2007.09.21 Politics and National Defense Roundup Contributed by Bill Faith
S.A. Miller
The Senate overwhelmingly rejected a bill [yesterday] that would have cut off funds for U.S. combat troops in Iraq, as Democrats said that staging repeated failed votes for a pullout is a worthwhile exercise. ...
The lopsided 70-28 vote was predicted even by backers of the bill by Sen. Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat, because it risked criticism for not supporting troops at the battlefront. ...
Can we question their patriotism now?
By Anne Flaherty
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate rejected legislation today that would have ordered most U.S. troops home from Iraq in nine months, culminating a losing week for Democrats who failed to push through any anti-war proposal.
The vote, 47-47, fell 13 votes short of the 60 needed to pass.
How about now?
Sorta related:
Bill Roggio
Camp Victory, Baghdad Province: The US and Iraqi Army continue to target Iran’s surrogates inside Iraq. Today, US forces captured an officer of Iran’s Qods Force during a raid in the northern Kurdish province of Sulimaniyah. US forces also conducted a series of raids against Mahdi Army and Special Groups cells inside Baghdad and Diwaniyah over the past 24 hours.
The Qods Force officer was identified as an Iranian citizen. “Coalition forces identified the individual on the scene from a photo, so we are confident we have the guy we were looking for,” said Major Winfield Danielson during an inquiry with Multinational Forces Iraq. The Iranian officer’s rank has not been identified at this time, said Danielson.
See also:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Coalition forces on Thursday arrested a suspected member of an elite Iranian unit that has been accused of training and equipping insurgents in Iraq, the U.S. military said. ...
Somewhat related:
Rick Moran:
Bookworm:
[I guess he got wind of that group of "students" that was planning to take him hostage ;-)]
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Ed Morrissey
Most of the major tribes in the Iraqi province of Diyala have signed agreements to against extremists, a development that has already resulted in a sharp improvement in intelligence flowing to security forces in the region. Just as in Anbar, the surge in the key province has resulted in a significant shift in allegiances. Unlike Anbar, however, it doesn't just involve Sunnis: ...
Michelle Malkin
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve blogged about the Left’s smear campaign against Washington state Democrat Rep. Brian Baird, who initially voted against the war in Iraq but now opposes precipitous withdrawal after visiting the troops there in the summer. See and . See also that aired last month.
The attacks have intensified. And MoveOn.org’s fingerprints are all over the new offensive. Yesterday, a called “Win Without War” in Baird’s local newspapers pressuring him to reverse his position.
Bill Ardolino
On a Sunday afternoon in late April, 1st Lt. Travis Manion spoke to his father via satellite phone from a dusty Iraqi Army barracks in downtown Fallujah. Manion and his fellow Marines with Military Transition Team (MiTT) 30 - advisors to the 3-2-1 Iraqi Army - had recently watched a DVD of the movie "300," and it made an impression. He told his dad that for the Spartans, there was "no greater honor" than to die fighting for one's country and its freedoms. He expressed frustration that many Americans didn't understand that's what he and his Marines were doing in Iraq. The satellite phone kept cutting out and, unusually, Travis kept calling his father back. He lingered on the phone. He spoke of the importance of honor, strength and courage. He expressed kinship with the Spartans.
A week later, Travis Manion died a Spartan's death. ...
Quick hits:
Jason Whitlock:
John Hinderaker
We wrote and elsewhere about the case of Mohammed Al Dura, a boy who became a cause celebre in the Arab world after he and his father were apparently caught in a crossfire between Palestinian terrorists and Israeli soldiers, and Mohammed was killed. The claim that he was murdered by Israelis is universally accepted in the Arab world--some Arab governments have gone so far as to issue postage stamps bearing al Dura's iconic image--but the facts are far from clear. ...
The former anchorman alleges CBS shut him up to protect George W. Bush. Byron York
Dan Rather has been out of the anchor chair at The CBS Evening News for more than two years. There is wide agreement that the story which led to his departure, a report on George W. Bush’s Air National Guard service, was based on fraudulent, or at least unverifiable, documents. CBS commissioned an extensive investigation into the matter, Rather left the network, and the affair seemed over.
Until now. Yesterday Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against his old employers, and it is based on a set of astonishing allegations that are sure to bring what became known as “Rathergate” back into the news. ...
If you missed Wednesday now's an excellent time to read it.
Related:
LA Times:
Jonah Goldberg:
Charles Krauthammer
On Sept. 6, something important happened in northern Syria. Problem is, no one knows exactly what. Except for those few who were involved, and they're not saying.
We do know that Israel carried out an airstrike. How do we know it was important? Because in Israel, where leaking is an art form, even the best-informed don't have a clue. They tell me they have never seen a better-kept secret.
Which suggests that whatever happened near Dayr az Zawr was no accidental intrusion into Syrian airspace, no dry run for an attack on Iran, no strike on some conventional target such as an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base or a weapons shipment on its way to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Circumstantial evidence points to this being an attack on some nuclear facility provided by North Korea. ...
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Michelle Malkin
:
North Korea and Syria held high-level talks Friday in Pyongyang, the North’s state media reported, amid suspicions that the two countries might be cooperating on a nuclear weapons program.
The talks took place between Choe Tae Bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, and Saaeed Eleia Dawood, director of the organizational department of Syria’s Baath Arab Socialist Party, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. ...
Contributed by Bill Faith on September 21, 2007 at 12:02 AM |