Saturday, May 10, 2008

China preparing for nuclear war...



WND Exclusive

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN
China preparing for nuclear war
Analysts say Beijing getting ready for ops beyond Far East

Posted: May 10, 2008
12:30 am Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Editor's Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95 per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the complete reports.





Hainan Island

LONDON – Defense analysts for the British intelligence service MI6 believe China is preparing for the "eventuality of a nuclear war." The conclusion follows evidence that Beijing has built secretly a major naval base deep inside caverns which even sophisticated satellites cannot penetrate, says a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

In an unusual development, the analysts have provided details to the specialist defense periodical, Jane's Intelligence Review, which published satellite images of the base location which is hidden beneath millions of tons of rock on the South China Sea island of Hainan.

The MI6 analysts have confirmed the submarine base hewn out of the rock will contain up to 20 of the latest C94 Jin-Class submarines, each capable of firing anti-satellite missiles and nuclear tipped rockets.

Knocking out the satellites would leave Taiwan, Japan and other countries around the Pacific Rim effectively without a key warning system. An attack also would disrupt vital communications between U.S. battle squadrons in the region and Washington.

Satellite images studied by GCHQ, Britain's spy in the sky intelligence gathering organization based at Cheltenham that works closely with the U.S. National Security Agency, have confirmed the entrance to the base is through no fewer than 11 separate tunnel openings.

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine, one of those in the Typhoon Fleet, now has joined another from the U.S. Pacific Fleet to build up a clear image of what is happening inside the secret base which, as well as China's nuclear subs, could house "a host of aircraft carriers."

Naval intelligence officers in London and Washington have confirmed the discovery of the base will present "a significant challenge to U.S. naval dominance and protection to countries ringing the South China Sea."

The base is sited at Sanya on the southern tip of Hainan island. The island came to the attention of Western intelligence in April 2001, when a U.S. EP-3 spy plane trying to test the island's electronic defenses was forced to land there by Chinese fighters, one of which crashed in the sea killing the pilot.

A Ministry of Defense analyst, who cannot be named for security reasons, believes "this could be the prelude to China preparing for a nuclear response."

Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND.

For the complete report and full immediate access to Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, subscribe now.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Norm's View

Norman E. Hooben

Aside from the campaigning for the Presidency, what else is going on? Well let me tell ya, “A bunch!” But I’m not going there right now ‘cause I’m ticked off! It’s bad enough that two idiots are vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination and several million un-informed Americans are rooting them on unknowingly to a further decline of this once great country’s republic for which it stood…no, it doesn’t stand for anything anymore!

Some time ago, heck I don’t remember when, I wrote to my Congressman, U.S. Representative Terry Everett, regarding increases in the federal tax on gasoline promoted by the Democratic leadership (Leadership? What an oxymoron that is…they act like Dictators!) Well today a response by Mr. Everett reached my home via ye ole snail mail method still employed by the Congress at, I guess, a greater cost than a simple e-mail. Oh no, I’m not upset with Terry over the method of delivery. That’s the fault of the system. Meanwhile let’s get to the point of why I’m ticked.


Congressman Everett explains in his one page commentary that the federal gas tax has not been increased since 1993 (Yeah, that’s right, that was your friend Bill Clinton’s tax hike! Parenthetical comment mine.) However, after a two year study (What took so long?) by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission (The title alone should scare ya!) recommended a five-cent-per-gallon increase for each of the next five years along with other fees (Fees here is not clearly defined.) and tolls. Thank you, Mr. Everett for not supporting the fuel tax but we all know who’s running the show and Pelosi and gang will surely impose their will upon us victims.


Five-cents per gallon per year for five years! Wow! Now this old retired know-nothing knows enough that it’s going to cost him big bucks at the pump. In my current vehicle situation that means I’ll be spending $6.50 more per fill-up than I am now. Well that may not be a big deal to Pelosi et al, but this Commission Study is run by a bunch of bureaucrats from the various other bureaucracies including the Department of Transportation (DOT). And get this; the DOT employs almost 60,000 employees at a cost of over $61 billion. Sounds like a bunch of dollars and you’re right! But here’s the kicker: Federal gas tax revenues are slightly more than $20 billion! Do the math! DOT which could be run by my quick MBO (You remember that term don’t ya…Management By Objectives!) calculations with as little as 201 employees and billions of dollars less. The current forty-plus billion dollar deficit is eaten up by do-nothing federal employees…but I understand Ms Pelosi that represents 60,000 votes for your corrupt party!

So you see why I’m ticked. Gas tax revenues are not sufficient to pay for the bureaucracy for which it stands and Speaker Pelosi plus the idiots running for the Democratic Presidential nomination join the reverend Jeremiah Wright in G-D-ing Americans.



Wednesday, May 7, 2008

...the hour grows too late.

Published: May 7, 2008

A Plea for Principle-Centered National Leadership

Stephen M. Studdert, FSM Editor-at-Large

When I was a child we sang a song, “Where Oh Where has My Little Dog Gone?” Today we should all be singing “Where Oh Where Has Our Responsible Federal Government Gone?”

In April, the national average for regular gasoline reached a new high of over $3.50 per gallon, up 69 cents in just one year. Diesel is now averaging nearly $4.15 per gallon. Oil futures are approaching an historic high of $120 per barrel, with no hint of prices peaking anytime soon. And, insofar as the Saudi Royals announced a cap in oil production at present levels, even though demand increases, supply remains relatively constant. This creates upward pressure on the price per barrel. And energy prices are just one of the alligators in the swamp – disconcerting news is cropping up everywhere.

§ In the state of California alone, there are now more than 500 foreclosures each and every day. The number of California homes lost to foreclosure in the first quarter surged 327% from year-ago levels.

§ The International Monetary Fund is now predicting that the total losses from the subprime and related credit crises could reach an almost incomprehensible $945 billion – nearly a trillion dollars – and more than triple the colossal losses that have been announced so far.

§ The United States is not unique in the expanding credit crisis. Last week, the Bank of England implemented a $100 billion rescue package for Britain's financial system and home loan market.

§ If we were keeping an eye on our own federal spending apparatus, we would know that the Government Accountability Office just reported a review of 95 Department of Defense federal weapons procurement programs showed them to be a total of almost $300 billion over budget.

§ For the past three years, the world has consumed more food than it has produced. A deepening global food crisis has sparked riots in dozens of countries, accounted for many deaths, and threatens hunger to one billion people who live on one dollar per day. In the past three years, global food prices have risen by an average of 83%, exposing yet another 100 million people to the urgent need of food. The United States is not immune to food related issues either -- just this week, Sam’s Club’s and Costco announced their decision to ration consumer purchases of rice and flour.

More and more people are waking up to the fact that our nation and the world face numerous concurrent challenges. Growing threats present themselves on every side. These situations demand principle-centered leadership; we desperately need leaders who possess integrity, mutual respect, stability, and moral courage. More often than not, we witness just the opposite.

Today, the entire process of “leadership” is frequently acrimonious, laced with personal attacks, verbal insults and brutality. Our elected leaders are spending massive amounts of our money, furthering their own personal agendas, and all the while engaging in deceit, maneuvering, misrepresentation, incessant self promotion and clamor. I see very little that is reassuring.

Our national government and the on-going presidential campaign present a disappointing and unfortunate spectacle. Rather than engaging in a civilized contest at whose foundation lies unity and harmony, the campaign has degenerated into a crass and brutal battleground.

It was almost 200 years ago when James Madison, fourth president of the United States, said “It is too early for politicians to presume on our forgetting that the public good, the real welfare of the great body of the people, is the supreme object to be pursued.”

The public good? If it was too early for Madison, what about 2008? In a democracy in which we elect our leaders, we are witnessing the antics of conflicted mudslingers where the public good is often trampled by a culture of expediency instead of a culture of thoughtful concern for the good of the nation.

Our nation requires elected leaders from both parties who will muster the courage to take decisive steps, regardless of complexity or political consequences. These are difficult times and it is the job of those who seek to lead the free world to prove that they are equal to the task of addressing pending threats. Our nation and our very way of life are in danger and we desperately need a courageous and comprehensive national strategy to protect our economy, before it’s too late. Will it be enough … who can know? But we do know that today an avalanche of epic proportions is building; it will continue to gather mass until a lurking but unseen confluence of events triggers the slide. Then, as it comes crashing down, we will have lost the opportunity to prepare. That is a risk that, as a nation and a people, we can ill afford.

America today faces national challenges as serious as we have ever known. We must engage in a civil, candid national discourse on the survival of America, we must invigorate participatory democracy, we must stand fast by our Constitution and its foundational principles, we must ensure adequate resources for national security, and as George Washington counseled we must “commend the Interests of our dearest Country to the protection of Almighty God.”

Before the hour grows too late, each and every American must consider the challenges facing our nation. We must demand action on the part of our elected officials, and cease our tolerance of those (including ourselves) who would spend us into hardships and even bankruptcy. Never again can we allow our leaders to fail to build bridges of understanding around the world.

In this election year, we would do well to consider two ways to work with one another and make wise decisions in the civic arena.

1. Observe how public officials and candidates approach both their personal and public lives. Seek to elect public officials who have demonstrated a lifetime of personal commitment to high moral integrity and personal ethics. If a man or woman who seeks public office has failed to achieve these characteristics, it should be an obvious warning to us.

2. We live in an uncertain world of mushrooming internal and external threats to our national well-being. We should seek leaders who embrace sound principles not personal agendas, who are not blown by every political wind, and especially those with a serious focus on national security. They offer us the safest path.

The time has come for you and me, as citizens, to combine American resilience with our guiding beliefs and rise to the occasion, seeking in our public officials a greater measure of reliable policy and principle. In a nation of unfunded entitlements, an unstable economy, depleting military assets and increasing threats, and a growing absence of personal responsibility, we need to remember that liberty and freedom require our principled civic involvement. These are pre-requisites for citizens and leaders alike!

God has placed divine responsibilities into America’s hands. I, for one, am grateful for the responsible, respectful, dignified, and unwavering dedication of many who offer themselves for service to the nation. In this election season it’s up to you and me to be united for the public good and to choose rightly – the security of our nation that is at stake.

# #


FamilySecurityMatters.org Editor-at-Large Stephen M. Studdert served as a White House advisor to Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Gerald Ford. He is the author of the newly published America In Danger – What You Must Know To Protect Yourself (Critical Issues Press, www.criticalissuespress.com).

© 2003-2008 FamilySecurityMatters.org All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Wake Up L.A. County...

Study: 25% of LA's Welfare Goes to Undocumented Immigrants
May 6, 2008, 5:42 AM PDT

Study: 25% of LA's Welfare Goes to Undocumented Immigrants L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich says the county spends more than $1 billion a year on benefits to undocumented immigrants.

According to new data from the Department of Public Social Services, nearly twenty five percent of Los Angeles County 's welfare and food stamp benefits goes directly to the children of undocumented immigrants, at a cost of $36 million a month -- for a projected annual cost of $432 million.

"The total cost for illegal immigrants to County taxpayers far exceeds $1 billion a year - not including the millions of dollars for education," said Antonovich.

"With $220 million for public safety, $400 million for healthcare, and $432 million in welfare allocations, illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers."

The supervisor said, in March, undocumented immigrants collected over $19 million in welfare assistance and over $16 million in food stamp allocations.

Frustrated? How 'bout INCOMPETENCE !!! Starting with Bill Clinton...

Probe of USS Cole Bombing Unravels
Plotters Freed in Yemen; U.S. Efforts Frustrated

By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, May 4, 2008; A01

ADEN, Yemen -- Almost eight years after al-Qaeda nearly sank the USS Cole with an explosives-stuffed motorboat, killing 17 sailors, all the defendants convicted in the attack have escaped from prison or been freed by Yemeni officials.

Jamal al-Badawi, a Yemeni who helped organize the plot to bomb the Cole as it refueled in this Yemeni port on Oct. 12, 2000, has broken out of prison twice. He was recaptured both times, but then secretly released by the government last fall. Yemeni authorities jailed him again after receiving complaints from Washington. But U.S. officials have so little faith that he's still in his cell that they have demanded the right to perform random inspections.

Two suspects, described as the key organizers, were captured outside Yemen and are being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. courts. Many details of their alleged involvement remain classified. It is unclear when -- or if -- they will be tried by the military.

The collapse of the Cole investigation offers a revealing case study of the U.S. government's failure to bring al-Qaeda operatives and their leaders to justice for some of the most devastating attacks on American targets over the past decade.

A week after the Cole bombing, President Bill Clinton vowed to hunt down the plotters and promised, "Justice will prevail." In March 2002, President Bush said his administration was cooperating with Yemen to prevent it from becoming "a haven for terrorists." He added: "Every terrorist must be made to live as an international fugitive with no place to settle or organize, no place to hide, no governments to hide behind and not even a safe place to sleep."

Since then, Yemen has refused to extradite Badawi and an accomplice to the United States, where they have been indicted on murder charges. Other Cole conspirators have been freed after short prison terms. At least two went on to commit suicide attacks in Iraq.

"After we worked day and night to bring justice to the victims and prove that these Qaeda operatives were responsible, we're back to square one," said Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent and a lead investigator into the bombing. "Do they have laws over there or not? It's really frustrating what's happening."

To this day, al-Qaeda trumpets the attack on the Cole as one of its greatest military victories. It remains an improbable story: how two suicide bombers smiled and waved to unsuspecting U.S. sailors in Aden's harbor as they pulled their tiny fishing boat alongside the $1 billion destroyer and blew a gaping hole in its side.

Despite the initial promises of accountability, only limited public inquiries took place in Washington, unlike the extensive investigations that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Basic questions remain about which individuals and countries played a role in the assault on the Cole.

Some officials acknowledged that pursuing the Cole investigation became less of a political priority with the passage of time. A new administration took power three months after the bombing. Then came Sept. 11.

"During the first part of the Bush administration, no one was willing to take ownership of this," said Roger W. Cressey, a former counterterrorism official in the Clinton and Bush administrations who helped oversee the White House's response to the Cole attack. "It didn't happen on their watch. It was the forgotten attack."

A Clash of Cultures and Wills

The day after the attack, a planeload of armed FBI agents arrived in Aden. But they quickly ran into resistance from Yemeni officials, who didn't like the idea of foreigners operating on their soil and telling them what to do.

The Cole bombing represented an enormous political embarrassment for Yemen, which had lobbied the U.S. Navy to use the port of Aden as a refueling stop. As the poorest country in the Arab world, Yemen was also unprepared for some of the FBI's demands.

"This is a country that didn't even have fingerprint powder, and now they're dealing with the most sophisticated law enforcement agency in the world," said Barbara K. Bodine, the U.S. ambassador to Yemen at the time. "DNA is a complete fantasy to them."

Bodine said the FBI was slow to trust Yemeni authorities, and kept the U.S. Embassy in the dark as well, hampering the probe. She described the Yemeni government as generally cooperative, but said some officials dug in their heels and "certainly didn't like us."

The FBI was "dealing with a bureaucracy and a culture they didn't understand," she said. "Yemen operates on a different timeline than we do. We had one group working on a New York minute, and another on a 4,000-year-old history."

The FBI and some White House officials, in turn, suspected Bodine was too sympathetic toward the Yemenis. The FBI special agent in charge, John O'Neill, was forced to return to New York after butting heads too many times with the ambassador.

Michael A. Sheehan, then the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, said both sides were to blame.

"Basically, I was in the middle of this thing," he recalled. "I felt both sides were over the top -- the FBI in demanding complete autonomy in a foreign country and State in being too protective of the host country. And eventually it just turned into a clash of wills."

"Sometimes, when you deal with a host country, you can push too hard and it backfires and you get less cooperation," Sheehan added. "We needed to find a middle ground, and we had difficulty getting there."

Two in U.S. Custody

Amid the friction, U.S. and Yemeni investigators soon identified the ringleader of the attack as Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi national of Yemeni descent who served as al-Qaeda's operations chief in the Arabian Peninsula.

At the time, Yemeni authorities insisted that Nashiri had fled the country before the Cole bombing. But a senior Yemeni official said that was not the case and that Yemeni investigators had located Nashiri in Taizz, a city about 90 miles northwest of Aden, soon after the attack. The official said Nashiri spent several months in Taizz, where he received high-level protection from the government. "We knew where he was, but we could not arrest him," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared retaliation.

Nashiri eventually left Yemen to prepare other attacks on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf, U.S. officials said. He was captured in the United Arab Emirates in November 2002 and handed over to the CIA. He was detained in the CIA's secret network of overseas prisons until he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay in September 2006.

In a hearing at Guantanamo last year, Nashiri said he confessed to masterminding the Cole attack only because he had been tortured.

"From the time I was arrested five years ago, they have been torturing me," he said, according to a transcript. "I just said those things to make the people happy."

Another al-Qaeda leader, Tawfiq bin Attash, who also played an organizing role in the Sept. 11 hijackings, was arrested in Karachi, Pakistan, in May 2003 and confessed last year to overseeing the Cole plot. In a separate appearance before a Guantanamo tribunal, he said he had helped buy the explosives and the motorboat. He also said he had recruited operatives for the plot but was in Afghanistan at the time of the attack.

Bin Attash and Nashiri were both named unindicted co-conspirators in the Justice Department's investigation into the Cole attack. A decision was made not to indict them because pending criminal charges could have forced the CIA or the Pentagon to give up custody of the men, U.S. officials said in interviews.

A Special Deal

After a long trial, a Yemeni court condemned Badawi, the organizer, to death in 2004, although his sentence was reduced on appeal to 15 years in prison. Four other conspirators were given prison sentences ranging from five to 10 years.

The convicts were sent to a maximum security prison in Sanaa, the capital. They didn't stay there long.

On Feb. 3, 2006, prison officials announced that 23 al-Qaeda members, including most of the Cole defendants, had vanished. They escaped by digging a tunnel that snaked 300 feet to a nearby mosque.

It was Badawi's second successful jailbreak. Three years earlier, he had wormed out of another maximum security prison in Aden; Yemeni officials said he had picked a hole through the bathroom wall.

Badawi surrendered about 20 months after his second escape. But Yemeni authorities cut him a deal. They said they would let him remain free if he would help them search for the other al-Qaeda fugitives.

The arrangement was kept secret until Yemeni newspapers reported shortly afterward that Badawi had been spotted at his home in Aden.

U.S. officials said they were stunned. After his first escape, Badawi had been indicted in U.S. District Court in New York for the Cole killings, and the United States had posted a $5 million bounty for his capture. But U.S. officials couldn't get their hands on him. "This was someone who was implicated in the Cole bombing," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at the time. "He needs to be in jail."

U.S. officials withheld $20 million in aid to Yemen and canceled a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Yemeni officials said they quickly put Badawi back behind bars. But reports persist that his incarceration remains a day-to-day affair.

In December, a Yemeni newspaper reported that Badawi had again been seen roaming free in public. One source close to the Cole investigation said there is evidence that Badawi is allowed to come and go, despite the periodic requests by U.S. officials to inspect his prison cell.

Diplomatic relations soured further in February, when the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa learned that Fahd al-Quso, another Cole conspirator, had been secretly freed nine months before. Like Badawi, Quso faces U.S. charges in the Cole case and has a $5 million bounty on his head.

'Something . . . Doesn't Smell Right'

U.S. officials have renewed their demands that Badawi and Quso be extradited so they can stand trial in New York. FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III flew to Sanaa last month to deliver the message personally to Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yemen has refused, citing a constitutional ban on extraditing its citizens.

"Unfortunately, we now have a stalemate," said Foreign Minister Abubaker al-Qirbi.

Qirbi said the dispute was a politically sensitive one, with many Yemenis opposed to helping the Bush administration. He defended the tactic of allowing the Cole plotters to go free in exchange for help in tracking down other terrorist suspects. "This is a normal practice," he said. "Everybody makes deals with anybody who cooperates, not just in Yemen, but in the United States."

Yemen's interior minister, Rashad al-Alimi, said the deal-cutting was necessary because al-Qaeda has rebuilt its networks in Yemen and is targeting the government.

"Our battle with al-Qaeda is a long one," he said. "It isn't our battle only. Our tragedy -- and what makes things worse -- is that al-Qaeda is united. And our coalition is divided, even though we have a common enemy."

Some Yemenis have questioned whether their government has other motives. One senior Yemeni official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Badawi and other al-Qaeda members have a long relationship with Yemen's intelligence agencies and were recruited in the past to target political opponents.

Khaled al-Anesi, an attorney for some of the Cole defendants, said Yemen had rushed to convict them. But he said he is still mystified by the government's subsequent handling of the case.

"There's something that doesn't smell right," he said. "It was all very strange. After these people were convicted in unfair trials, all of a sudden it was announced that they had escaped. And then the government announced they had surrendered, but we still don't know how they escaped or if they had help."

Hamoud al-Hitar, a former Supreme Court justice, said the trials were fair. But he suggested that the government had turned lenient because the Cole defendants had participated in a "dialogue and reconciliation program" designed to de-radicalize al-Qaeda members.

Hitar, who oversees the program, claimed that 98 percent of graduates have remained nonviolent. Asked about two Cole suspects who escaped and went to Iraq to become suicide bombers, Hitar shrugged. "Iraq was not part of the dialogue program," he said.

A Lawsuit and a Rebuff

Relatives of the 17 sailors who died on the Cole said they are furious at Yemen for releasing the plotters. But they expressed equal disdain for their own government.

The families have fought for years to obtain information from the State, Defense and Justice departments about their inquiries into the attack. "We never really got anyplace," said Andrew C. Hall, an attorney for the relatives.

With few other options, family members filed a civil lawsuit in 2004 against the government of Sudan, alleging that it had provided support for al-Qaeda over the years and therefore was also liable for the Cole attack. Last July, a federal judge in Norfolk, Va., ruled in their favor and ordered Sudan to pay $7.96 million in damages. (Yemen could not be sued because, unlike Sudan, it is not listed as a state sponsor of terrorism by the State Department.)

John P. Clodtfelter Jr. of Mechanicsville, Va., whose son Kenneth died on the Cole, said the families have tried to meet with Bush to press for more action.

"I was just flat told that he wouldn't meet with us," Clodtfelter said. "Before him, President Clinton promised we'd go out and get these people, and of course we never did. I'm sorry, but it's just like the lives of American servicemen aren't that important."

Staff researcher Robert E. Thomason in Washington contributed to this report.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Letter from Hope...

Cross posted from Radarsite http://radarsite.blogspot.com/2008/04/open-letter-to-president-george-w-bush.html

Dear Mr. President: a letter from the Homefront


Dear Mr. President,
My name is Hope. I am the undying spirit of the American Patriot, the loyal Homefront, and I am writing to you today with a heavy heart.
During these most perilous of times, once again, the good people of this great nation look to you, Mr. President, for our guidance and for our inspiration. We on the Homefront have proven our steadfast loyalty in the past and we offer it up to our embattled nation once again. Throughout our nation's history, by our selfless actions we have shown our willingness to sacrifice our creature comforts and our daily pleasures, our willingness to sacrifice our time, our industry, even our sons and fathers and brothers.

We are not blind, sir, and we are not ignorant of the perils we face. But we have become increasingly confused and conflicted. Our nation has been split asunder. Brother against sister, neighbor against neighbor. We cry out for your guidance and your inspiration, but, alas, to no avail. We are desperate for unity and clarity and purpose. However, rather than bringing us closer together you have been both directly and indirectly responsible for pulling us further apart and weakening us as a nation. You have -- forgive me, sir -- unwittingly played into the hands of our adversaries.

If you recall, immediately after that fateful day in September, we rallied behind you as one and awaited your orders. We loyally supported the bloody but necessary wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, no matter how unpopular or unsuccessful they may have at times appeared. We have stood steadfastly behind you and have tirelessly fought against those internal enemies, those traditional leftist forces of multiculturalism, moral equivalency and pacifism, who would willingly give this wonderful country of ours away. We eagerly awaited your call, our call to duty. But it never came. Instead, you told us to go shopping.

We are, we are being told, presently in the midst of a war, a nebulous War on Terror. But we are still unclear as to who our enemies are. Traditionally, in times such as these we have relied on our wartime presidents to provide us with a coherent narrative of the conflict, the reasons why we fight. We look to you for inspiration and clarification: This is who we are fighting and this is why we are fighting them. This is the enemy. This is what he looks like and this is what he wants to do to us. And this is why we must win. All of our great wartime presidents, from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, to FDR and Ronald Reagan understood the necessity of this role of narrator and guide and fulfilled it admirably. And their unwavering leadership sustained us throughout those inevitable dark days of war and made our ultimate victory possible.

In short, leaders must lead and presidents must preside. We are loyal citizens and we are patriots, but we are not diplomats, we cannot be expected to understand the finer subtleties of international statecraft. We need the issues simplified. The reasons for fighting and dying must be made crystal clear. We welcome this simplification. We would even welcome propaganda. We might need the unquestioning passion and simplicity of propaganda.
We are not professional diplomats, but neither are we fools. We know the enemy is not Terror. Terror is the weapon that our enemy uses in the hopes of bringing us to our knees. Our enemies are Muslims, and their creed is Islam. To attempt to circumvent this obvious truth will only bring us failure and dissent.
Imagine if you will Churchill flying off to Germany and hobnobbing with Nazis...

or FDR in one of his 1942 Fireside Chats, employing some kind of tortuous logic to convince us that we were not at war with the good Japanese people, but only with some small fanatical military clique within the Japanese government...
Preposterous isn't it? And yet, Mr. President, with all due respect, here are just a few of your inscrutable and confusing pronouncements on the nature of our present ruthless adversaries:
In the President’s Words: Respecting Islam
The United States is a nation dedicated to religious tolerance and freedom, and President Bush has acted to ensure that the world's Muslims know that America appreciates and celebrates the traditions of Islam. "Here in the United States our Muslim citizens are making many contributions in business, science and law, medicine and education, and in other fields. Muslim members of our Armed Forces and of my administration are serving their fellow Americans with distinction, upholding our nation's ideals of liberty and justice in a world at peace."

Remarks by the President on Eid Al-Fitr
The Islamic Center of Washington, D.C.
December 5, 2002
"Over the past month, Muslims have fasted, taking no food or water during daylight hours, in order to refocus their minds on faith and redirect their hearts to charity. Muslims worldwide have stretched out a hand of mercy to those in need. Charity tables at which the poor can break their fast line the streets of cities and towns. And gifts of food and clothing and money are distributed to ensure that all share in God's abundance. Muslims often invite members of other families to their evening iftar meals, demonstrating a spirit of tolerance."

Remarks by the President on Eid Al-Fitr
The Islamic Center of Washington, D.C.
December 5, 2002

"America treasures the relationship we have with our many Muslim friends, and we respect the vibrant faith of Islam which inspires countless individuals to lead lives of honesty, integrity, and morality. This year, may Eid also be a time in which we recognize the values of progress, pluralism, and acceptance that bind us together as a Nation and a global community. By working together to advance mutual understanding, we point the way to a brighter future for all."

Presidential Message Eid al-Fitr
December 5, 2002

"Islam brings hope and comfort to millions of people in my country, and to more than a billion people worldwide. Ramadan is also an occasion to remember that Islam gave birth to a rich civilization of learning that has benefited mankind."

President's Eid al-Fitr Greeting to Muslims around the World
December 4, 2002

"Ours is a war not against a religion, not against the Muslim faith. But ours is a war against individuals who absolutely hate what America stands for, and hate the freedom of the Czech Republic. And therefore, we must work together to defend ourselves. And by remaining strong and united and tough, we'll prevail."

Press Conference by President Bush and President Havel of Czech Republic
Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic
November 20, 2002
"Some of the comments that have been uttered about Islam do not reflect the sentiments of my government or the sentiments of most Americans. Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion, a religion that respects others. Ours is a country based upon tolerance and we welcome people of all faiths in America."

Remarks by President George W. Bush in a statement to reporters during a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan
The Oval Office, Washington, DC
November 13, 2002
"We see in Islam a religion that traces its origins back to God's call on Abraham. We share your belief in God's justice, and your insistence on man's moral responsibility. We thank the many Muslim nations who stand with us against terror. Nations that are often victims of terror, themselves."

President Hosts Iftaar Dinner
Remarks by the President at Iftaar Dinner
State Dining Room
"Islam is a vibrant faith. Millions of our fellow citizens are Muslim. We respect the faith. We honor its traditions. Our enemy does not. Our enemy doesn't follow the great traditions of Islam. They've hijacked a great religion."

Remarks by President George W. Bush and President Megawati of Indonesia
The Oval Office, Washington, D.C.
September 19, 2001
"The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war."


My dear Mr. President, we rely on you and your good judgment to protect us, to defend our borders and to identify and deal with our enemies who would harm us. We need you and your leadership. But I'm afraid that all too often you have merely added to the confusion and weakened our national resolve. We have been hesitant to add our voice to those who wish to undermine your presidency or do damage to our democracy. But the perils are not receding, they are advancing. The imminent threats coming out of the fanatical apocalyptical regime in Iran are even more dangerous than the ones we face today. This time our very survival may be at stake.

We on the American Homefront cannot be expected to enter into a new and even more deadly conflict calling for even greater and more costly sacrifices and yet remain conflicted about who it is we are fighting. We need you to be strong. We need you to be clear. We need you to cut out all the PC nonsense, sir, and tell the world once and for all who it is we are fighting and why we are fighting them. We can no longer rally around a president who finds it impossible, or somehow inconvenient, to identify our enemies. We need you Mr. President, and now more than ever you need us.


Note: This is just a small sampling of the President's inscrutable comments about Islam. To read the rest go here:
http://merln.ndu.edu/MERLN/PFIraq/archive/wh/islam1.pdf



God Bless America

9 comments:

Shawmut said...

As a New Englander I elect to call Patriots Day, The Battle of Lexington and Concord, April 19th celbrated today the 21st) the First Independence Day. It wasn't a matter of a road race, The Marathon, (heroic though that was in its age) it was a case of standing fast. Yet in each example messages were carried and patriots rallied to assert their ideals.
It's also worth noting that it was from a church steeple that the lanterns were hung. And later on it was through the Truro Synagogue in Newport, RI, that French funds were entrusted.
Strong individuals with committed beliefs carry messages over and through rough terrain. Today that terrain is even more deceptive than any dark of night.

Findalis said...

Not only were the French funds entrusted at the Truro Synagogue, but millions more pounds were raised by the congregation too. Many went into debt to finance the Revolution and the hope of freedom.

Today the American people are asked to accept that Islam is a Religion of Peace. That those who advocate violence are the vocal minority. That every faith has their religious fanatics.

True every religion has their fanatics. In the 11th Century Christianity went mad with Crusader frenzy, Spain went mad with the Inquisition in the 15th Century, but Christianity learned from those times and became what Christ did preach: Love thy neighbor.

Judaism does have its fanatics. They are known as the Haradi. The extremely Orthodox Jews. Most are peaceful, seeking prayer and study to war and weapons (They are exempt from the draft in Israel), some advocate violence and have done some horrible things. Cave of the Patriarchs Massacre by Baruch Goldstein in 1994 and the The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir on November 4, 1995 were just 2 examples.

The Jewish People were outraged and horrified by these and other simular acts. And openly expressed this sentiment.

Yet where do Muslims stand on such acts? Do they express outrage? Do they denounce their leaders for such comments, actions?

No. They don't say anything. And their silence is louder than any words. For their silence equals acceptance of such principles.

Unless the Muslim community starts speaking out against the violence, the hatred, the outrages that their so-called extremest brethren do, they must all be considered extremists. For it is by their actions you will know their true heart.

Churchill's Parrot said...

My Dear Roger,

Your post - exquisitely composed as always - makes clear that Americans (Conservative Americans anyway) are in the early stages of experiencing that same detachment from government that characterized the Eastern bloc during the Soviet era and is currently in full bloom across Europe and Britain via the fiasco that is the EU. The cause of this divide? Political Correctness. Our "leaders" (even -sad to say - Bushie)refuse to stand up to it and identify it as the dangerous tactic it is. It remains for regular citizens then to do as you are doing - define the reality of our times and the action that must be taken.

Cheers,

Charlie

WomanHonorThyself said...

Amen my friend!!!

Roger W. Gardner said...

Thank you both. It took a long time before I felt comfortable criticizing our beleaguered President. But events are fast overtaking us.

"The Jewish People were outraged and horrified by these and other similar acts. And openly expressed this sentiment."

Dear Findalis -- This hits the proverbial nail right on its proverbial head.

Maggie M. Thornton said...

Ouch!

I think in the earlier quotes, Bush really was between Iraq and a hard place. The early Islamic jihad against us, the Marine barracks, the 1st World Trade Tower bombing, U.S.S. Cole - strung out over a period of about 17 years. No one wanted to believe it, and there was no one country to go after.

That and oil has always been the problem. When you have a citizenry which will not support supporting their own energy to such incredible extremes, when the press mocks every move, when the Republican leadership are weiners...you are right, he is beleagured.

How do we dump the Saudi's. It's a conundrum, but I like you, suggest we get after it.

Maggie
Maggie's Notebook

Ben said...

Too little, too late, Roger. I have been cursing Shrub since 2001.

Search for Thousands Died and Bush Lied!. Its here: http://www.geocities.com/crusadersarmory/downloads/BushLied.pdf
and it details & refutes his lies with explicit Islamic scripture.

When Nixon ran for re-election, I wrote in Jesus Christ for the first time. In 1996, I wrote him in again, and repeated the writein in 2004.

I will not knowingly vote for a Gd'd liar!!!

It is not practical to fight a war without identifying the enemy. In this war, the enemy is Islam, the same enemy who attacked our shipping off the Barbary Coast in the 17th century.

Now as then, the war flows directly from the damnable doctrines enshrined in Surat Al-Anfal & Al-Taubah.

You can't trust politicians. You can't trust the media. You can't trust the educational bureaucracy.

Trust your own eyes and your own understanding. Read the Qur'an, Hadith & fiqh. They form a congruent pattern of bestial warmongering, terror and rapine. That's what Islam is; what Islam does. No hijacking, no perversion, just standard, off the shelf, Gd'd Islam.

Once you know that; once you know that Islam can not be reformed nor rendered harmless, the obvious and inescapable conclusion comes to the fore: Islam must be eliminated from the world. Totally eradicated. Extincted. There is no acceptable alternative.

Shawmut said...

Thanks for the follo-up 'Findalis'. History needs a healthy, not convenient, memory.