanton captures the drama of these events in his vigorous narrative, which augments and updates Richard Newcomb's Abandon Ship!. Stanton observes that although McVay was exonerated by an act of Congress in 2000, the conviction still stands in Navy records. Stanton's book makes a powerful case for why that conviction should be overturned, and why the captain and crew of the Indianapolis deserve honor.

I just started reading this today. So far it's been a very interesting read!

Iran begins installing 6,000 centrifuges

Look at this fool.
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's president says Iran has begun installing 6,000 centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the work on state television on Tuesday.

Iran already has about 3,000 centrifuges operating in Natanz. The new announcement is seen as a show of defiance of international demands to halt a nuclear program.

The U.S. and its allies say the program is aimed at building nuclear weapons. Iran denies those allegations.

(AP)

Support General Petraeus!

Great ad by Freedom's Watch!
From Politico
Now on deck: Petraeus and Crocker

With violence on the rise and troop levels higher than they were when the Democrats took control of Congress last January, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker return to Capitol Hill this week to brief lawmakers on Iraq.

Petraeus and Crocker appear before the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees Tuesday and the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees Wednesday.

While much of the focus will be on the presidential candidates — Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) serve on Armed Services, while Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) serves on Foreign Relations — there are other aspects of the hearings worth watching:

How will the parties spin the issues?

How will Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) use his first big public stage as the new Foreign Affairs chairman?

What have House leaders learned from the last round of Petraeus-Crocker hearings?

And what will CodePink and MoveOn do this time around?

Here's how it's all shaping up:

1. The strategy and the spin.

Lawmakers don't have a lot of surprises in store for this week's testimony. In their previews late last week, Republicans focused yet again on the signs of progress — increased military security and modest political reconciliation — while the Democrats, just as predictably, pointed to the challenges that remain: the recent flare-up in violence, a series of political benchmarks the Iraqi government has failed to meet and the overall costs of the war.

This latter point plays into a theme Democrats have been pushing all year: The war has had a net drag on the economy. So expect hear specific questions about those costs as the Democrats seek to highlight the economic impact of the war.

"Our troops, our military units in Iraq, are paying about $3.25 a gallon of gas, approximately what we pay in the U.S.,"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said last week, "while Iraqis are paying $1.36 a gallon for gas at the pump. This is a raw deal for America's taxpayers, and it is really hard to explain."

In addition to the many cost arguments against the war, Democrats will continue to argue that the prolonged engagement in Iraq has severely depleted the U.S. military's reach in other parts of the world.

"I have two thoughts that keep me awake at night," House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) said last week. "The first is the lack of readiness of our United States ground forces. It is apparent that the stretch and strain is like never before. The second is Afghanistan."

And finally, Democrats will argue that the Pentagon, the White House and congressional Republicans have repeatedly changed the definition for success to justify more requests for troops, money and equipment.

Republicans will make a moving-the-goalposts argument of their own this week. GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate are expected to ask questions of Crocker and Petraeus that will highlight benchmarks the Iraqi government and military have met in order to counter that well-established talking point that the parliament remains stalled.

A fact sheet distributed last week by Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee includes an article by Fred Kagan, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, that says the Iraqis have accomplished 12 of the 18 benchmarks set up for them by the U.S. government. Skelton said last week that that just three of the 18 benchmarks have been met.

In a comment last week, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) also pointed to the 20,000 troops who have been rotated out of Iraq as part of the initial drawdown from last summer's troop surge. "An irresponsible withdrawal would lead to chaos and perhaps genocide," Boehner said. "We need to listen to Amb. Crocker and General Petraeus' testimony and base our actions on the facts, not a commitment to retreat that is based on ideology rather than reality."

2. Chairman Berman's debut.

Wednesday's hearing with Petraeus and Crocker will be Berman's first major test as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Berman, first elected to Congress in 1982, recently took over the panel following the death of Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.).

The California Democrat has kept his own counsel on the upcoming hearing, declining media interviews until afterward. Berman, who is a strong supporter of Israel, voted for the first Gulf War back in 1990, and he strongly backed President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003. Berman also voted in 2006 against a resolution calling for Bush to set a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from the conflict.
But his position on Iraq began to change in 2007 following the Democratic takeover of the House. Berman said he was "wrong" to believe that Saddam Hussein's regime had been trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction, and he opposed Bush's "surge" in U.S. troops sent to Iraq.

Berman later introduced legislation requiring a "redeployment" of American forces if the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki failed to meet a series of political, economic and security benchmarks. By last summer, Berman, one of the last House Democrats to back the war, was voting for hard withdrawal dates.

Berman signaled last week that he remains concerned about Iran;s influence in Iraq and in the larger Middle East region. During a press conference with Pelosi Thursday, Berman called Iran "the most dangerous state" in the region and said he wants to question Petraeus and Crocker about that topic and about the status of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan.

Berman joined Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other senior Democrats in both chambers in signing onto a letter sent to Bush on Friday offering a four-point plan to end the Iraq War, rebuild the U.S. military and boost the security of Israel and other American allies in the region.

3. Learning from the last hearings.

The House is doing something different than it did the last time Petraeus and Crocker paid a visit -- separate hearings for the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.

In 2007, the two committees held a joint session to question Petraeus and Crocker, which proved difficult for Skelton and Lantos to manage. With more than 100 lawmakers from both panels in attendance, each with only with five minutes to question two men, it was easy for Petraeus and Crocker to weather the storm.

Republicans on the two panels basically filibustered the Democrats by offering nothing but praise for Petraeus. Democrats found themselves on the defensive thanks to a hugely controversial newspaper ad by MoveOn.org, which appeared just before the hearing. The anti-war group labeled Petraeus as "General Betray Us," and Democratic lawmakers found themselves forced to repudiate the ad while questioning the four-star general.

On the Senate side, the Petraeus-Crocker hearings will provide a high-profile opportunity for presidential hopefuls to stand out. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is the ranking member on the Armed Services Committee, which will allow him to voice his strong support for Bush's policy in Iraq. Clinton also serves on Armed Services, which will give her some face time with Petraeus and Crocker in front of TV cameras Tuesday morning.

Obama is one of the junior members of the Foreign Relations Committee, meaning he will also get to question the two men. In what may be an attempt to get on TV a little earlier in the day than his junior status might otherwise allow, Obama is scheduled to chair a Foreign Relations hearing on Tuesday morning to review several nominations.

4. Coming from the left.

The Win Without War Coalition -- a group that includes MoveOn.org, the NAACP, True Majority and other progressive organizations -- will mark the hearings by circulating a letter directed at Rep Jack Murtha (D-Penn.), the chairman of the Defense appropriations subcommittee.

The groups argue in the letter that the next supplemental funding bill for Iraq should include funds "only for the safe and timely redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq."

"As part of a responsible redeployment, we support funding for a diplomatic offensive as suggested by the Iraq Study Group," the coalition says "Greater resources and resolve for diplomacy to the Iraq War are needed for a comprehensive solution."

The petition also calls on Congress to deny funding for any long-term agreement struck by the Bush administration and the Iraqi government "unless the agreement is approved by Congress and the Iraqi parliament."

CODEPINK is likely to take a more visible role in this week's hearings. "There will be folks trying to do their civic duty and listen from the public seats and then there are groups that will be out front of the building and most likely many in the hall," said spokeswoman Dana Balicki. "But if I told you what we had planned I might kill the element of surprise."

Republican Iraq Vets Seek 17 House Seats

OK, the world is seriously getting weird. Not because Iraq Vets are seeking seats in Congress- God knows we need their leadership right now, but because I just found out that one of my closest friends is a hardcore believer of 9/11 conspiracy theories, and this cute guy I have a little crush on is just as retarded. They think I'm equally insane ("brainwashed" is the exact term I got) for thinking President GWB is awesome. Oh well, that's alright. I'm two steps ahead of them in "brainwashing" our other friends. lol. Anyways...

From PatDollard.Com: Republican Iraq Vets Seek 17 House Seats


Seventeen Iraq combat veterans are running for House seats as Republicans, pledging to continue the war once in Congress and linking themselves to Sen. John McCain’s candidacy for president.

As Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, prepares to go to Capitol Hill Tuesday to discuss his record there, some of the vets also came to Washington to link themselves to the general whose 2007 troop surge they believe has improved America’s prospects for victory.

In 2006, the Democrats had some success with a slate of veterans who used their military credentials to argue against the war. The Republican veterans argue that such antiwar vets are the exception and, even though the public is still against the war, they will be able to make the case that the country is succeeding and should commit the resources to achieve victory.

“Iraq’s going to be a tough issue for everybody, but we’re going to be uniquely positioned to deal with it,” says former Marine Cpl. Keiran Lalor, a Republican running in the Hudson Valley of New York. “The Democrats went around and found the exception to the rule: They found the Iraq vets against the war.”

The Republican vets have linked themselves to Sen. McCain’s presidential bid and hope to ride to victory on his coattails. They hope that if independents decide to support Sen. McCain and his commitment to finish the job in Iraq, they will vote that way down-ballot as well.

While most of the group, calling themselves Iraq Veterans for Congress, are running against incumbent Democrats, four are in primary contests for seats currently held by Republicans. In two of these races, the veterans are challenging incumbents the national party would prefer to run again. An additional vet has already won the primary for an open Republican seat.

Several members of Iraq Veterans for Congress, founded by Mr. Lalor, are running in districts considered safe for Democratic incumbents, making their candidacies largely symbolic. Mr. Lalor faces Democratic freshman Rep. John Hall, a former rock singer with the 1970s group Orleans.

Mr. Lalor says he is running to represent Gen. Petraeus, who was born in Cornwall, N.Y., a town in the 19th district, and whose alma mater, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, is also in the district.

Even symbolic candidacies could influence the debate in swing states. Former Army Lt. Col. William Russell is running against Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, one of the top Democrats in the House. Mr. Russell says Rep. Murtha has “emboldened the enemy” with remarks about the Marines accused of killing civilians in Haditha, Iraq. At an event with other members of the group Monday, he called Gen. Petraeus “a consummate warrior” and said he would stake his own life on the general’s integrity.

In two districts in Ohio and New Jersey, Iraq veterans are running for seats being vacated by Republicans. Democrats almost won both two years ago, and this time both Democratic challengers, boasting more name recognition and money, are gunning for a rematch.

The Iraq vets’ efforts have gained the most headway in Ohio’s 15th district, where the first of the 17 members of the organization to win a primary race is State Sen. Steve Stivers. While he says he admires both Sen. McCain and Gen. Petraeus, he isn’t making Iraq policy the centerpiece of his campaign. “I’ll talk about Iraq with anyone who asks me, but now it’s not the first issue on people’s minds,” the 43-year-old Ohio native says. “Jobs and the economy are where my focus is.”

After several prominent Republicans declined to run this year, Mr. Stivers threw his hat into the ring to succeed retiring Rep. Deborah Pryce. He won the March 4 primary with 66% of the vote, but his prospects in November are dicey. Sen. Barack Obama, who has trumpeted his antiwar record, carried the counties that compose most of Mr. Stivers’s district, including the Columbus suburbs, where Sen. Obama beat Sen. Hillary Clinton by 14 points. The district is also home to the main campus of Ohio State University, where a Republican candidate’s call to “complete the mission” in Iraq is more likely to drive turnout for the Democrats than for Mr. Stivers.

Other primary races could cause problems for the national Republican party. Two veterans are challenging sitting congressmen — Bill Sali in Idaho’s First District, and Doug Lamborn in Colorado’s Fifth. Mr. Sali angered party loyalists by winning what many called a nasty campaign in 2006, and his malapropisms, once he was in office, became frequent fodder for Boise newspaper columnists.

Doug Lamborn engendered such rancor in his 2006 Colorado primary that Joel Hefley, the outgoing Republican congressman, refused to endorse him. Mr. Lamborn’s district includes Fort Carson, an Army post that has suffered hundreds of casualties in Iraq. He is being challenged in his party’s primary by retired Air Force Gen. Bentley Rayburn, who served in two Iraq wars.

In a normal year, both Messrs. Sali and Lamborn could feel safe, even though both are House freshmen who embittered local Republicans on the way to winning their seats. But challenges by Iraq veterans may swing hard-core Republicans against both men in this year’s primaries. That would leave the national party with a dilemma: no incumbent to support in the November election.

In New Jersey, Tom Roughneen is running in the primary in the Seventh District, which retiring Rep. Mike Ferguson barely held in 2006 against Democrat Linda Stender. Mr. Roughneen, a civil-affairs captain in Iraq and Essex County assistant prosecutor, knows he is a dark horse in a field that includes Kate Whitman, the daughter of former New Jersey governor and Bush cabinet member Christie Todd Whitman. But as the only Iraq veteran in the race, he says he is best equipped to fend off Democrats’ charges that the Iraq war has been a mistake.

“The way for the party to hold this district is for a veteran to represent the party,” says the 38-year-old New Jersey native. “Against a veteran, Linda Stender will look foolish trying to convince voters the success we’ve had in Iraq has been a waste of lives.”

I think David Bellavia plans to take a run in NY. To refresh your memory, David Bellavia is a Medal of Honor nominee and the author of House to House: A Soldier's Memoir.

Obama lovers should read this!

This is a brilliant post from the The Daily Gut. Thought I'd share it with you.

MONDAY'S GREGALOGUE: ONE QUESTION FOR SENATOR OBAMA


Do you remember when Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis ran for president - and capital punishment came up in that 1988 debate? Those were the good old days. Bernard Shaw asked him, "Governor, if [your wife] were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?" Dukakis replied with the soul of a door knob: "No, I don't, and I think you know that I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life." And so, he said something no American would ever feel in their hearts to be true, and lost the election.


So now, in 2008, two decades later - I have a similar question for Senator Barack Obama - and only him, because after all, he is going to be the nominee. Here it is:

"Terrorists have decimated the Malls of America. With rescuers sifting through the rubble, the hospitals jammed, the empty condemnations pouring in from our European ‘allies,` - Mr. President, what will be your first reaction? Is it:

-how will we punish the guilty?

Or,

-why do they hate us?"

You can't pick both. It's one or the other. And Senator Obama, you're allowed one, maybe two sentences, to answer the question. There will be no allowance for elegant elocution, or flowery exhortations on change that render such a "simplistic" question irrelevant. Just a short answer to a basic question, is all we really want.


So, who is going to ask it first? We've asked Senator Obama to be on Redeye, but he's not gotten back to us. We'll wait. I've packed a lunch.

FASHION: Hot or not?

BCBGMAXAZRIA Micro Taffeta Dress

OK, this dress is seriously cute at first glance, right? But after close and careful examination, I realized how damn ugly it looks. I mean, it's not something even a Disney Princess would wear. Actually, this failed fairytale creation now reminds me of crumpled tissue paper dipped in yellow snot... or something. Gnarly. I guess I'm just not crazy about the color (a lame kind of canary yellow!) and the posies are too distracting. Only a misguided twelve year old hoochie would wear something like this. And I always feel so bad for those kids.

FASHION: Desses from Victoria's Secret

The Maxi Dress
For more info, click on the photos.
 
 

The Jersey Dress
For more info, click on the photos.
 
 

I'm in love!

Mosul Firefight Footage

Saddam's Birthday '03: 101st Airborne Division


Seriously, the troops make Hollywood look so lame.

Oliver Stone's "W" is full of sh*t

Daddy Issues, War Lust in Oliver Stone's 'W' Controversial Filmmaker's Early Script Depicts President Bush's Hard-Partying Youth and Feuds With His Father



By MARCUS BARAM

It's a classic American story: In the prime of his life, a man who parties too much and lives in the shadow of his esteemed father turns his life around. He gives up alcohol, embraces religion and finds a new purpose.

But will his desire to impress his dad and purge his personal demons put the world in danger?

Coming soon to a movie theater near you: controversial director Oliver Stone's "W," the life story of President George W. Bush, a warts-and-all portrayal.

Though the movie is scheduled for release in 2009, there is a chance that it might be pushed up to come out before the November election, say insiders.

The movie, which starts filming this month with "No Country for Old Men" actor Josh Brolin playing Bush, paints a humanistic portrait of the president along with plenty of embarrassing anecdotes from his life story, judging by a copy of an early screenplay obtained by ABCNEWS.com.

The film's script captures purported notorious moments in Bush's life:

Rumors that his father pulled strings to get him into Harvard Business School.

His arrest during college for tearing down the goalposts at a football game.

Almost getting into a fistfight with his father when he comes home drunk one night in the 1970s.

His vow to quit drinking when he wakes up with a wicked hangover soon after his 40th birthday.

It also covers plenty of his administration's lowlights -- from Bush's reported obsession with invading Iraq, which Stone will portray as a desire to avenge Saddam Hussein's assassination attempt on Bush's father and his frustration with the failed search for WMDs to his penchant for malapropisms and cheery optimism about the chances for civil war in Iraq.

Hard Drinking, Family Feud

The first scene, in which Bush and his advisers brainstorm different terms to describe their global enemies, from "Axis of Hatred" to "Axis of Unbearably Odious," is followed by an early glimpse of the hard-drinking young man when he was a college student at Yale.

Drinking vodka mixed with orange juice out of a trash can at the DKE frat house, Bush impresses the fraternity leader with his ability to memorize the names of his fellow pledges.

Asked whether he'll follow in the steps of his politician father and grandfather, Dubya quips, "Hell no, that's the last thing in the world I'd want to do."

Years later, after Dubya drains a pint of Wild Turkey and runs over a pile of trash cans while driving home, his angry father tells him to call Alcoholics Anonymous, prompting Dubya to sarcastically deride his dad as "Mr. Perfect. Mr. War Hero. Mr F-- God Almighty."

Stone, who mined psychological motives in his previous presidential movies, from the conspiratorial "JFK" to the dark character study of "Nixon," makes much of Bush's competitive relationship with his father and how it fueled his desire to invade Iraq.

When Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld purportedly confronts Bush in 2002 about his obsession with Saddam: "What's the big deal about Saddam? Bin Laden's the trained ape that wrought this hell on us," Dubya's response sounds like a line out of "The Godfather": "You don't go after the Bushes and get to talk about it. Ya got me?"

After his born-again experience, Bush says that he doesn't ask his dad for advice because "there's a higher Father I appeal to."

When his father cries after losing to Bill Clinton in 1992, Bush sticks it to his dad by telling him that he would have won if he'd ousted Saddam at the end of the first Gulf War.

When Bush's parents tell him to hold off running for governor of Texas until after younger brother Jeb Bush has a chance to wins Florida's top spot, Barbara tells him that he can't win because "you're loud and you have a short fuse."

Stone also portrays the president as stubborn and aggressive when it came to prosecuting the war in Iraq.

Before the invasion, he tells a shocked British Prime Minister Tony Blair about alternative plans such as baiting Saddam by painting a U.S. spy plane in U.N. colors and assassinating the Iraqi leader.

When he hears about French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac's desire to give weapons inspectors 30 more days to work in Iraq, Bush explodes: "Thirty days! I'd like to stuff a plate of freedom fries down that slick piece of s--'s throat!"

The Lighter Side of Bush

Stone includes many lighter moments, such as Bush's fondness for nicknames and teasing, like calling Colin Powell "Balloon Foot" and telling Paul Wolfowitz to trim his ear hairs.

In one scene, Bush practices his parachute landing in the White House pool but forgets to properly release the harness and sinks to the bottom. In another scene, Rumsfeld doodles a drawing of Condoleeza Rice standing on a piano with a globe spinning on her finger.

During the planning of the war, Bush and his top advisers are shown locking the war-wary Powell out of a room, erupting into laughter when they finally let him in.

Other times, Bush's light touch seems blithely out of touch with reality. While he munches on bologna and cheese sandwiches on white bread, he brags to Cheney about how his running time has improved since the Afghanistan invasion.

And he compares the troops' ordeal in the deserts of Iraq to his ability to run in 100-degree heat. At one point, Bush describes giving up sweets as "my personal sacrifice to show support for our troops."

He interrupts a meeting with Prince Bandar, in which he informs the Saudi ambassador about plans to invade Iraq, so that he can catch the rest of the 2002 Miami Dolphins-Baltimore Ravens playoff game. Bush is later shown choking on a pretzel and passing out during the second quarter.

But the film also strives to paint a humanistic portrait of the commander in chief, with Bush once telling the Rev. Billy Graham that "there's this darkness that follows me."

"People say I was born with a silver spoon, but they don't know the burden that carries."

Soon after a disastrous news conference in April 2004, Bush retreats to the White House den to watch a Texas Rangers game in the final scene of the script.

Popping open a nonalcoholic beer, he lapses into his favorite dream: playing center field for the Rangers. Hearing the crack of the bat, he looks up for the ball but he can't find it in the sky.

Is it Accurate?

Stone, who was accused of reanimating long-discredited conspiracy theories in "JFK" and bending the facts in his other films, might come under fire for his portrayal of Bush as an impetuous leader.

Already, one former Bush administration official objects to the accuracy of the film.

One explosive scene in the movie features press secretary Ari Fleischer complaining to Bush about longtime reporter Helen Thomas who questioned the run-up to the war in Iraq.

Bush explodes in a profanity-laced outburst , "Did you tell her I don't like motherf-- who gas their own people! Did you tell her I don't like a-- holes who try to kill my father! Did you tell her I'm going to kick his & a-- all over the Middle East?"

"It's fantasy," said Fleischer. "He used to talk like that before he was president? But he never talked like that around me. He mentioned his father once, in a public setting, at a fundraiser in Houston in 2002. "

Fleischer doesn't blame Stone, explaining that the screenwriter did his research and that there are erroneous accounts of the administration in books and magazines. "Hollywood is Hollywood."

The White House declined comment on the movie and its portrayal of the president.

How Will It Do?

One film columnist, who has read the script, thinks that it's a well-written story that could do well.

"The lifeblood of this film is not content, there's nothing revelatory or stunning in it, but acting opportunities especially for Josh Brolin as Bush," said Jeffrey Wells, who runs the movie blog Hollywood-elsewhere.com.

"It's about a guy who's got a life-long identity crisis but he finds himself when he goes to war. He uses the Iraq War to assert himself and make him feel like he's his own man."

If the movie, which also stars "40-Year-Old Virgin" star Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush, comes out before the election, it could have an effect because John McCain's support for the Iraq War remains a central part of his message.

"It's happened before where movies such as 'All the President's Men' have had an impact on an election," said Robert Brent Toplin, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and the author of "Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11: How One Film Divided a Nation."

"That movie hurt Gerald Ford by revealing the investigation and focusing on the corruption of the Nixon administration. He lost by a few points in 1976 and the movie came out early that spring."

Moore's" Fahrenheit 9/11" came out before the 2004 election but it didn't prove to have much of an effect. "The right-wingers did a good job of discrediting the message and the messenger," said Toplin.

Many political movies, such as "Primary Colors" and "Wag the Dog," didn't have much of an effect and didn't do that well at the box office. "But if Stone can make this entertaining, the timing could be superb."

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