To Be Announced...

While I was looking for where any of the candidates would be, I found this from Instapundit.

Barrack Backtrack, we should call it. A verbatim, direct, exact, unedited, portion of a transcript from the Larry King show with Barrack Hussein Obama...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: And if George Bush doesn't listen, then we're going to make him listen because it's time for us to bring our young people home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It can be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home. That may be satisfying in the short run, but I believe the consequences for American security would be devastating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Senator Obama, you disagree with that. He says it would be devastating to leave now. You say no.

Why not?

OBAMA: Well, first of all, I don't know anybody who's been talking about packing up and going home. I think that everybody has recognized we've got a major national security interest in the region, particularly in Afghanistan, where we're starting to see the Taliban resurgent al Qaeda strengthening.

So, under my plan, and I think most other proposals that have been discussed, what we want to do is make sure that we've got some forces that are over the horizon to help stabilize the situation in Iraq. Also, forces placed in Afghanistan to make sure that we're finishing the job there.

Over the horizon. I love that. Would that be the other side of the globe?

Then, reading later in the transcript...

KING: Well, how about more troops now, though?

OBAMA: ... even those who are supporting -- but here's the thing, Larry -- even those who support the escalation have acknowledged that 20,000, 30,000, even 40,000 more troops placed temporarily in places like Baghdad are not going to make a long-term difference.

What the militias are essentially doing is they've just pulled back. They've said as long as there's these increased troop presence, we'll lie low, we'll wait it out.

As soon as the Americans start leaving and redeploying into other areas, we will come back in because we haven't changed the underlying dynamic of the situation, and that is essentially that the Shia and the Sunni don't trust each other, have been unwilling to engage in any serious concessions toward each other and the various players in the region, like Iran and Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, have not been effectively engaged and are instead funding these various conflicts inside Iraq in ways that are damaging to the Iraqi people.

So what we have to do is make sure that we're taking seriously the diplomatic efforts in the region. We need a diplomatic surge. We need a surge in negotiations among the various parties inside Iraq.

So, by having more troops in now...the "militias" (PS: our Founding Fathers would be proud to be associated with people who use children for bombs) are holding back until we leave?

And you want us to leave to somewhere "over the horizon" while we negotiate with "players in the region" like Iran, Syria, and one would assume - "various parties" inside Iraq like al Quada?

This makes more sense...
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Labels: barack hussein obama, iraq

--UPDATED BELOW --

As predicted by yours truly, the Des Moines Register goes ga-ga over the protest against the war in Ames on Tuesday. I was off by a bit, but the attitude of the story is dead on. As I stated in a previous post:

Greg said: "If it's the same or less than last year, there won't be a follow up by the Register. If it's any amount more than the 300 from last year, the headline will change to "Huge Anti-War Rally in Central Iowa"

Surprisingly, there was a follow up. Even though the number of people who protested was the same as last year:

War protest reflects shift at ISU

Ames, Ia. - About 300 people gathered Tuesday at a busy intersection in Ames to protest the Iraq war on its fourth anniversary.

Four years ago, Karin Brandt, 22, never imagined she would be the type of person to attend this kind of event.

But Ames has changed. Now, even Iowa State University students who are Republicans admit that campus support for the war in Iraq has waned. Four years ago, it was taboo to speak out against the war at ISU, a school with a relatively conservative student body compared with those at other colleges across the nation, students said.

Remember, in the previous protest last year, they had the same amount of people. Nothing has changed. I'm sure they can probably come up with a bunch of excuses, but the only mention of previous attendance is from a critic in the story and an exact number isn't given. The story is written in such a way to lead you to already doubt anyone who might be of the opposite view.

In Iowa City, more than 200 critics of the war gathered Tuesday in front of the Old Capitol on the University of Iowa Pentacrest and then marched around the city.

The Ames event attracted ISU students, Ames residents and others. After protesting at the corner of Grand Avenue and Lincoln Way, the demonstrators marched to City Hall downtown, where they attended a public meeting indoors.

Again, the same numbers in Iowa City from the last time they gathered. If there's such growing anti-war sentiment, where are the hoards of joiners?

And another thing. The reason they moved indoors was because some previous protests garnered complaints about having to stand out in the cold. That was in the Register story last week...but it's strangely missing from this one. I wonder why...

From last weeks Register story: "...Organizers have moved the public meeting inside because last year participants complained of the bitter cold, Cyan said..."

Dave Gallaher, 49, an Army veteran from Newton, stood quietly among the protesters.

"I've never been to an event like this," he said, explaining that he backed the war initially but stopped supporting continued occupation there after Saddam Hussein was removed as Iraq's president. "I wish President Bush would listen to the sane advisers around him and get countries involved in diplomacy."

Do terrorists have diplomats?

I imagine the Register writer saying, "Must....find...veteran..." when gathering the information for this story.

So...how can the same number of people attending an anti-war protest year after year be translated to mean that anti-war sentiment is growing?

Easy. The lack of "pro-war" rallies. What?

The most tangible evidence that sentiment in Ames has changed since the war began is the fact that demonstrations in support of the war have ceased, said Basil Mahayni, an ISU graduate student who participated in weekly and yearly war protests as an undergraduate at ISU.

Lack of pro-war rallies = tangible evidence. Hmmm. My dictionary is slightly different on the word tangible. Oh, well...

No. Not quite. Maybe they have jobs and that's why they aren't organizing.

A small cluster of people assembled across the street in response to Tuesday's anti-war protest in Ames. One person held up a sign depicting an obscene gesture, directed at the anti-war group.

Naturally, anyone in favor of the war is just a big ugly meany...no anti-war protester would dare be obscene...(caution! foul language below!)

Yeah...looks like a great group to want to join. On the other hand, you don't have to be obscene to make a point at an Ames protest. I don't have a clue about at least one of the signs at the ISU one...and don't you get the feeling that little boy holding the sign wants to be somewhere else?


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Labels: iraq

The pressure is on for anti-war protestors early next week. The Des Moines Register has helped set the stage for a disaster of a protest scheduled for Tuesday in Ames.

hatip: State29 - How To Attract A Large Crowd Of Protesters In Ames

Large anti-war rally planned Tuesday in Ames

Four years after the Iraq War began, hundreds of central Iowans are expected to rally and march Tuesday, March 20, to call for the war's end.

A similar event held in 2006 drew more than 300 people.

They don't say exactly how many more than 300, but it was in the single digits. On a campus the size of ISU...getting 300 people to show up shouldn't be that difficult.

"With public opinion polls showing two-thirds of Americans supporting a timetable to bring U.S. troops home, we expect more to turn out this year," said Phillip Cryan, program director for the Iowa Citizen Action Network.

We'll see. If it's the same or less than last year, there won't be a follow up by the Register. If it's any amount more than the 300 from last year, the headline will change to "Huge Anti-War Rally in Central Iowa"

But again, the stage is set and they better have a huge protest in order to make good on the "Large Protest" fanfare that the Register is giving them. Most of you won't see anything like what we saw with a similar protest in DC in late January. See Post Link. "War Crime Time"

Here's why you won't see it...

Organizers have moved the public meeting inside because last year participants complained of the bitter cold, Cyan said.

As State29 points out, I guess it's too much to ask for them to sacrifice their personal comfort for the sake of a war.

Me? I'd love to see some more "Support for the Troops" like this...

More here...

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Labels: iraq

From Bill Bennett's radio show after he solicited song lyrics about the Democrat mantra, "Support the Troops...Not the Mission"

(with apologies to Green Eggs and Ham)

The Mission-Plan

That mission-plan!
That mission-plan!
I do not like
that mission plan!

Do you like
The soldier-man?

I do like
the soldier-man!
I just don't like
the mission plan!

Would you like it
here or there?

I do not like it
here or there.
I do not like it
anywhere.
I do not like
the mission plan.
But I like
the soldier-man.

Can you see
the jihad-man?
Can you see him
in Iran?

I cannot see him
in Iran.
I cannot see
the jihad-man!
And if I saw him
in Iraq,
I?d have to take
my protest back!
I do not see the jihad-man,
I do not like this mission-plan!

Would you fight him
in St. Paul?
Would you oppose
jihad at all?

Not in St. Paul,
nowhere at all!
Not in Iran,
Not in Iraq!
I will not fight him here or there,
I will not fight him anywhere.
I still support the soldier-man,
although I hate the mission-plan!

Would you? Could you?
Cut the funds?
Take the money,
and then run?

I would not,
could not,
cut the funds!

You may cut them.
You will see!
Take the cash for
AFDC!

I would not, could not cut the funds.
Nor give the cash to anyone!

I need to get elected soon.
I cannot cut the money, loon!
I do not like this mission plan,
but the voters are big fans!
al-Sadr left his cozy house,
bin Laden's hiding like a mouse!
The mission-plan is working well!
My strategy may go to hell?

A vote! A vote!
A vote! A vote!
Could you, would you,
take a vote?

Not on the floor, nor in committee,
A vote right now would be a pity!

I could not vote now to de-fund,
Two thousand eight is all but won!
I will not criticize Barack,
Or Clinton?s vote to hit Iraq.
I do not like the mission-plan.
Or the ignorant soldier-man!
Whoops I didn't say that right,
please don't quote me, I was tight!

Say!
In the dark?
You're in the dark?
Did you just make a dumb remark?

I will not comment
on that remark.

Would you, could you, on the news?

I would not, could not,
on the news!
I support the soldier-man!
I just don't like this mission plan!
I do not see jihadi-man,
in Iraq or in Iran!
I did not say "I don't respect?"
I told a joke, to bad effect.
The Right can all just go to heck!

You do not want
to win the war?

I do not
want to,
anymore.

Won't you fight the
bad jihadi?

I'm afraid
of Sadr's
Mahdi

Do you want to
flee right now?

No, let's "redeploy" somehow!
I cannot vote to cut supplies—
voters prize our soldiers' lives.
But I so hate the Bushie-man,
that I need to have a plan!
I?ll say I love the soldier-man!
Really, truly, I'm a fan!
Just 'cause I don't want to pay him,
Does not mean I'm seeking mayhem...
Since I cannot cut the money,
I'll try to make the PLAN look funny.
(And also call the Prez a dummy)

I do not like
this mission-plan!

But I do love the
soldier-man!

You love the soldier-
man, you say.
Then support him,
every day!
Read the plan again, I say.

Say!
If you will let me be,
I will read it.
You will see.

Oops!
This is a groovy plan!
This plan could make a better land.
This surge-y plan, this "take and hold,"
Could make jihadis much less bold?

I will not support it, though!
My party says it has to go!
Two thousand eight is near, we'll win it;
I can't switch parties, like Bill Bennett.

I do not have the courage to,
defeat's my only happy news.
And I will focus on the bad.
And I will make Iraqis sad.
I will not fight jihadis there.
I will not fight them ANYWHERE!

This is Bush's
mission-plan.
I can't
support it?

until Hillary flip-flops and says it was hers.

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Labels: iraq

I keep hearing that we are "stretched too thin" and our Iowa homeland is at risk of a natural disaster that could leave us on our own...because the Iowa National Guard has had to deal with long deployments, low recruiting, morale, funding, equipment, and a host of other problems.

Usually after each complaint, statistics refute each and every one of them.

It's funny how our leaders like Culver and Vilsack before him never seem to listen to the Generals...and complain that Bush is or isn't listening to the Generals with regard to the plan in Iraq, troop levels, etc.

Democrats are all over the board on this. Thankfully, they rely on the short memory lapses that most Americans have. Here's the latest example:

Leader says Iowa Guard is strongest it's been in generations

The leader of the Iowa National Guard says the Guard is "quite possibly the strongest" it's been in generations. Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Ron Dardis delivered the annual "Condition of the Guard" address this morning at the statehouse. Dardis told lawmakers the Iowa Guard is setting recruiting records, but Dardis warned soldiers are worried the public's support for the military may wane as the war continues.

Recruiting records. Write that down along with today's date...because you're bound to see a Letter to the Editor or carpet-bagging candidate say just the opposite.

"How can the Iowa National Guard be in such good shape? The answer is simple: its people," Dardis said. "We are blessed with remarkable and talented members who are committed and they believe in what they are doing, who are supported from understanding families and employers and communities, and who benefit greatly from the benefits and incentives provided by the state and nation."

Just days ago, former Governor Vilsack had an Op-Ed in the Washington Post. As most of you probably missed it (along with the rest of the country), here's some key points he made:

Congress Must Act On Iraq

By Tom Vilsack
Saturday, February 10, 2007; A17

Think of the last time you were in a public place with 1,000 people -- a sports event, a Fourth of July parade, a concert.

Now imagine all 1,000 of those people dead.

If the number of American military deaths in Iraq in recent years is any guide, that's how many Americans will die in that country in the next year if Congress doesn't act immediately to take our troops out of harm's way in Iraq's civil war.

Now imagine the 5,000 more Americans likely to be wounded and maimed if Congress doesn't fulfill its duty to get our young men and women out of Iraq's war zone.

Vilsack has gone completely bonkers on this one. Just imagine anyone dead! We shouldn't be there!

That's totally insane.

The next time you're at a basketball game with 15,000 fans...imagine all of them dead. That's how many are murdered every year in the United States. Withdraw NOW!

I urge you to read the entire enfuriating article. It's full of the most left-wing raise the white flag mentality I have seen yet...

Members of Congress have a constitutional and moral obligation to exercise their authority to stop funding President Bush's failed policy in Iraq. Not eventually, but immediately.

The war in Iraq and the president's mismanagement of our military resources have recklessly endangered our national security and depleted our military and National Guard units across America. By nearly every standard, the homeland security of our country has been weakened and compromised by the president's policies and a lack of congressional oversight.

See? Our state is in danger...don't pay any attention to that nutjob Adjutant General in po-dunk Iowa!

Nearly a year ago, I went to Iraq to hear firsthand from U.S. troops, military leaders and Iraqis.

This is what I heard from our military commanders: If the Iraqi government can't provide better security for its people in six months, U.S. troops in central and southern Iraq should leave...Unfortunately, this administration refuses to listen to our military leaders or our citizens. So the question is: What will Congress do?

Nevermind what that whacko nutjob of an Adjutant General I had in Iowa says! I'm not going to listen to some Bush-loving military commander in Iowa says...

Congress has the constitutional ability and the moral responsibility to pass legislation cutting off funding for the status quo.

Not one soldier will or should be deprived of ammunition or armor.

So, cut off the funding for the status quo the troops, but don't cut off the funding for ammunition or armor the troops.

Which is it?

We'll give you armor...but we don't want you there.
We'll give you bullets...but don't use them.
Withdraw the troops...but don't withdraw them.
Don't get in the middle of a civil war...but maintain the peace.

I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it.

A modest number of peacekeeping troops would temporarily remain in northern Iraq, protect civilians against sectarian violence, discourage Iran from border incursions and help maintain regional stability -- without recklessly endangering American lives.

The writer, a former governor of Iowa, is a Democratic candidate for president.

Soon, that will read:

The writer, a former governor of Iowa, is a former Democratic candidate for president.

Vilsack has lost his marbles.

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Labels: iraq, vilsack

Feel better? Good. Now work on something that means something...

Iowa Senate formally opposes Iraq troop surge

DES MOINES - The Iowa Senate passed a resolution Thursday opposing President Bush's plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq, an action taken as the U.S. Congress considers a similar measure.

The resolution, approved on a voice vote, was offered by Senate President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg, a Korean War veteran.

"The end of this war has to start sometime and somewhere. Stopping the expansion of these troops needs to happen now," he said.

Kibbie was joined by 27 co-sponsors out of the 50-member Senate, all Democrats.

By the way, Jack...we're still in Korea. Just thought you might like to know.

Now that you've had your say, the message in response from the rest of the country will be as follows:

"Where's Idaho?"

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Labels: iraq

UPDATED BELOW

Knew it would happen. Predicted it would happen. It happened...

Barack Hussein Obama has made an err...

Before the full week of apologies and explanations begin, let me say that I believe he meant it...meant to say it exactly as he did...and believes it to this day...

Obama: Lives ‘wasted’ in Iraq

“We ended up launching a war that should have never been authorized and should have never been waged, and to which we now have spent $400 billion and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted,” Obama said.

Forces: U.S. & Coalition/Casualties (Lives Wasted) in Iraq

Was this guy's life wasted too? See previous post: Truth from Frontline Iraq

UPDATE

The full week of apologies and explanations begin...See?

Obama apologies again for saying soldiers’ lives ”wasted”

NASHUA, N.H. - Illinois Sen. Barack Obama repeated his apologies for an offhand remark that the lives of U.S. troops killed in Iraq were ”wasted.”

He immediately apologized on Sunday, saying the remark was ”a slip of the tongue.”

Sometimes, a "slip of the tongue" has more to do with the truth than a simple mistake. Methinks he let the truth as he sees it slip out.

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Labels: barack hussein obama, iraq

We read constantly about the latest bomb attacks and so forth in Iraq, but none of the context of the real stories. One of the websites which I frequent is Michael Yon's Online Magazine and his Frontline Forum.

As described, it's "...an alternative channel for compelling stories from those now wearing boots and carrying rifles..."

In the latest installment, he tells the whole story behind yet another bombing attack. One that simply is reported as "another bomb attack" by the media. The context of the story should also be told, but we have a lazy media...apparently uninterested in investigating and retelling these kinds of stories:

He was dressed as a woman as he walked down the alley toward the mosque full of worshippers. The bomb strapped to his body was studded with ball-bearings so that he could kill more villagers as they gathered for prayer...There were no soldiers in his path to stop him; no police to alert to the man in women’s clothes. There were only villagers...As the murderer dressed in women’s clothes walked purposefully toward his target, there was a village man ahead...and he, too, had his target in sight. [He] had seen through the disguise, but he had no gun. No bomb. No rocket. No stone. No time.

You'll have to read the rest of the story find out what happened (link goes direct). Because you won't find the details in any of the mainstream media's reports. It's extraordinary and compelling even in the little detail that Michael Yon gives it.

I'd urge you to send your friends to the link as well. Maybe we can get Governor Culver to lower the flags to half-staff for this kind of sacrifice also.

The article is appropriately called, "The Hands of God"

After reading it...I have no other words to pass on. Just a confirmed understanding of why we're in Iraq.

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Labels: iraq

Des Moines Register columnist John Carlson has been talking to the wrong people. He's spitting mad that no one seems to be as mad as him about extending tours in Iraq for Iowa Guard members. See earlier post about recruitment levels in Iowa. Recruitment is UP in Iowa...

In 2004, 1,076 enlisted in the Iowa National Guard. The following year, 1,193 men and women did the same. Another 1,337 soldiers joined last year, which sent recruiting numbers back to pre-9/11 levels, according to the National Guard.

Carlson: Why the silence on Iowa troops' extension?

Disturbing rumors began circulating early last week among Iowa National Guard families, although nobody in uniform was saying anything official.

"We were hearing that our guys were being extended in Iraq," said Debbie Linthicum of Des Moines. "I mean, that's something nobody wants to hear, but the rumors just kept up."

In Iowa, there's been a whole lot of silence...

Iowa's governor has been on the job less than a week, so maybe he doesn't know. This state's politicians in Washington seem more worried about ending the spat between the owner of a couple of television stations and a cable company.

Linthicum talked to her son, Spc. Andrew Ogle, after the extension was announced in Iowa and before the soldiers were officially notified.

"Andy was mad," Linthicum said. "He just blew up when he found out. Nobody over there had bothered to tell them and it really got to him. They were coming home in a couple of months and everybody was counting down the number of missions they had left. They were all making plans, because that was the promise. Be there a year and then come home. The government broke a promise to these guys."

"My son chose a military life," she said. "That's all he's ever wanted to do. I'll support him and all the other soldiers until my dying breath. I just wish the government would care more about them. The politicians talk the talk, but that's about it."

Some aren't even bothering to talk.

They might like to know the unit is based in one of the very worst areas of Iraq. The soldiers' job is escorting convoys. It's incredibly dangerous. Two of the battalion's soldiers have been killed during this deployment.

Now, the Iowans are in place until August.

So how about it, Gov. Culver? You're the commander in chief of the Iowa National Guard. Any concerns on this one?

What about you, Sens. Grassley and Harkin and Reps. Braley, Loebsack, Boswell, Latham and King?

Do you even know about this? Do you care?

The soldiers and their families would like to think so.

They care enough to send our very best...and recruitment is UP in Iowa, John. Rewrite those last few paragraphs...

So how about it, John? You're a member of the largest newspaper in Iowa. Any thoughts on this one?

Do you even know about this? Do you care?

Iowans would like to think so.

Labels: iraq, recruiting

Wow...fair and balanced from America's campuses:

Iowa Guard recruiting up

UI senior Andrew McElmeel said he felt a desire to take part in the war effort so much that he volunteered to be deployed overseas as soon as possible.

"I've always wanted to go into the military," he said. "It's also an awesome way to knock off some [college debt]."

Though the Bush administration's plan for Iraq - which calls for an additional 21,500 troops in the embattled country - has elicited vows from political opponents who say they won't support the commander-in-chief's proposal, recruitment numbers in Iowa show a steady increase in the number of people signing up for duty.

In 2004, 1,076 enlisted in the Iowa National Guard. The following year, 1,193 men and women did the same. Another 1,337 soldiers joined last year, which sent recruiting numbers back to pre-9/11 levels, according to the National Guard.

It hasn't made the "major" press yet, but this is good news so don't hold your breath.

But UI graduate Tiffany Jenkins...After finishing her deployment to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, she said, she remains personally invested in the outcome of the war - especially because her brother and sister both enlisted.

"Nobody wants people to be over there, but the mission needs to be accomplished," she said.

But despite opposition to the war, Jenkins remains firm in her belief that the United States is doing the right thing by staying in Iraq.

"I think there are some decisions that could be made differently, but no war is perfect," she said.

If only our politicians had such wisdom and patience.

Labels: iraq, recruiting